Yosua 5:14

5:14 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?”

Yosua 9:8

9:8 But they said to Joshua, “We are willing to be your subjects.” ⁵  So Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

Yosua 15:18

15:18 One time Acsah ⁶  came and charmed her father ⁷  so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?”

[5:14]  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 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.

[5:14]  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.

[5:14]  ³ 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.

[5:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

[9:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “we are your servants.”

[15:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:18]  ⁷ tn Heb “him.” The referent of the pronoun could be Othniel, in which case the translation would be, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 19. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18//Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. This incident is also recorded in Judg 1:14.