Chapter Five

1. The fear of the Canaanites. 2. Joshua son of Nun renews circumcision. 10. The celebration of Passover at Gilgal. 12. The cessation of the descent of manna. 13. The Commander of the Lord’s Host.

The crossing of the Jordan demonstrated to the Israeli leader and people in deed that the living God dwells among them, and that nothing on earth can resist Him. But the all-powerful help of God was promised upon the fulfillment of His will, as expressed in the law (Josh 1:7-8). One of the most important commandments of the law was the commandment concerning the circumcision of all males. The fulfillment of this was required, in particular, for every Israelite and sojourner who wished to participate in the celebration of the Passover, whose time was drawing near. The simultaneous performance of this rite upon the majority of the people, who had just entered enemy territory, presented, without doubt, great difficulties and dangers (Gen 34:25), which could be overcome only by faith in the all-powerful help of the Master of all the earth. The basis for this faith was what the people had experienced in crossing the Jordan. This faith found support also in the effect which the crossing of the Israelites through the Jordan produced upon the Canaanite peoples. It is by an indication of the latter that the 5th chapter begins.

Joshua 5:1. When all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord [God] had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted [they were terrified], and there was no more spirit in them because of the sons of Israel. The crossing of the Israeli people through the impassable Jordan at flood stage produced a striking effect upon all the Canaanite kings and the peoples under their rule, and increased to an extreme degree the loss of spirit that had begun earlier (Josh 2:10-11). In such a dispirited state the Canaanite kings could not immediately engage in battle with the enemy that had invaded their land. “All the kings of the Amorites... and all the kings of the Canaanites” are named here as kings of the two mightiest peoples, who ruled the main regions of the country—the mountains and plains; in the Greek-Slavonic translation “the Canaanite... kings” are named “kings of the Phoenicians,” that is, kings of a separate Canaanite tribe—the Canaanites who lived by the sea, in accordance with which these kings may for greater clarity be called “Canaanite.” “Had crossed over.” The Hebrew expression corresponding to these words, as it is printed in the text (“averenu”), means “we crossed,” from which some concluded that the author of the book was himself a witness to the event he describes. Such a conclusion cannot be recognized as probable because Hebrew scholars did not recognize this spelling of the Hebrew word as correct and replaced it with another (“averam”), meaning “they crossed”; the 70 interpreters also did not recognize the first spelling as correct, as shown by the Greek-Slavonic translation: “while they crossed,” which agrees with the second, altered Hebrew word. It must also be borne in mind that if the expression “averanu”—“we crossed”—had remained in the Hebrew text unchanged, it could have been used by the author—a non-eyewitness of the event—instead of the name of the people to which he belonged, that is, instead of “the sons of Israel.” Examples of such use of the personal pronoun instead of the name of the people—which is so common even now—are found in other places in this book (Josh 4:23 concerning the drying of the Red Sea: “before us, until we crossed”; Josh 5:6: “give us the land”) and Ps 65:6 (Hebrew Psalm LXVI), where the psalmist, addressing the Lord, clearly in the name of his people, raises a song of joy for the turning of the sea to dry land and the crossing of the river with foot, exclaims: “there we rejoiced in Him.” The expression “they were terrified” is a rendering of the Greek LXX “were struck with fear,” read in the Vatican, Alexandrian, and other lists; it represents, in all probability, a secondary, clearer translation of the Hebrew word “vaimmas” used here, which was translated in the LXX too literally: “melted” (“their thoughts”); the unusualness of this expression in discourse and doubtless led to a new translation being made, one of which is “they were terrified” (and there were other translations of it, see Holmes).

Joshua 5:2. At that time the Lord said to Joshua: Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time. Joshua 5:3. So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at [the place called] the Hill of Foreskins. At the time when the Israeli people had encamped at the hill called Gilgal and the kings and tribes of Canaan were in a state of stupor from the fear that gripped them, a divine command came to Joshua son of Nun to prepare flint knives and to circumcise the entire people again, as they had been before. “Flint knives.” In the Hebrew text two words are used here “harot tzurim,” literally meaning “flint knives,” as translated in the Vulgate (stone knives). In the LXX the original translation apparently consisted of the same words “from sharp stone,” as is read in the Alexandrian and some other lists with the omission of the word “stone.” The word “flint” represents a later translation of the Hebrew word “tzurim,” which is not recognized as exact even by Western Christian commentators who rely generally on the Hebrew text. The use of flint knives in circumcision was an ancient custom (Exod 4:25), which retained its force at the time when iron began to be used in everyday life. “And circumcise the sons of Israel a second time,” that is, again, make the entire Israeli people circumcised once more, as they were when they came out of Egypt.

