Глава 23

1–2. Joshua's admonition to the people (3–11) through a reminder of the Lord's mercies to him and (12–13) a prediction of grave disasters if they fall away from the Lord. 14–16. Repeating the exhortation in short and strong terms. Joshua 23:1. Long after the Lord [God] had calmed Israel from all their enemies on all sides, Jesus grew old and advanced in years. Joshua 23:2. And Jesus called all the [children] of Israel, their elders, their rulers, their judges and their overseers, and said to them: I am old, I am advanced in years. “After a long time” - meaning after the wars with the Canaanite kings (Joshua 11:22), the very duration of this time cannot be determined. The meeting to which Joshua addressed his admonition was a national one, which was attended by representatives of the people who bore the general title of “elders,” to which in particular belonged “chiefs” (according to the Hebrew text “rashin” - heads, in the LXX - ἄρχοντας), “judges and overseers” (Joshua 1:10). Joshua 23:3. You have seen everything that the Lord your God did before you with all these nations, for the Lord your God Himself fought for you. “The Lord... fought for you” (cf. Joshua 10:14, Deut. 1:30). Joshua 23:4. Behold, I have divided for you by lot the remainder of these nations as an inheritance for your tribes, all the nations that I destroyed, from the Jordan to the great sea, toward the west of the sun. “Behold, I have divided for you by lot the remaining nations of these nations as an inheritance,” i.e. divided their lands as having to be cleansed from the Canaanites (Joshua 13:6). Joshua 23:5. The Lord your God Himself will drive them out from before you [until they perish; and he will send wild beasts against them until he has destroyed them and their kings from before you], and he will destroy them before you, so that you may inherit their land, as the Lord your God spoke to you. The words placed in brackets “[until they perish... from your presence]” are read only in the translation lists LXX 229 and according to them in the Slavic Bible, they were not preserved in the current Hebrew text due, as one might guess, to the mistake of the ancient scribe, who, having written the last Hebrew expression before the omission (“milpenekem”) “from you” (literally: ἀπὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν - “on your behalf”), due to lack of attention, he began to write what followed the same Hebrew expression that was read further (“milpenekem”), transmitted in the LXX with the words ἀπὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν - “on your behalf.” These words omitted from the current Hebrew text were therefore in the original Hebrew text. They have some similarities with Ex. 23:28 and Deut. 7:20, which do not, however, speak of wild beasts as in these words preserved in the LXX translation. With the words “do not communicate with these nations” (Joshua 23:7) it is suggested that the Israelites should not mix with these nations, should not form one people with them, accepting their beliefs and entering into kinship with them (Joshua 23:12). Joshua 23:8. but cleave unto the Lord your God, as ye have done unto this day. The devotion of the Israelite people to the Lord at the time of Joshua is pointed out so that he can clearly see from his own experience how victory over powerful enemies is inextricably linked with this devotion. Joshua 23:10. one of you drives out a thousand, for the Lord your God himself fights for you, as he told you. “As the Lord spoke to you,” giving promises to Moses (Deut. 1:30, 3:22) and Joshua (Joshua 1:5). Joshua 23:13. know that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you, but they will be a snare and a snare to you, a scourge in your side and a thorn in your eyes, until you are destroyed from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. “They will be a snare and a snare to you, a scourge to your side, and a thorn to your eyes.” Here are combined together, used separately in other places in the Old Testament books (Is. 8:15, Ex. 23:33, Num. 33:55, “scourge” (“shotet”) - only here) four images of the extremely painful state into which the Canaanites will lead the Israeli people if they fall away from the Lord and mix with them. Joshua 23:14. Behold, I am now setting out on the journey of all the earth. And you know with all your heart and with all your soul that not one word of all the good words that the Lord your God has spoken about you has remained in vain; everything came true for you, not a single word remained unfulfilled. “And you know” - in LXX: καὶ γνώσεσθε - “and you will know”; Blessed Jerome et cognoscetis - “and know.” From this it is clear that the Hebrew used here in the past tense. The ancient translators considered the verb “to know” with the conjunction “and” (“videttem”) as being placed – with the so-called “vav” sequential – in the future tense or imperative mood, and the speaker, using this verb, indicated not the knowledge that the Israeli people had, but the one he wanted to instill in them. Of the two ancient translations given, the one most corresponding to the content of this passage is the translation of Blessed Jerome, in which the further words “with all your heart and with all your soul” receive the proper meaning “but you know” with all your heart, i.e. be completely imbued with the thought that “not a single word of those good words remained in vain,” i.e. divine promises about the gift of the land of Canaan to the people, such as Genesis 12:7, Exodus 3:17, Lev.26:1–13, Numbers 33:53, Deut.28:1–14, Joshua 1:3. Joshua 23:15. But just as every good word that the Lord your God spoke to you has been fulfilled, so the Lord will fulfill every evil word against you, until He destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. “Every evil word”, i.e. foretelling the disasters that will befall those who apostate from the Lord (Lev.26:14–43; Deut.28:15–68). Joshua 23:16. If you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He has made with you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then the wrath of the Lord will burn against you, and you will soon perish from this good land that [the Lord] has given you. The last words of the verse “the wrath of the Lord will kindle against you... which [the Lord] has given you” are read in the Hebrew text and many later Greek copies, and according to them in the Slavic Bible, but they are absent in the Vatican and Alexandrian copies; they were included in the LXX translation by Origen and in his Hexapla 230 were marked with a sign (asterisk), indicating this addition to the LXX translation. In their content they are similar to the last words of Joshua 23:15, and in their method of expression - with the initial and final words of Deuteronomy 11:17. In some of the lists of the pre-Ostrog Slavic translation they were not read 231. In the Alexandrian list with which the Slavic Bible agrees, Joshua 23 reads: αὐτοὺς ἀπὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν , ἕως ἂν ἁπόλωνται , καὶ ἀποστελεῖ αὐτοῖς τὰ θηρία τὰ ἄγρια , ἕως ἂν ἐξολεθρεύσῃ αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν - “The Lord your God himself will consume them from your presence... and their kings from your presence.” Field. Origenis Hexaplorum. You might be interested in: