Yosua 2:7

2:7 Meanwhile ¹  the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River ²  near the fords. ³  The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. ⁴ 

Yosua 2:2

2:2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well! ⁵  Israelite men have come here tonight ⁶  to spy on the land.”

Kisah Para Rasul 17:4

17:4 Some of them were persuaded ⁷  and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group ⁸  of God-fearing Greeks ⁹  and quite a few ¹⁰  prominent women.

[2:7]  ¹ 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]  ² tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.

[2:7]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Or “look.”

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”

[17:4]  ⁷ tn Or “convinced.”

[17:4]  ⁸ tn Or “a large crowd.”

[17:4]  ⁹ tn Or “of devout Greeks,” but this is practically a technical term for the category called God-fearers, Gentiles who worshiped the God of Israel and in many cases kept the Mosaic law, but did not take the final step of circumcision necessary to become a proselyte to Judaism. See further K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 6:732-34, 743-44. Luke frequently mentions such people (Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:17; 18:7).

[17:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “not a few”; this use of negation could be misleading to the modern English reader, however, and so has been translated as “quite a few” (which is the actual meaning of the expression).