Joshua 5:4. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt, [all the men of war, who were born on the way in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, had not been circumcised, all whom Joshua circumcised:] all the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the way out of Egypt had not been circumcised; Joshua 5:5. for all the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the way after coming out of Egypt had not been circumcised; Josh 5:4-5 present the explanation of how the Israeli people as a whole ceased to be circumcised; for an examination of them see at the end of the chapter.

Joshua 5:6. For the sons of Israel walked forty [two] years in the wilderness [for this reason many were not circumcised], until all the people of war who came out of Egypt perished, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord and to whom the Lord swore that they should not see the land which the Lord swore to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey, “Forty [two]” according to the majority of lists and editions of the LXX translation, except, so far as is known, the Vatican list No. 58, 13th century, and the Greek text of the Complutensian Polyglot, in which is read only “forty” without the addition “and two.” Nevertheless, for the original number of years in this place of the biblical text it should with full confidence be taken as 40, not 42, first, because this is the only and unchanging number by which in the books of the Old and New Testament (Exod 16:35; Num 32:13; Deut 1:3; Neh 9:21; Amos 2:10; Acts 13:18) the time of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness between their departure from Egypt and their entry into the land of Canaan is determined; and second, because “forty” (“arbaim”) is read in this place according to the Hebrew text. As for the number 42, it is nowhere in the Bible, except in this place of the book of Joshua according to the majority of Greek lists, mentioned as a determination of the time of wandering in the wilderness. It is also worthy of note that in the Ostrog and First-Printed Bibles is read precisely the number 40. This same number (quadraginta) is read in Jerome’s translation. For an explanation of the further words Josh 5:6 see at the end of the chapter.

Joshua 5:7. And in their place Joshua raised up their children; these Joshua circumcised, because they were uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised on the way. Here an explanation is given regarding another part of the Israeli people, to which is referred in the second half of Josh 5:4 and which consisted of the uncircumcised. Upon this larger half of the people (see Josh 5:4), consisting of the young generation of the Israeli people, whom the Lord preserved alive by the continuation of His covenant generally with the people (Num 14:31), Joshua son of Nun performed circumcision. And the reason why so many remained uncircumcised is indicated by the words “they had not been circumcised on the way.” According to the meaning of these words, the reason why circumcision was not performed upon those born on the way was the very state of the Israelites as a people moving from place to place and not having the opportunity to stop for several days in order to perform circumcision and then remain in the location for some time. Some commentators are not satisfied with such an explanation and add to it another, consisting in the fact that the condemnation that befell the older generation partly fell upon the younger (Num 14:35), which bore it for the sins of their fathers, and that this condemnation was the reason why those born on the way remained uncircumcised, with those counted among them being precisely those who were born after the uprising of the fathers at Kadesh during the last 38 years. This explanation of a special reason for non-performance of circumcision upon those born on the way appears plausible because the author of the book of Joshua begins here with an account of the reason for the renewal of circumcision, specifically with an indication of the condemnation to which the older generation of the Israeli people was subjected. Such an indication inclines one to connect with this condemnation the non-performance of circumcision upon those born during the time of fulfillment of this condemnation. It is quite probable that the fathers, who violated the Covenant with God and fell under condemnation, were not concerned that their children bear the seal of the Covenant upon themselves.

