Yosua 2:1-24
Konteks2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: 1 “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” 2 They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 3 2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! 4 Israelite men have come here tonight 5 to spy on the land.” 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: 6 “Turn over 7 the men who came to you 8 – the ones who came to your house 9 – for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 2:4 But the woman hid the two men 10 and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, 11 but I didn’t know where they came from. 2:5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. 12 I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!” 2:6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out 13 on the roof.) 2:7 Meanwhile 14 the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River 15 near the fords. 16 The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. 17
2:8 Now before the spies 18 went to sleep, Rahab 19 went up 20 to the roof. 2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. 21 We are absolutely terrified of you, 22 and all who live in the land are cringing before 23 you. 24 2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. 25 2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. 26 For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. 27 Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. 28 Give me a solemn pledge 29 2:13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us 30 from death.” 2:14 The men said to her, “If you 31 die, may we die too! 32 If you do not report what we’ve been up to, 33 then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance 34 to you.” 35
2:15 Then Rahab 36 let them down by a rope 37 through the window. (Her 38 house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) 39 2:16 She told them, “Head 40 to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. 41 Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you 42 to return. Then you can be on your way.” 2:17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: 43 2:18 When we invade the land 44 , tie this red rope 45 in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father’s house. 46 2:19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death – we are innocent in that case! 47 But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. 48 2:20 If you should report what we’ve been up to, 49 we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 2:21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.” 50 She sent them on their way 51 and then tied the red rope in the window. 2:22 They went 52 to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them 53 to return. Their pursuers 54 looked all along the way but did not find them. 55 2:23 Then the two men returned – they came down from the hills, crossed the river, 56 came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered. 2:24 They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us! 57 All who live in the land are cringing before us!” 58
Yosua 2:1-22
Konteks2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: 59 “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” 60 They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. 61 2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! 62 Israelite men have come here tonight 63 to spy on the land.” 2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: 64 “Turn over 65 the men who came to you 66 – the ones who came to your house 67 – for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 2:4 But the woman hid the two men 68 and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, 69 but I didn’t know where they came from. 2:5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. 70 I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!” 2:6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out 71 on the roof.) 2:7 Meanwhile 72 the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River 73 near the fords. 74 The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. 75
2:8 Now before the spies 76 went to sleep, Rahab 77 went up 78 to the roof. 2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. 79 We are absolutely terrified of you, 80 and all who live in the land are cringing before 81 you. 82 2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. 83 2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. 84 For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. 85 Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. 86 Give me a solemn pledge 87 2:13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us 88 from death.” 2:14 The men said to her, “If you 89 die, may we die too! 90 If you do not report what we’ve been up to, 91 then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance 92 to you.” 93
2:15 Then Rahab 94 let them down by a rope 95 through the window. (Her 96 house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) 97 2:16 She told them, “Head 98 to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. 99 Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you 100 to return. Then you can be on your way.” 2:17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: 101 2:18 When we invade the land 102 , tie this red rope 103 in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father’s house. 104 2:19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death – we are innocent in that case! 105 But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. 106 2:20 If you should report what we’ve been up to, 107 we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 2:21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.” 108 She sent them on their way 109 and then tied the red rope in the window. 2:22 They went 110 to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them 111 to return. Their pursuers 112 looked all along the way but did not find them. 113
Yosua 1:1-18
Konteks1:1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant: 1:2 “Moses my servant is dead. Get ready! 114 Cross the Jordan River! 115 Lead these people into the land which I am ready to hand over to them. 116 1:3 I am handing over to you every place you set foot, as I promised Moses. 117 1:4 Your territory will extend from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north. It will extend all the way to the great River Euphrates in the east (including all of Syria) 118 and all the way to the Mediterranean Sea 119 in the west. 120 1:5 No one will be able to resist you 121 all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone. 1:6 Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. 122 1:7 Make sure you are 123 very strong and brave! Carefully obey 124 all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep! 125 Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful 126 in all you do. 127 1:8 This law scroll must not leave your lips! 128 You must memorize it 129 day and night so you can carefully obey 130 all that is written in it. Then you will prosper 131 and be successful. 132 1:9 I repeat, 133 be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, 134 for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.” 135
1:10 Joshua instructed 136 the leaders of the people: 1:11 “Go through the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.’” 137
1:12 Joshua told the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh: 1:13 “Remember what Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you. 138 The Lord your God is giving you a place to settle and is handing this land over to you. 139 1:14 Your wives, children and cattle may stay in the land that Moses assigned to you east of the Jordan River. But all you warriors must cross over armed for battle ahead of your brothers. 140 You must help them 1:15 until the Lord gives your brothers a place like yours to settle and they conquer the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to them. Then you may go back to your allotted land and occupy the land Moses the Lord’s servant assigned you east of the Jordan.” 141
1:16 They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us. 1:17 Just as we obeyed 142 Moses, so we will obey you. But 143 may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses! 1:18 Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed. 144 But 145 be strong and brave!”
