¹ tn Heb “The valley will be destroyed and the tableland laid waste.” However, in the context this surely refers to the towns and not to the valley and the tableland itself.

¹ tc The translation reads וְגֵי (v^egey, “and the valley”) rather than the MT reading גֵּי (gey, “the valley”). The original vav (ו) probably dropped out accidentally due to haplography with the final vav on the immediately preceding word.

² tc The MT reads here “and the middle of the valley,” but the reading “the city in the middle of valley” can be reconstructed on the basis of Josh 13:9, 16.

¹ sn The rift valley extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The Jordan River runs through it from Galilee to the Dead Sea, so the rift valley, the Jordan, and the Dead Sea work together naturally as a boundary.

² sn As a geographic feature the rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from the Gulf of Aqaba to Galilee. Traveling up the middle of the rift valley probably would have been the easiest path, at least up to the Dead Sea.

¹ sn The Eshcol Valley is a verdant valley near Hebron, still famous for its viticulture (cf. Num 13:22-23). The Hebrew name “Eshcol” means “trestle,” that is, the frame on which grape vines grow.

¹ sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.

¹ sn The mountainous terrain of Israel would contrast with the exiles’ habitat in the river valley of Babylonia.

² sn Shechem stands for the territory west of the Jordan, the Valley of Sukkoth for the region east of the Jordan.

¹ tn Heb “Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east were falling in the valley like locusts in great number.”

² sn The unworked heifer, fresh stream, and uncultivated valley speak of ritual purity—of freedom from human contamination.

² tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

⁴ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

² sn As a geographic feature the rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The reference here probably includes the Jordan Valley and continues to the wider part of the rift valley below the Dead Sea. Some versions transliterate the name as Arabah (ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

² sn The following message pertains to Jerusalem. The significance of referring to the city as the Valley of Vision is uncertain. Perhaps the Hinnom Valley is in view, but why it is associated with a prophetic revelatory “vision” is not entirely clear. Maybe the Hinnom Valley is called this because the destruction that will take place there is the focal point of this prophetic message (see v. 5).

² tc The MT reads “the rift valleys (עֲרָבוֹת, ʿaravot) of the wilderness.” The plural form typically refers to the gently sloping plains at the basin of the rift valley just north of the Dead Sea (while the larger rift valley extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba). Many translations render as the “fords” (NASB, ESV, NIV, NRSV) assuming the reversal of two letters as עֲבָרוֹת (ʿavarot, “fords, crossing”).

² tn Or “rupture.” This may refer to the appearance of a valley after the blockage of a landslide has effectively divided it.

¹ tn Or “valley.” The syntax is difficult. Some translate “to the river,” others “from the river”; in either case the preposition is supplied for the sake of English.

³ sn The Negev is the area of central, southern Judah, south of the hill country and Beer Sheba and west of the rift valley.

¹ tn Heb “a land of the rift valley and gorges.” Geographically, the עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah) is the rift valley that extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. Biblical references are usually to sections of the rift valley, such as the Jordan Valley, the region of the Dead Sea, or the portion south of the Dead Sea. The term שׁוּחָה (shukhah) can refer to a trapper’s pit, a gorge, or a precipice (HALOT 1439 s.v.). The point here seems to be the terrain; cf. REB “a barren and broken country.”