The Apocryphon Of Joshua

Synopsis
Found in the Dead Sea Scrolls contain multiple fragments of a text, or several, all addressed as being from the successor of Moses, Joshua. There are two two divisions of the text. One, being the Psalms Of Joshua, and the other, the Prophecy Of Joshua.

Dating
3000-100 BC

Canonicity
The Essene community in Qumran, the owners of the document, seemed to have kept it a divinely inspired, even quoting from it in other non-scriptural works.

4Q175 (4QTestimonia/The Psalms Of Joshua)
(cf. 4Q379 22 ii) 1 And YHWH spoke to Moses saying: Deut 5:28-29 «You have heard the sound of the words of 2 this people, what they said to you: all they have said is right. 3 If (only) it were given (that) they had /this/ heart to fear me and keep all 4 my precepts all the days, so that it might go well with them and their sons for ever!» 5 Deut 18:18-19 «I would raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers, like you, and place my words 6 in his mouth, and he would tell them all that I command him. And it will happen that /the/ man 7 who does not listen to my words which the prophet will speak in my name, I 8 shall require a reckoning from him.» Blank 9 And he uttered his poem and said: Num 24:15-17 « Oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, and oracle of the man 10 of penetrating eye, oracle of him who listens to the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who 11 sees the vision of Shaddai, lying down and with an open eye. I see him, but not now, 12 I espy him, but not close up. A star has departed from Jacob, and a sceptre /has arisen/ from Israel. He shall crush 13 the temples of Moab, and cut to pieces all the sons of Sheth.» Blank 14 And about Levi he says: Deut 33:8-11 « Give to Levi your Thummim and your Urim, to your pious man, whom 15 I tested at Massah, and with whom I quar- relled about the waters of Meribah, /he who/ said to his father {not} 16 {...} and to his mother ‘I have not known you’, and did not acknowledge his broth- ers, and his sons he did not 17 want to know. For he observed your word and kept your covenant. /They have made/ your judgments /shine/ for Jacob, 18 your law for Israel, they have placed incense in your nose and a whole- offering upon your altar. 19 Bless, YHWH, his courage and accept with pleasure the work of his hand! Crush /the loins/ of his adversaries, and those who hate him, 20 may they not rise! » Blank 21 Blank At the moment when Joshua finished praising and giving thanks with his psalms, 22 he said Jos 6:26 «Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city! Upon his first- born 33 will he found it, and upon his youngest son will he erect its gates! » And now an accursed /man/, one of Belial, 24 will arise to be a [fo]wler’s tr[ap] for his people and ruin for all his neighbours. And 25 [...] will arise [to b]e the two instruments of violence. And they will rebuild 26 [this city and ere]ct for it a rampart and towers, to make it into a fortress of wickedness 27 [in the country and a great evil] in Israel, and a horror in Ephraim and Judah. 28 [... And they will com]mit a profanation in the land and a great blasphemy among the sons of 29 [Jacob. And they will shed blo]od like water upon the ramparts of the daughter of Zion and in the precincts of 30 Blank {in} Jerusalem.

Frag. 3 col. i
1 [...] to make them impure and to [...] them 2 [...] your [dau]ghters to their sons. Blank 3 [... and] many troubles will befall you, and all 4 [... ma]n of God 5 [...] ... from you, and you will become food 6 [... from one end of the] earth to its other end. And he will cause you to wander 7 [...] and even to destruction, and to disloyalty 8 [... of YHW]H, your God, have come upon you 9 [... al]l the nations which 10 [...] like you did 11 [... w]ho ruled over you 12 [...] ... 13 [...] to be for him 14-15 [...] ... [...]

Frags. 3 col. ii + 4
3 and he brought out [...]4 andthisveryday[...]5 andwe listened to Moses [...] 6 a just and great man [... chiefs of thousands, chiefs of] 7 hundreds, chiefs of fif[ties and chiefs of tens ... to the judges] 8 and (to) the inspectors [...] 9 he will listen and not [...] 10 and do not be afraid, be strong and re[solute becau]se you will cause [this people] to take possession [... he will not] 11 leave you or desert [you. Let] your hands be strong [...] 12 to set out in [front of the people ...]

