Yosua 6:26

6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ¹  “The man who attempts to rebuild ²  this city of Jericho ³  will stand condemned before the Lord. ⁴  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ⁵ 

Yosua 22:11

22:11 The Israelites received this report: ⁶  “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to ⁷  the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.”

Yosua 22:16

22:16 “The entire community of the Lord says, ‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. ⁸ 

Yosua 22:19

22:19 But if your own land ⁹  is impure, ¹⁰  cross over to the Lord’s own land, ¹¹  where the Lord himself lives, ¹²  and settle down among us. ¹³  But don’t rebel against the Lord or us ¹⁴  by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God.

Yosua 22:29

22:29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace ¹⁵  aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!” ¹⁶ 

[6:26]  ¹ tn Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the Lord” spoken through Joshua.

[6:26]  ² tn Heb “rises up and builds.”

[6:26]  ³ tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.

[6:26]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the Lord”) also occurs in 1 Sam 26:19.

[6:26]  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.

[22:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”

[22:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “toward the front of.”

[22:16]  ⁸ tn Heb “What is this unfaithfulness with which you have been unfaithful against the God of Israel, turning today from after the Lord, when you built for yourselves an altar, rebelling today against the Lord?”

[22:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “the land of your possession.”

[22:19]  ¹⁰ sn The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [WBC], 247).

[22:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the land of the possession of the Lord.”

[22:19]  ¹² tn Heb “where the dwelling place of the Lord resides.”

[22:19]  sn The phrase where the Lord himself lives refers to the tabernacle.

[22:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”

[22:19]  ¹⁴ tc Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the MT, the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, vÿ’otanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew mss correctly read the negative particle אַל (’al) for the preposition אֶל (’el, “to”).

[22:29]  ¹⁵ tn Or “peace offerings.”

[22:29]  ¹⁶ sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.