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 2:7

2:7 Meanwhile ⁵  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ⁶  near the fords. ⁷  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ⁸ 

Joshua 10:37

10:37 They captured it and put the sword to its king, all its surrounding cities, and all who lived in it; they ⁹  left no survivors. As they ¹⁰  had done at Eglon, they ¹¹  annihilated it and all who lived there.

Joshua 12:5

12:5 and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead as far as the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.

Joshua 13:27

13:27 It included the valley of Beth Haram, ¹²  Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, and the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the area east of the Jordan to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth. ¹³ 

---

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 Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.

⁶ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.

⁸ tn Heb “And they shut the gate after – as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.

⁹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

¹⁰ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

¹¹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).

¹² tn Or “it included in the valley, Beth Haram.”

¹³ sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.