2:20 (That also is considered to be a land of the Rephaites. 2 The Rephaites lived there originally; the Ammonites call them Zamzummites. 3
12:29 When the Lord your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land. 20
18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations.
19:1 When the Lord your God destroys the nations whose land he 26 is about to give you and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and houses, 19:2 you must set apart for yourselves three cities 27 in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.
21:1 If a homicide victim 32 should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you, 33 and no one knows who killed 34 him,
26:1 When 37 you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it,
29:16 “(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled.
33:13 Of Joseph he said:
May the Lord bless his land
with the harvest produced by the sky, 46 by the dew,
and by the depths crouching beneath;
33:28 Israel lives in safety,
the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, 47
in a land of grain and new wine;
indeed, its heavens 48 rain down dew. 49
1 tn Heb “Not a man among these men.”
2 sn Rephaites. See note on this word in Deut 2:11.
3 sn Zamzummites. Just as the Moabites called Rephaites by the name Emites, the Ammonites called them Zamzummites (or Zazites; Gen 14:5).
4 tn Heb “in the way in the way” (בַּדֶּרֶךְ בַּדֶּרֶךְ, baderekh baderekh). The repetition lays great stress on the idea of resolute determination to stick to the path. IBHS 116 §7.2.3c.
5 sn Mount Hermon. This is the famous peak at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range known today as Jebel es-Sheik.
6 tn The article is retained in the translation (“the Lebanon,” cf. also NAB, NRSV) to indicate that a region (rather than the modern country of Lebanon) is referred to here. Other recent English versions accomplish this by supplying “mountains” after “Lebanon” (TEV, CEV, NLT).
7 tn Heb “command”; KJV, NASB, NRSV “charge Joshua.”
8 tn Heb “(as) an inheritance,” that is, landed property that one can pass on to one’s descendants.
9 tn Heb “lest the anger of the
10 tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.
11 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 2-7 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the English translation divides the passage into three sentences. To facilitate this stylistic decision the words “They did not see” are supplied at the beginning of both v. 3 and v. 5, and “I am speaking” at the beginning of v. 7.
12 tn Heb “his signs and his deeds which he did” (NRSV similar). The collocation of “signs” and “deeds” indicates that these acts were intended to make an impression on observers and reveal something about God’s power (cf. v. 2b). The word “awesome” has been employed to bring out the force of the word “signs” in this context.
13 tn Heb “seeks.” The statement reflects the ancient belief that God (Baal in Canaanite thinking) directly controlled storms and rainfall.
14 tn Heb “the eyes of the
sn Constantly attentive to it. This attention to the land by the
15 sn From the beginning to the end of the year. This refers to the agricultural year that was marked by the onset of the heavy rains, thus the autumn. See note on the phrase “the former and the latter rains” in v. 14.
16 sn Mount Gerizim…Mount Ebal. These two mountains are near the ancient site of Shechem and the modern city of Nablus. The valley between them is like a great amphitheater with the mountain slopes as seating sections. The place was sacred because it was there that Abraham pitched his camp and built his first altar after coming to Canaan (Gen 12:6). Jacob also settled at Shechem for a time and dug a well from which Jesus once requested a drink of water (Gen 33:18-20; John 4:5-7). When Joshua and the Israelites finally brought Canaan under control they assembled at Shechem as Moses commanded and undertook a ritual of covenant reaffirmation (Josh 8:30-35; 24:1, 25). Half the tribes stood on Mt. Gerizim and half on Mt. Ebal and in antiphonal chorus pledged their loyalty to the
17 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
18 sn Gilgal. From a Hebrew verb root גָלַל (galal, “to roll”) this place name means “circle” or “rolling,” a name given because God had “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you” (Josh 5:9). It is perhaps to be identified with Khirbet el-Metjir, 1.2 mi (2 km) northeast of OT Jericho.
19 tc The MT plural “oaks” (אֵלוֹנֵי, ’eloney) should probably be altered (with many Greek texts) to the singular “oak” (אֵלוֹן, ’elon; cf. NRSV) in line with the only other occurrence of the phrase (Gen 12:6). The Syriac, Tg. Ps.-J. read mmrá, confusing this place with the “oaks of Mamre” near Hebron (Gen 13:18). Smr also appears to confuse “Moreh” with “Mamre” (reading mwr’, a combined form), adding the clarification mwl shkm (“near Shechem”) apparently to distinguish it from Mamre near Hebron.
20 tn Heb “dwell in their land” (so NASB). In the Hebrew text vv. 29-30 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides it into two.
21 tc After the phrase “the
22 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “surely.” Note however, that the use is rhetorical, for the next verse attaches a condition.
23 tn Heb “the
24 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess.”
25 tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”).
26 tn Heb “the
27 sn These three cities, later designated by Joshua, were Kedesh of Galilee, Shechem, and Hebron (Josh 20:7-9).
28 tn Heb “fathers.”
29 tn Heb “he said to give to your ancestors.” The pronoun has been used in the translation instead for stylistic reasons.
30 tn Heb “innocent blood must not be shed.” The Hebrew phrase דָּם נָקִי (dam naqiy) means the blood of a person to whom no culpability or responsibility adheres because what he did was without malice aforethought (HALOT 224 s.v דָּם 4.b).
31 tn Heb “and blood will be upon you” (cf. KJV, ASV); NRSV “thereby bringing bloodguilt upon you.”
32 tn Heb “slain [one].” The term חָלָל (khalal) suggests something other than a natural death (cf. Num 19:16; 23:24; Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15; 30:24; 31:17-18).
33 tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
34 tn Heb “struck,” but in context a fatal blow is meant; cf. NLT “who committed the murder.”
35 tn Heb “brother.”
36 tn Heb “sojourner.”
37 tn Heb “and it will come to pass that.”
38 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
39 tn Heb “plaster” (so KJV, ASV; likewise in v. 4). In the translation “cover” has been used for stylistic reasons.
40 tn Heb “will cause pestilence to cling to you.”
41 tn Heb “this great burning of anger”; KJV “the heat of this great anger.”
42 tn Heb “the entire curse.”
43 tn Heb “are at the farthest edge of the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
44 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “certainly.”
45 tn Heb “to go there to possess it.”
46 tn Heb “from the harvest of the heavens.” The referent appears to be good crops produced by the rain that falls from the sky.
47 tn Heb “all alone.” The idea is that such vital resources as water will some day no longer need protection because God will provide security.
48 tn Or “skies.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
49 tn Or perhaps “drizzle, showers.” See note at Deut 32:2.
50 tc Smr and some LXX