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

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

⁸ tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

¹³ tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram's horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.

¹⁴ tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “fall in its place.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the Lord].”

¹⁸ tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.

¹⁹ tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the Lord] from your midst.”

²⁰ tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).

²¹ tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.

²² tn Elsewhere this Hebrew word (בְּרָכָה, bÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).

²³ tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.

²⁴ tn Heb “and its limits will be yours.”

²⁵ tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”

²⁶ tn Heb “toward the front of.”

²⁷ tn Heb “Was the sin of Peor too insignificant for us, from which we have not made purification to this day? And there was a plague in the assembly of the Lord.”

²⁸ sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yÿhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (’el, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”

²⁹ tn Heb “he knows.”

³⁰ tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”

³¹ tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.

³² tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”

³³ tn Heb “or if to offer up.”

³⁴ tn Heb “or if to make.”

³⁵ tn Or “peace offerings.”

³⁶ tn Heb “the Lord, he will seek.” Perhaps this is a self-imprecation in an oath, “may the Lord himself punish us.”

³⁷ tn Heb “You have no portion in the Lord.”

³⁸ tn Heb “fearing.”