Joshua 5:8. And when the circumcision of the whole people was complete, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. Joshua 5:9. And the Lord said to Joshua: “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal, even to this day. The number of those uncircumcised, ranging in age from one week (Gen 17:27) to 38 years (see the explanation to Josh 5:4-5), was significantly greater than the number of the circumcised; not without reason is it estimated at from 600 to 700 thousand. The performance of this sacred rite upon such a large number of persons could nonetheless be accomplished quickly, in the course of one day, that is, on the 11th of the first month (see Josh 4:19), thanks to the large number of those who performed it, who could be all the circumcised, constituting, as was noted, about 300 thousand. The fact that the people without hindrance consented to the performance of circumcision upon the greater half of its male population in unconquered territory testifies to a different disposition in it than 38 years (Num 14:1) before—to its faith in God, which made it worthy to bear the sign of the Covenant on its body. The performance of circumcision precisely in Canaan had for the Israeli people another significance, in that it placed an end to “the reproach of Egypt,” that is, the jeers by the Egyptians of the Israeli people, which consisted, as is evident from the prayerful supplications of Moses to the Lord (Exod 32:12-13; Num 14:13-16; Deut 9:29), in the fact that, having left Egypt, it achieved nothing better, did not gain possession of the land of its fathers, and only perishes in the wilderness from the anger of the God it professes. When, under the all-powerful protection of the Lord, the people entered the land of Canaan and in the performance of circumcision received a pledge of communion with Him and His favor, the reproach from the Egyptians ceased to weigh upon it; it “rolled away” from them, as a stone rolls down from a mountain. From this “rolling away” or “removal” of the reproach from the Israelites the place where this occurred received the name Gilgal, which means “rolling away, removal.” For the location of Gilgal, see Josh 4:20.

Joshua 5:10. And the sons of Israel encamped at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho; Joshua 5:11. and on the day after the Passover, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened bread and roasted grain on that very day; Joshua 5:12. and the manna ceased on the day after they ate of the produce of the land, and the sons of Israel no longer had manna; but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. The presence of the entire people in the Covenant with God made it possible for them to celebrate the Passover, which was to take place two days later. The sickness of those circumcised could not serve as an obstacle to this (Num 9:10), and those already circumcised could prepare the Passover lamb; they also guarded the Israeli camp from attack by enemies, from which it was also protected by the fear that had been brought upon them. The Passover was celebrated on the 14th day of the first month (see Josh 4:19) in the evening, that is, in accordance with the ordinances (Exod 12:6; Lev 23:5 and others). The “day after the Passover,” from which the Israelites “began to eat the produce of the land,” cannot be understood here as the 15th day of the first month, as in Num 33:3, on the ground that the law (Lev 23:14) forbade the eating of new bread before the presentation in the sanctuary of a sheaf of the new harvest, and this presentation was to be made (Josh 5:11) “on the day after the festival” (literally from the Hebrew “the Sabbath”), by which is meant the 15th day of the first month, that is, the Passover, which was celebrated as a Sabbath. Thus the eating of the produce from the new harvest began on the 16th day of the first month. After the Israelites began to feed on the produce of the land of Canaan, the sending of manna, having become unnecessary, ceased.

Joshua 5:13. And it came to pass, when Joshua was near Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing near him with his sword drawn. Joshua approached him and said to him: “Are you for us, or for our adversaries? Joshua 5:14. And he said: “No; I am the Commander of the Lord’s Host. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down, and said to him: “What does my lord speak to his servant? Joshua 5:15. And the Commander of the Lord’s Host said to Joshua: “Remove your sandal from your foot, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:16. Now Jericho was shut up and barred because of the fear of the sons of Israel: no one went out and no one entered. When, through the performance of circumcision and the Passover, the people strengthened their communion with the Lord and thus prepared themselves inwardly for the coming task, it was the duty of the Israeli leader to proceed to the work itself and first of all to the conquest of the nearest fortified city to the Israeli camp, that is, Jericho. While he, occupied of course with the thought of this, was near the city, a new divine revelation came to him concerning its conquest. The revelation was communicated through the Angel of the Lord, who appeared in the form of a man with a drawn sword. Taken for an ordinary warrior, the one appearing revealed himself through the declaration of his angelic rank: “the Commander of the Lord’s Host”—and through the indication of the holiness of the place. The drawn sword and the title of the one