Frag. 6 col. i
3 [...] for in ... [...] 4 [...] a prayer for our sins 5 [...] ... do not resemble my brothers who [de]scend 6 [...] his deeds for ever, for to its ages 7 [...] your [g]uilt. Woe, my brothers, upon you 8 [...] ... and like a father speaks to his son

Frag. 6 col. ii
1 [... he te]sted me and placed m[e ...] 2 to stand before God and before [...] 3 my heart, because God tests ... [...] 4 and he will test. Blank Woe, me ... [...] 5 above my head [...] 6 we acknowledged and said [...] 7 against you, Lord, and ... [...] 8 and not ... [...] 9 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 11
1 [...] because yhwh [you]r [God] ... [...] 2 [... in order to] establish his words which he spoke 3 [...] who swore to Abraham to give 4 [...] good and spacious, a land of streams of water, 5 [of springs and well-heads which gush in the p]lain and on the mountain, a land of wheat and grai[n,] 6 [... olive oil and] honey, for it is a land which flows with milk and honey 7 [... who]se [st]ones are iron and whose mountains are copper 8 [...] ... to inspect and [you] will take possession of [...] 9 [...] ... and [...]

Frag. 14
1 [...] And the children [of Israel] wept [over Moses in the steppes of Moab] 2 [by the Jordan, close to] Jericho, in Bet-Yeshimot [as far as Abel ha- Shittim, for thirty days] 3 [and they completed the days of weeping and] mourning for Moses. And the children of Is[rael ...] 4 [... wh]ich yhwh es- tablished with [...] 5 [... fe]ar of you and dread of you [...]

Frag. 19 col. ii
2 [...] ... [...] 3 and God established [...] 4 and us, he cleansed us with ... [...] 5 and like slaves to the hand of [their] lord [...] 6 and in the dry land, in the desert for the cattle to [...] 7 [and al]l the chiefs of [...]

Frag. 22 col. i
1 [...] Moses, my God. And you did not destroy them for their guilt 2 [...] your people through the hand of Joshua, minister of your servant Moses 3 [...] your ... through the hand of Moses to Joshua, on behalf of your people 4 [...] ... which [you] es[tablished with Abraham 5 [...] compassion with thousands

Frag. 26
1 [...] having the knowledge of the Most High and [seeing] the vision [of Shaddai ...] 2 [...] the man of God an[no]unced us, according [...] 3 [...] and the assembly of Elyon; they pa[y]ed attention to the voice of Mo[ses ...] 4 [...] ... [...] God Most Hig[h ...] 5 [...] great signs; and in anger he re- strained [...] 6 [... m]an of the [pi]ous ones and until its ages remember [...] 7 [...] eternal, to [...] 8 [...] Blank [...] 9 [...] ... [...] ... [...]

Frag. 1
1 [...] and you made him exult with twe[lve ...] 2 [...] eternal to Levi, the beloved, [...] 3 [... and] Reuben and J[udah ...] 4 [... and] Gad and Dan and [...] 5 [...] the twelve tribes of [Israel ...] 6 [...] forever, and from [...] 7 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 3 col. i
1 [...] Aroer 2 [...] yhwh Blank [...] 3 [...] ... they will raise up tested ones 4 [...] ... of yhwh, and not 5 [...] and they shall not defile them- selves with all 6 [...] dedicated to him for ever ... 7 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 4
1 [...] the border of the land of 2 [...] and seeing his wonder 3 [...] and great 4 [...] it was like it 5 [...] their [...] for I will remove 6 [...] ...

Frag. 12
1 [... the waters] which come down ... 2 [... the waters] which come down stood piled up 3 [...the sons of Israel cr]ossed over when it was dry, in the 4 [fi]rst month of the forty-fi[rst] year of their departure from the la[nd of] 5 Egypt; it was the year of the Jubilees at the start of their entry into the land of 6 Canaan; and the Jordan was full with wat[er] towards all its banks and it flooded 7 [with] its water from the month ... [...] until the month of the wheat harvest 8 [...] ... [...] ... [...] ... Israel

Frag. 17
1 [...] ... [...] 2 [...] ... and blessing [...] 3 [...] with his words and he relied upon [his] La[w ...] 4 [...] Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and Moses 5 [... E]leazar and Itamar. I will rejoice ... 6-7 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 18
1 [...] ... the man ... [...] 2 [...] ... against those who [le]ave God and with [your] manifold w[o]rds [...] 3 [...] to the way. And I will trust in you and I will [...] 4 [... to] be for me, [ou]r Lord, like a father ... [...] 5 [...] God, I will keep your words, for [...] 6 [...] and by the decree[s] of the Most High you have given wisdom ... [...] 7 [...] my God, I will rely upon all [your] words [...]

