Joshua 2:5

2:5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. ¹  I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!”

Joshua 2:7

2:7 Meanwhile ²  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ³  near the fords. ⁴  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ⁵ 

---

¹ tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”

² 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.

³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.