appearing as the Commander of the Lord’s Host showed Joshua son of Nun the readiness of the heavenly forces to assist in the coming struggle with the Canaanite peoples. The basis for seeing in the one appearing to Joshua son of Nun the Angel of the Lord is that he, like the one appearing in the bush (Exod 3:2-5), demands the removal of sandals, as well as the fact that the one appearing bears here (Josh 6:1), as in the book of Exodus, the name Lord and reveals himself as the Lord. However, the blessed Theodoret did not agree with those who in the one appearing to Joshua son of Nun saw God the Word; in his opinion, “this was the Archangel Michael.” “He said: No” according to the present Hebrew text. Instead of “No” “to him” is read in ancient and later Greek lists and other translations, as well as in the Slavonic Bible (the translators, instead of the Hebrew “lo” with aleph, as in the present Hebrew text, apparently read “lo” with vav hollem, which form is also found in some Hebrew lists). The Greek-Slavonic translation “to him” both because of the significant number of witnesses in its favor and because with it the answer of the one appearing to Joshua son of Nun receives greater definiteness through the indication of to whom it is directed, deserves in any case to be noted. By “the Host of the Lord” is meant here not the Israeli army, as in Exod 7:4, but the heavenly host, as in 1 Kgs 22:19, Ps 148:2, because the Israeli army already had a leader appointed by God. “Here” is brought in from the Slavonic Bible; there is no corresponding word for it either in the Hebrew text or in the Greek lists. So far as is known, the words “my lord” are a rendering of the Hebrew word “adoni” in its present form. In the most ancient Greek lists and later ones, as well as in editions of the Greek translation, “Master” is read here, which in the ancient Slavonic translation was rendered as “Sovereign Lord” or “Lord,” as in the present Slavonic Bible. The Greek translation shows that in the Septuagint was read here the corresponding Hebrew word just as in other places where it is used in the sense of the divine name (Gen 15:2 and others), that is, “Adonay.” Such a translation seems more appropriate because in the one appearing, in the Commander of the Lord’s Host, Joshua son of Nun must in any case see a transcendent being or an Angel. The demand to remove sandals with the indication of the holiness of the place should have reminded Joshua of the Theophany to Moses at Horeb and should have shown him more clearly in the one appearing an Angel of the Lord, in whom the Lord Himself is revealed, as the one appearing is also called in the next chapter. Before transmitting the revelation itself, the author of the book makes a brief remark about the state of the city to which it relates (Josh 5:16). He says precisely that this city—Jericho—was strongly fortified, which in the Hebrew text is expressed by the repetition of the same verb “sagar”—“shut” in two forms of the participle, which expression can literally be rendered as (“Jericho”) “shutting, was shut,” according to the Greek-Slavonic translation “barred and guarded.” The further words “no one went out... and no one entered” emphasize even more the thought of the fortification of the city due to walls surrounding it on all sides and at the same time indicate that it was prepared to defend itself against the attack of the Israelites. From Josh 6:1 it can be seen that in Jericho there were brave men capable of defending their city. “Because of the fear” is added to round out the Russian speech; instead of this in some of the Greek lists “from the sight” is read, according to which in the Slavonic Bible: “from the sight of the sons of Israel.” Josh 5:16 in other editions of the Greek translation serves as the opening verse of the 6th chapter. An explanation of Josh 5:4-5. In the form in which these verses are read according to the Russian and Slavonic translations, their meaning is unclear. According to the words Josh 5:4, put in brackets, those uncircumcised among the Israeli people were, first, those who “were born on the way,” and second, those who “among those who came out of Egypt were not circumcised.” The first of these statements is expressed the same way also in the second half of Josh 5:5: “all the people born in the wilderness on the way after coming out of Egypt were not circumcised.” Meanwhile, the second statement does not find its correspondence in the opening words of Josh 5:5, where it is said on the contrary that “all the people who came out” were circumcised. The cause of this discrepancy of the words of one verse with those of another lies in the fact that the Russian-Slavonic translation Josh 5:4 represents a rendering of two translations: from the Greek LXX and from the Hebrew text. The words “of Israel, who were born on the way in the wilderness after coming out of Egypt, whom Joshua circumcised:” serve as a rendering of the LXX translation, as it is read in the most ancient lists: Vatican, Alexandrian, and others. In these lists the second half of Josh 5:4 and Josh 5:5, as is read in the Russian and Slavonic translations, from the words “all the people who came out of Egypt...” to the end of Josh 5:5 is absent. It was also absent in the ancient manuscript Slavonic translation. What in the Slavonic-Russian translation constitutes the second half of Josh 5:4 and Josh 5:5 represents a translation from the present Hebrew text and agreeing with them another Greek one, which was made in ancient times