Joshua 1:9

1:9 I repeat, 1  be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, 2  for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” 3 

Joshua 3:7

3:7 The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel 4  so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses.

Joshua 5:14

5:14 He answered, 5  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. 6  Now I have arrived!” 7  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground 8  and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”

Joshua 8:18

8:18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city 9  over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand.

1 tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.

2 tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”

3 tn Heb “in all which you go.”

4 tn Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”

5 tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, lo’, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.

6 sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.

7 sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.

8 tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

9 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.