Joshua 2:7-9

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Joshua 2:7 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. Joshua 2:7 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
3. Joshua 2:7 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.
4. Joshua 2:7 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.
5. Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “they.”
6. Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7. Joshua 2:8 tn The Hebrew text adds, “to them.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
8. Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
9. Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”
10. Joshua 2:9 tn Or “melting away because of.”
11. Joshua 2:9 tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”