¹ tn Heb “said.”

² tn Heb “in.”

³ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

⁴ tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).

⁵ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

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 sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).

¹¹ tn Or “elders.”

¹² tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel.”

¹³ sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).

¹⁴ tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the Lord].”

¹⁵ tn Heb “burned with fire.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Heb “by men.”

¹⁸ tn Heb “and ran.”

¹⁹ tn Or “servants.”

²⁰ tn Heb “name.”

²¹ tn Heb “the report about him, all that he did in Egypt.”

²² tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²³ tn Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”

²⁴ tn That is, “their source of food and life.”

²⁵ tn Or “offerings made by fire.”

²⁶ tn Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”).

sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.

²⁷ 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).

²⁸ tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”

²⁹ tn Heb “you are turning back.”

³⁰ tn Or “he will be angry with.”

³¹ tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the Lord] and against all the assembly of Israel there was anger?”

³² tn The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (vÿhu’ ’ish ’ekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, lo’ gava’ ba’avono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 240.

³³ 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.”

³⁴ tn Heb “he knows.”

³⁵ tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”

³⁶ 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.

³⁷ tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”

³⁸ tn Heb “for the Lord our God, he is the one who brought up us and our fathers from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves.”

³⁹ tn Or “great signs.”

⁴⁰ tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”

⁴¹ tn Or “will serve.”