Joshua 2:3

2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: ¹  “Turn over ²  the men who came to you ³  – the ones who came to your house ⁴  – for they have come to spy on the whole land!”

Joshua 2:16

2:16 She told them, “Head ⁵  to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. ⁶  Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you ⁷  to return. Then you can be on your way.”

Joshua 3:15

3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface ⁸  of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) ⁹  –

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¹ tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”

² tn Heb “bring out.”

³ 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.

⁴ 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.

⁵ tn Heb “Go.”

⁶ tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”

⁷ tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

⁸ tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”

⁹ tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”

sn The lengthy description of the priests’ arrival at the Jordan and the parenthetical reminder that the Jordan was at flood stage delay the climax of the story and add to its dramatic buildup.