Frag. 22 col. i
2 [...] his mighty deeds 3 [...] and he has no refuge 4 [...] his [...] and I understand 5 [... there is n]o God apart from him, and there is no 6 [...] ... for the God of knowledge 7 [...] ... there is not with him 8 [...] there is not any

Frag. 22 col. ii (cf. 4Q175)
1 the man wh[o ...] 2-3 ... [...] 4 asked, and ... [...] 5 Blessed be yhwh, God of [Israel ...] 6 God [...] 7 At the moment when Josh[ua] fi[nis]hed pra[ising and giving] thanks with [his] psalms, [he said:] 8 «Cu[rsed be the ma]n who re[bui]lds this [cit]y! Upon [his] first-born] [he will found it] 9 [and with his youngest son he will] erect its gates» Blank And [now, cursed be the man of Belial,] 10 [who rises to b]e a fowler’s trap for his people and ruin for all his neighbour[s]. And there will ari[se] 11 [...] to be the two instruments of violence. And they will rebuild 12 this [city,] and erect for it a rampart and towers, to make it [into a fortress of wickedness] 13 [in the country, and] a great [e]vil {amongst the sons of Jacob. And they will sh[ed blood]} /in Israel, and a horror in Ephraim [and Judah;]/ 14 [And they will commit a profanation] in the land and a great blasphemy ‹among the sons of Jacob. And they will shed blood› like wa[ter upon the ramparts of the daugh- ter of Zion] 15 [and in the precincts of Jerusalem.] ... [...]

Frag. 3
1 [...] he will drive [out ...] 2 [...] and the Canaanites who [...] 3 [... nor]th of the Vale of Achor [...] 4 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 8
1 [... Jud]ah and Sime[on ...] ... [...] 2 [...] to them; and Dan, nor did he destroyed the [...] 3 [...] and Issachar to Bet Shean; and Asher to [...] 4 [... to Si]don and to ... [...] 5 [...] ... [...]

Frags. 9 col. i + 10
2 [...] and to Ain Qeber, Bet ... 3 [... to] Beqa‘a and to Bet Zippor, to 4 [... and] they smote all the valley of Mitzpah, to 5 [... and] to Hykalym, to Ya‘apor and to 6 [...] ... and to Manu, to Ain Kober 7 [... Mou]nt Garizim, to Hadita and to ‘Oshel 8 [...] ... [... and Si]don, which 9 [...] ... [...] ... and t[o ... and A]shkelon 10 [...] Galilee and the two Sh [...] the Sharon 11 [... Ju]dah, to Beer-Sheba‘ [and] to Be‘alot 12 [... and] to Qe‘ilah, to ‘Adullam and to 13 [... to] Gezer, to Timno and to Gimzon and to 14 [...] Hiqqar and Qitr[on] and Ephranim, and to Soccoth 15 [...] Bet Horon, Lowe[r] and Up[per], to 16 [... t]o the Upper and Lo[wer] Gulot 17 [...] the torrent [...] ... [...] 18 [...] we will remove [...] 19 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 9 col. ii
1 [...] ... [...] 2 not [...] ... to establish there the tent of me[eting ...] 3 of the times. For, behold, a son is born to Jesse, son of Perez, son of Ju[dah ...] 4 the Rock of Zion, and he will drive out from there /all/ the Amorites, from [...] 5 to build the house for YHWH, God of Israel. Gold and silver [...] 6 he will bring cedar and cypress [from] Lebanon for its construc- tion; but his son, the younger, [...] 7 he will officiate there first [...] ... [...] and to him [...] 8 [in al]l the [re]sidence from the heaven[s, because] the be- loved of yhw[h] will dwell in safety [...] 9 [the] days, [and] his people will dwell forever. But now, the Amorites (are) there, and the Canaan[ites ...] 10 dwellers who have made them sin, because I have not inquired [the jud]gment of [...] 11 from you. And the Shilonite, and be[ho]ld, I have made him the servant of the pe[ople of ...] 12 And now, let us establish the t[ent of mee]ting far from [...] 13 Eleazar [and Joshu]a the t[ent of me]eting from Bet [El ...] 14 Joshua [... ch]ief of the army ... [...]

Frag. 1
1 [...] and Joshua was [...] 2 [...] and Qidah [...] 3 [...] ... [...]

Frag. 5
1 [... and] Kochabah and [...] 2 [...] and Saridi (?) and [...] 3 [...] at the waters of Dan, and [...]