Discovery BoxJoshua 5:13 
Context5:13 When Joshua was near 1 Jericho, 2 he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. 3 Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” 4
Joshua 14:6
Context14:6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. 5
Joshua 20:5
Context20:5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation. 6
Joshua 22:20
Context22:20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, 7 though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’” 8
1 tn Heb “in.”
2 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
3 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).
4 tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
5 tn Heb “You know the word which the
sn On this incident at Kadesh Barnea see Num 14:30.
6 tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”
7 tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the
8 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.
