¹ tn Heb “remember the word which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you.”

sn This command can be found in Deut 3:18-20. In vv. 13-15 Joshua paraphrases the command, as the third person reference to Moses in v. 14 indicates.

² tn Heb “is providing rest for you and is giving to you this land.”

sn “This land” refers to the trans-Jordanian lands allotted to these tribes.

³ tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”

sn To swear an oath in the Lord’s name would make the Lord the witness and guarantor of the promise attached to the oath. If the person making the oath should go back on the promise, the Lord would judge him for breaking the contract.

⁴ tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

⁵ tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

⁶ tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, lo’, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.

⁷ sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.

⁸ sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.

⁹ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

¹⁰ tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the treasury of the house of the Lord.” Technically the Lord did not have a “house” yet, so perhaps this refers to the tabernacle using later terminology.

¹² tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”

¹³ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

¹⁴ tc Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition.

¹⁵ tn Heb “and I brought back to him a word just as [was] in my heart.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “To Caleb son of Jephunneh he gave a portion in the midst of the sons of Judah according to the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord to Joshua, Kiriath Arba (the father of Anak), it is Hebron.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the Lord’s servant, commanded you, to love.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “walk in all his paths.”

¹⁹ tn Or “keep.”

²⁰ tn Heb “hug him.”

²¹ tn Or “soul.”

²² tn Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”