Joshua 2:1

Joshua Sends Spies into the Land

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: ¹  “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” ²  They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. ³ 

Joshua 2:3

2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: ⁴  “Turn over ⁵  the men who came to you ⁶  – the ones who came to your house ⁷  – for they have come to spy on the whole land!”

Joshua 5:13

Israel Conquers Jericho

5:13 When Joshua was near ⁸  Jericho, ⁹  he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. ¹⁰  Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” ¹¹ 

Joshua 6:25

6:25 Yet Joshua spared ¹²  Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, ¹³  and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel ¹⁴  to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. ¹⁵ 

Joshua 7:2

7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho ¹⁶  to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel ¹⁷ ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai.

Joshua 10:1

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ¹⁸  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ¹⁹  and its king. ²⁰  He also heard how ²¹  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

Joshua 10:28

Joshua Launches a Southern Campaign

10:28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. ²² 

Joshua 10:30

10:30 The Lord handed it and its king over to Israel, and Israel ²³  put the sword to all who lived there; they ²⁴  left no survivors. They ²⁵  did to its king what they ²⁶  had done to the king of Jericho. ²⁷ 

Joshua 18:12

18:12 Their northern border started at the Jordan, went up to the slope of Jericho ²⁸  on the north, ascended westward to the hill country, and extended to the desert of Beth Aven.

Joshua 20:8

20:8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho ²⁹  they selected ³⁰  Bezer in the desert on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh.

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¹ tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

² tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

³ tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”

⁵ tn Heb “bring out.”

⁶ tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, bo’ ’el) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.

⁷ tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.

⁸ tn Heb “in.”

⁹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁰ tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).

¹¹ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

¹² tn Heb “kept alive.”

¹³ tn Heb the house of her father.”

¹⁴ tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”

¹⁵ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁷ map For the location of Bethel see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.

¹⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁰ tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”

²¹ tn Heb “and how.”

²² map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²³ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

²⁴ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

²⁵ tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

²⁶ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

²⁷ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁸ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

²⁹ map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

³⁰ tn Or “set aside.”