[2:1] 1 tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”
[2:1] 2 tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”
[2:1] map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:1] 3 tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”
[2:2] 5 tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”
[2:3] 6 tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”
[2:3] 8 tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, bo’ ’el) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.
[2:3] 9 tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.
[2:4] 10 tn Heb “The woman took the two men and hid him.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “hid” has to be a scribal error (see GKC §135.p).
[2:4] 11 tn Heb “the men came to me.” See the note on this phrase in v. 3.
[2:5] 12 tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”
[2:6] 13 tn Heb “arranged in rows by her.”
[2:7] 14 tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.
[2:7] 15 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
[2:7] 16 tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.
[2:7] 17 tn Heb “And they shut the gate after – as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.
[2:8] 19 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:8] 20 tn The Hebrew text adds, “to them.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
[2:9] 21 tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
[2:9] 22 tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”
[2:9] 23 tn Or “melting away because of.”
[2:9] 24 tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the
[2:10] 25 tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”
[2:11] 26 tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”
[2:12] 27 tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the
[2:12] sn To swear an oath in the
[2:12] 28 tn Heb “with the house of my father.”
[2:12] 29 tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”
[2:14] 31 tn The second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that Rahab’s entire family is in view.
[2:14] 32 tn Heb “Our lives in return for you to die.” If the lives of Rahab’s family are not spared, then the spies will pay for the broken vow with their own lives.
[2:14] 33 tn Heb “If you do not report this matter of ours.”
[2:14] 34 tn Heb “allegiance and faithfulness.” These virtual synonyms are joined in the translation as “unswerving allegiance” to emphasize the degree of promised loyalty.
[2:14] 35 tn The second person pronoun is feminine singular, referring specifically to Rahab.
[2:15] 36 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:15] 37 tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (bÿ’ad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.
[2:15] 38 tn Heb “For her house.”
[2:15] 39 tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.
[2:16] 41 tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”
[2:16] 42 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
[2:17] 43 tn Heb “We are free from this oath of yours which you made us swear.” The words “unless the following conditions are met” are not in the Hebrew text, but are added for clarification.
[2:18] 44 tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”
[2:18] 45 tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”
[2:18] 46 tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”
[2:19] 47 tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”
[2:19] 48 tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”
[2:20] 49 tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”
[2:21] 50 tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”
[2:21] 51 tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”
[2:22] 52 tn Heb “they went and came.”
[2:22] 53 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“them”) is added for clarification.
[2:22] 54 tn Heb “the ones chasing them.” This has been rendered as “their pursuers” in the translation to avoid redundancy with the preceding clause.
[2:22] 55 tn Heb “The pursuers looked in all the way and did not find [them].”
[2:23] 56 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, are added for clarification.
[2:24] 57 tn Heb “Surely the
[2:24] 58 tn Heb “are melting away because of us.”
[2:1] 59 tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”
[2:1] 60 tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”
[2:1] map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[2:1] 61 tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”
[2:2] 63 tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”
[2:3] 64 tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”
[2:3] 66 tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, bo’ ’el) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.
[2:3] 67 tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.
[2:4] 68 tn Heb “The woman took the two men and hid him.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “hid” has to be a scribal error (see GKC §135.p).
[2:4] 69 tn Heb “the men came to me.” See the note on this phrase in v. 3.
[2:5] 70 tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”
[2:6] 71 tn Heb “arranged in rows by her.”
[2:7] 72 tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.
[2:7] 73 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
[2:7] 74 tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.
[2:7] 75 tn Heb “And they shut the gate after – as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.
[2:8] 77 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:8] 78 tn The Hebrew text adds, “to them.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
[2:9] 79 tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
[2:9] 80 tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”
[2:9] 81 tn Or “melting away because of.”
[2:9] 82 tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the
[2:10] 83 tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”
[2:11] 84 tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”
[2:12] 85 tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the
[2:12] sn To swear an oath in the
[2:12] 86 tn Heb “with the house of my father.”
[2:12] 87 tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”
[2:14] 89 tn The second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that Rahab’s entire family is in view.
[2:14] 90 tn Heb “Our lives in return for you to die.” If the lives of Rahab’s family are not spared, then the spies will pay for the broken vow with their own lives.
[2:14] 91 tn Heb “If you do not report this matter of ours.”