and brought by Origen into his Hexapla. Here this second translation was marked with the so-called asterisk as a translation which, according to the Hebrew text, filled in the common text of the LXX at that time. And the above-mentioned first Greek translation, whose rendering constitutes the first half of Josh 5:4 according to the Russian-Slavonic translation, was marked with the so-called obelus as superfluous in comparison with the Hebrew text. These distinctive signs (asterisk and obelus), placed by Origen, clearly indicated the mutual relationship and significance of these two translations as translations of one and the same place of the biblical text. But in later times, when those preparing new copies from the Greek text corrected by Origen ceased to display his placed marks, both of these periods began to be written one after the other, as if constituting one whole. Thus appeared the Greek text of this place, which is found in the Lucianic lists in their reproduction in an edition, as well as in the Complutensian Polyglot and other editions of the LXX translation, including the Moscow Greek Bible. The Complutensian Polyglot was apparently used by the correctors of the present Slavonic translation. From the foregoing consultation with ancient witnesses to the biblical text it is evident that the two Greek translations serving as the basis for the Russian-Slavonic translation, as being different translations of one and the same place of the biblical text, cannot be joined together, because with such a joining, that is, with the joint rendering of one and the other, a double translation is obtained. And from this it itself follows that in translating this place of the biblical text it is necessary to make a choice between the existing two translations and, having selected the one that is most perfect, to make the translation from it. This choice in this place of the book of Joshua does not present any particular difficulty. Concerning the first, most ancient, Greek translation of this place it was already indicated by Origen that it does not correspond to the Hebrew text; in particular, it was noted above that the representation it expresses about the Israelites not having circumcision upon their departure from Egypt is in disagreement with the words of the Greek-Slavonic translation Josh 5:5. To this must be added that this representation about the uncircumcised Israelites upon their departure from Egypt is excluded by the account in the book of Exodus. It nowhere says that among those who came out of Egypt there were uncircumcised, and yet this phenomenon, if it had existed, could not have been passed over in silence because of its obvious importance in view of the entry into the Covenant by the Lord with the Israeli people which took place two months after the departure from Egypt. If there had been among the latter those uncircumcised, this rite would certainly have been performed upon them before the conclusion of the Covenant. If the Angel of the Lord threatened Moses with death for not performing circumcision upon his son, then still less could the conclusion of a Covenant with a people having the uncircumcised in their midst have been permitted. There was sufficient time to perform circumcision before the conclusion of the Covenant (Exod 19:10-11). On the basis of all this, the most ancient Greek translation Josh 5:4-5, which the ancient Slavonic translators used, should yield its place to the later one, which has before it the advantage that it fully agrees with the Hebrew text as it was read in the times of Origen and the blessed Jerome, whose translation does not contain words corresponding to the most ancient Greek translation, and as it is read at the present time. This later Greek translation also corresponds to the biblical account of the events of the Exodus and the Theophany at Sinai. If on the basis of the reasons given the words Josh 5:4-5, serving as a rendering of the most ancient Greek translation and placed in brackets, are left aside, then in this case the biblical text of these verses has the following meaning: all Israelites who came out of Egypt, those able to make war, that is, adults, having more than 20 years (Num 1:3), died in the wilderness on the way out of Egypt; all the people who came out were circumcised, but all born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt were not circumcised. Consequently, of all those having circumcision upon their departure from Egypt there remained alive only those who at that time were younger than 20 years, and after the crossing of the Jordan had from 40 years and above; and all the other Israelites younger than 40 years were uncircumcised. If the average lifespan at that time was significantly higher than at present (Moses died at 120 years, Joshua son of Nun—at 110 years) and reached 80 years (Ps 89:10), then the number of the uncircumcised constituted the larger half of the Israeli people, since elderly people (over 40) are always fewer than the young. Some commentators estimate the number of circumcised Israelites who crossed the Jordan at from 250–300 thousand. Continuation of the explanation of Josh 5:6. The further words Josh 5:6 “[for this reason many were not circumcised], until all the people...” also represent a joining of two translations—the Greek-Slavonic and another—according to the present Hebrew text. The former belong the words, distinguished by brackets, the latter—the further words to the end of the verse. From the Greek-Slavonic translation only the