8:3 Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai. 1 Joshua selected thirty thousand brave warriors and sent them out at night.
1 tn “And Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up [against] Ai.”
2 tn Heb “all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua [at] Makkedah [in] peace.”
3 tc Heb “No man.” The lamed (ל) prefixed to אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is probably dittographic (note the immediately preceding יִשְׂרָאֵל [isra’el] which ends in lamed, ל); cf. the LXX.
4 tn Heb “no man sharpened [or perhaps, “pointed”] his tongue against the sons of Israel.” Cf. NEB “not a man of the Israelites suffered so much as a scratch on his tongue,” which understands “sharpened” as “scratched” (referring to a minor wound). Most modern translations understand the Hebrew expression “sharpened his tongue” figuratively for opposition or threats against the Israelites.
5 tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”