Discovery BoxJoshua 5:14 
Context5:14 He answered, 1 “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. 2 Now I have arrived!” 3 Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground 4 and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?”
Joshua 6:5
Context6:5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn, 5 have the whole army give a loud battle cry. 6 Then the city wall will collapse 7 and the warriors should charge straight ahead.” 8
Joshua 6:8
Context6:8 When Joshua gave the army its orders, 9 the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind.
Joshua 6:10
Context6:10 Now Joshua had instructed the army, 10 “Do not give a battle cry 11 or raise your voices; say nothing 12 until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’ 13 Then give the battle cry!” 14
Joshua 6:16
Context6:16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns and Joshua told the army, 15 “Give the battle cry, 16 for the Lord is handing the city over to you! 17
Joshua 6:20
Context6:20 The rams’ horns sounded 18 and when the army 19 heard the signal, 20 they gave a loud battle cry. 21 The wall collapsed 22 and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 23
1 tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew
2 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.
3 sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the
4 tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”
5 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.
6 tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
7 tn Heb “fall in its place.”
8 tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”
9 tn Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”
10 tn Heb “the people.”
11 tn Or “the shout.”
12 tn Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”
13 tn Or “the shout.”
14 tn Or “the shout.”
15 tn Heb “the people.”
16 tn Or “the shout.”
17 tn Heb “for the
18 tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.
19 tn Heb “the people.”
20 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”
21 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
22 tn Heb “fell in its place.”
23 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
