Yosua 5:14-15

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?” 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.

Yosua 4:13

4:13 About forty thousand battle-ready troops ⁵  marched past the Lord to fight ⁶  on the plains of Jericho. ⁷ 

Yosua 8:10

8:10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered ⁸  the army, ⁹  and he and the leaders ¹⁰  of Israel marched ¹¹  at the head of it ¹²  to Ai.

Yosua 8:13

8:13 The army was in position – the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into ¹³  the middle of the valley.

Yosua 11:4

11:4 These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. ¹⁴ 

[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.”

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “men equipped for battle.”

[4:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “for war.”

[4:13]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[8:10]  ⁸ tn Or “summoned, mustered.”

[8:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “the people.”

[8:10]  ¹⁰ tn Or “elders.”

[8:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “went up.”

[8:10]  ¹² tn Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.

[8:13]  ¹³ tn Some Hebrew mss read, “spent the night in.”

[11:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “They and all their camps with them came out, a people as numerous as the sand which is on the edge of the sea in multitude, and [with] horses and chariots very numerous.”