Yosua 1:6

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. ¹ 

Yosua 1:16

1:16 They told Joshua, “We will do everything you say. We will go wherever you send us.

Yosua 2:12

2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. ²  Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. ³  Give me a solemn pledge ⁴ 

Yosua 2:17

2:17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: ⁵ 

Yosua 2:19-20

2:19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death – we are innocent in that case! ⁶  But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. ⁷  2:20 If you should report what we’ve been up to, ⁸  we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.”

Yosua 5:4

5:4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt. ⁹ 

Yosua 5:6

5:6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. ¹⁰  For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, ¹¹  a land rich in ¹²  milk and honey.

Yosua 6:22

6:22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house ¹³  and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.” ¹⁴ 

Yosua 6:26

6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: ¹⁵  “The man who attempts to rebuild ¹⁶  this city of Jericho ¹⁷  will stand condemned before the Lord. ¹⁸  He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” ¹⁹ 

Yosua 9:14-15

9:14 The men examined ²⁰  some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord’s advice. ²¹  9:15 Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community ²²  sealed it with an oath. ²³ 

Yosua 9:18-20

9:18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴  The whole community criticized ²⁵  the leaders, 9:19 but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of ²⁶  the Lord God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt ²⁷  them! 9:20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” ²⁸ 

Yosua 14:9

14:9 That day Moses made this solemn promise: ²⁹  ‘Surely the land on which you walked ³⁰  will belong to you and your descendants permanently, ³¹  for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’

Yosua 21:43-44

21:43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had solemnly promised to their ancestors, ³²  and they conquered ³³  it and lived in it. 21:44 The Lord made them secure, ³⁴  in fulfillment of all he had solemnly promised their ancestors. ³⁵  None of their enemies could resist them. ³⁶ 

Yosua 22:22

22:22 “El, God, the Lord! ³⁷  El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! ³⁸  Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, ³⁹  don’t spare us ⁴⁰  today!

Yosua 23:7

23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near ⁴¹  you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! ⁴²  You must not worship ⁴³  or bow down to them!

[1:6]  ¹ 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.

[2:12]  ² tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”

[2:12]  sn To swear an oath in the Lord’s name would make the Lord the witness and guarantor of the promise attached to the oath. If the person making the oath should go back on the promise, the Lord would judge him for breaking the contract.

[2:12]  ³ tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

[2:17]  ⁵ 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.

[2:19]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”

[5:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the desert in the way when they went out from Egypt.”

[5:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “all the nation, the men of war who went out from Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, came to an end.”

[5:6]  ¹¹ tn Some Hebrew mss, as well as the Syriac version, support this reading. Most ancient witnesses read “us.”

[5:6]  ¹² tn Heb “flowing with.”

[5:6]  sn The word picture a land rich in milk and honey depicts the land as containing many grazing areas (which would produce milk) and flowering plants (which would support the bees that produced honey).

[6:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”

[6:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”

[6:26]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “rises up and builds.”

[6:26]  ¹⁷ tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.

[6:26]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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.

[9:14]  ²⁰ tn Heb “took.” This probably means they tasted some of the food to make sure it was stale.

[9:14]  ²¹ tn Heb “but they did not ask the mouth of the Lord.” This refers to seeking the Lord’s will and guidance through an oracle.

[9:15]  ²² tn Or “assembly.”

[9:15]  ²³ tn Heb “Joshua made peace with them and made a treaty with them to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.”

[9:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “by the Lord God of Israel.”

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Or “grumbled against.”

[9:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “to them by….”

[9:19]  ²⁷ tn Or “touch.”

[9:20]  ²⁸ tn Heb “This is what we will do to them, keeping them alive so there will not be upon us anger concerning the oath which we swore to them.”

[14:9]  ²⁹ tn Heb “swore an oath.”

[14:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “on which your foot has walked.”

[14:9]  ³¹ tn Heb “will belong to you for an inheritance, and to your sons forever.”

[21:43]  ³² tn Heb “which he had sworn to give to their fathers.”

[21:43]  ³³ tn Or “possessed.”

[21:44]  ³⁴ tn Heb “gave them rest all around.”

[21:44]  ³⁵ tn Heb “according to all he swore to their fathers.”

[21:44]  ³⁶ tn Heb “not a man stood from before them from all their enemies.”

[22:22]  ³⁷ sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yÿhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the Lord”). The name אֵל (’el, “El”) is often compounded with titles, for example, El Elyon, “God Most High.”

[22:22]  ³⁸ tn Heb “he knows.”

[22:22]  ³⁹ tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the Lord.”

[22:22]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.

[23:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “with.”

[23:7]  ⁴² tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.

[23:7]  ⁴³ tn Or “serve.”