[2:14] 92 tn Heb “allegiance and faithfulness.” These virtual synonyms are joined in the translation as “unswerving allegiance” to emphasize the degree of promised loyalty.
[2:14] 93 tn The second person pronoun is feminine singular, referring specifically to Rahab.
[2:15] 94 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[2:15] 95 tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (bÿ’ad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.
[2:15] 96 tn Heb “For her house.”
[2:15] 97 tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.
[2:16] 99 tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”
[2:16] 100 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
[2:17] 101 tn Heb “We are free from this oath of yours which you made us swear.” The words “unless the following conditions are met” are not in the Hebrew text, but are added for clarification.
[2:18] 102 tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”
[2:18] 103 tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”
[2:18] 104 tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”
[2:19] 105 tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”
[2:19] 106 tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”
[2:20] 107 tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”
[2:21] 108 tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”
[2:21] 109 tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”
[2:22] 110 tn Heb “they went and came.”
[2:22] 111 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“them”) is added for clarification.
[2:22] 112 tn Heb “the ones chasing them.” This has been rendered as “their pursuers” in the translation to avoid redundancy with the preceding clause.
[2:22] 113 tn Heb “The pursuers looked in all the way and did not find [them].”
[1:2] 115 tn Heb “this Jordan”; the word “River” has been supplied in the translation for clarity (likewise in v. 11).
[1:2] 116 tc Heb “Cross over this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.” The final phrase, “to the children of Israel,” is probably a later scribal addition specifying the identity of “these people/them.”
[1:3] 117 tn Heb “Every place on which the sole of your foot walks, to you I have given it, as I said to Moses.” The second person pronouns in vv. 3-4 are plural, indicating that all the people are addressed here. The verbal form נְתַתִּיו (nÿtattiv, “I have given it”) is probably a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action. Another option is to translate, “I have already assigned it.” In this case the verb would probably refer to the
[1:4] 118 tn Heb “all the land of the Hittites.” The expression “the land of the Hittites” does not refer to Anatolia (modern Turkey), where the ancient Hittite kingdom of the second millennium
[1:4] 119 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
[1:4] 120 tn Heb “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, even to the great sea [at] the place where the sun sets, your territory will be.”
[1:5] 121 tn Heb “A man will not stand before you.” The second person pronouns in this verse are singular, indicating Joshua is the addressee.
[1:6] 122 tn Heb “For you will cause these people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give to them.” The pronoun “them” at the end of the verse refers to either the people or to the fathers.
[1:7] 124 tn Heb “so you can be careful to do.” The use of the infinitive לִשְׁמֹר (lishmor, “to keep”) after the imperatives suggests that strength and bravery will be necessary for obedience. Another option is to take the form לִשְׁמֹר as a vocative lamed (ל) with imperative (see Isa 38:20 for an example of this construction), which could be translated, “Indeed, be careful!”
[1:7] 125 tn Heb “commanded you.”
[1:7] 126 tn Heb “be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
[1:7] 127 tn Heb “in all which you go.”
[1:8] sn This law scroll must not leave your lips. The ancient practice of reading aloud to oneself as an aid to memorization is in view here.
[1:8] 129 tn Heb “read it in undertones,” or “recite it quietly” (see HALOT 1:237).
[1:8] 130 tn Heb “be careful to do.”
[1:8] 131 tn Heb “you will make your way prosperous.”
[1:8] 132 tn Heb “and be wise,” but the word can mean “be successful” by metonymy.
[1:9] 133 tn Heb “Have I not commanded you?” The rhetorical question emphasizes the importance of the following command by reminding the listener that it is being repeated.
[1:9] 134 tn Or perhaps, “don’t get discouraged!”
[1:9] 135 tn Heb “in all which you go.”
[1:11] 137 tn Heb “to enter to possess the land which the
[1:13] 138 tn Heb “remember the word which Moses, the
[1:13] sn This command can be found in Deut 3:18-20. In vv. 13-15 Joshua paraphrases the command, as the third person reference to Moses in v. 14 indicates.
[1:13] 139 tn Heb “is providing rest for you and is giving to you this land.”
[1:13] sn “This land” refers to the trans-Jordanian lands allotted to these tribes.
[1:14] 140 tn Heb “But you must cross over armed for battle before your brothers, all [you] mighty men of strength.”
[1:15] 141 tn Heb “Then you may return to the land of your possession and possess it, that which Moses, the
[1:17] 142 tn Heb “listened to.”
[1:17] 143 tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 18 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).
[1:18] 144 tn Heb “any man who rebels against your mouth and does not listen to your words, to all which you command us, will be put to death.”
[1:18] 145 tn Or “Only.” Here and in v. 17 this word qualifies what precedes (see also v. 7).
