² sn This probably alludes to the Lord’s victory over the Canaanites at Gibeon, during the days of Joshua. See Josh 10:10-11.

⁶ tn Heb “in the days of old.” This refers specifically to the days of Joshua, during Israel’s conquest of the land, as vv. 2-3 indicate.

¹ tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”

¹ tn Heb “and Joshua struck them down, from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, even to Gibeon.”

¹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “they had done” and “they annihilated.”

¹ tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army). So also for “they had done to Lachish.”

¹ tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.

¹ tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”

² tn Heb “Joshua made peace with them and made a treaty with them to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.”

¹ tn Heb “Joshua did not draw back his hand which held out the curved sword until he had annihilated all the residents of Ai.”

¹ tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.

³ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of potential imperfect. In the absence of Moses and Joshua, Aaron and Hur will be available.

¹ sn Joshua quotes the Lord’s words in vv. 2b-13 (note that the Lord speaks in the first person in these verses); in vv. 14-15 Joshua himself exhorts the people (note the third person references to the Lord).

¹ tn Heb “When Joshua and the sons of Israel finished defeating them with a very great defeat until they were destroyed (now the survivors escaped to the fortified cities).” In the Hebrew text the initial temporal clause (“when Joshua…finished”) is subordinated to v. 21 (“the whole army returned”).

² tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the Lord should be understood as the referent (cf. NASB “and He slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon”), or even Joshua (cf. NEB “and Joshua defeated them utterly in Gibeon”).

⁵ tn Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.

³ tn Heb “the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest” (as in many English versions), but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

² tn Many English versions have “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

¹ tn Many English versions have “Joshua [the] son of Jehozadak, the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.

² tn Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels,” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255, and the article by R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.