opening words are brought in, and the following until the end of Josh 5:6 are replaced by a translation from the Hebrew. In its complete form the Greek translation of this place consists of the following words, as they are translated into Slavonic: “for this reason many of those warriors who came out of the land of Egypt did not receive circumcision, who did not listen to the commandments of the Lord, to whom the Lord determined that they should not see the land which the Lord swore to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.” From the Hebrew, this place, without any additions or omissions, is translated: “until all the people, men of war, who came out of Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, to whom the Lord swore that they should not see the land which the Lord swore to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey, perished.” Comparison of both translations shows a significant difference in the thought expressed by one and the other. According to the Greek-Slavonic translation, here is indicated the reason why many of the warriors who came out of Egypt were not circumcised and then turned out to be breakers of God’s commandments. This explanation has, obviously, immediate connection with the words Josh 5:4: “and all those who were not circumcised from those who came out of Egypt.” According to the translation from the Hebrew, here is explained why all the adult warriors who came out of Egypt died and is pointed to disobedience to the voice of the Lord as the cause of their condemnation to destruction. The introduction into this explanation by the biblical writer of the words of the Greek-Slavonic translation—“for this reason many were not circumcised”—is not fitting because those condemned to death in the wilderness belonged to the circumcised upon their departure from Egypt, as is said in the opening words of Josh 5:5. The words “[for this reason many were not circumcised]” (Josh 5:6) apply only to another part of the people, which consisted of those born in the wilderness, but of this part of the Israeli people there is speech in the following Josh 5:7. The attempt made in the Russian translation to join the two translations (from the Greek and Hebrew) does not turn out, therefore, to be achieving its purpose. Because of this, here too it is necessary to make a choice of one of the two translations of this place, serving as the most accurate rendering of the biblical text. By this one translation the Greek-Slavonic cannot serve, because in it is expressed the same, as in Josh 5:4, representation of the existence of many uncircumcised Israelites among those who came out of Egypt. This representation, as explained above, does not agree with the opening words of Josh 5:5 according to the Greek-Slavonic translation: “for all the people who came out were circumcised,” and with the biblical account of the events of the Exodus and Sinai legislation. The translation from the Hebrew text, as not containing this representation, deserves already for this reason preference. To considering it an accurate rendering of the biblical text of this place, the agreement of it with Jerome’s translation is a disposition, in which it is rendered with the words: “until all those were consumed who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, and to whom he swore before that he would not show them the land flowing with milk and honey.” If on the basis of the considerations given one concentrates attention only on the words Josh 5:6, not guarded by brackets, then their meaning becomes the following. The biblical writer here explains how and why the adult Israelites who came out of Egypt died in the wilderness. This happened, he says, during the 40-year wandering in the wilderness to which all those of full age were condemned because they showed disobedience to the Lord; for this, by divine determination (“the Lord swore”), they were deprived of the inheritance of the beautiful land promised to their ancestors. * * * The commentaries of Keil and Cooke are meant. More fully about this in the work “Concerning the 150th Anniversary of the Elisabethan Bible,” pp. 52–55. Here also is given an explanation of the name “Maudariada,” read in Josh 5:6, according to the Slavonic Bible. Keil. Joshua, 37–39; Cooke. Commentary 2:28–29. Keil. Joshua, 40. Works of the blessed Theodoret, vol. I, p. 277. Keil. Joshua, 43. Lebedev, 247. In these lists and editions based on them (Sixtine, Tischendorf, and Cambridge) Josh 5:4-5 is read: when Joshua finished circumcising all the sons of Israel, whosoever were born on the way, and whosoever had not been circumcised from those who came out of Egypt, all of these Joshua circumcised. Then follows verse 6. In the Moscow Greek Bible these words, absent in the Alexandrian list, are read. The pre-Ostrog translation presented here represents a rendering of the LXX translation, brought in in note 52. From this it is evident of the complete injustice of the opinion expressed by the author of the named work, as if “the translators of the pre-Ostrog Slavonic Bible allowed themselves in their work, at their own discretion, to make certain omissions compared to the Greek original.” In reality they were translating what was in the Greek text they had, which was evidently a Greek list homologous with the most ancient Greek lists, and not with the later ones, in which is read what is absent in the first. The absence of the second half of Josh 5:4 and Josh 5:5, as it is read in the later Greek lists, whose text was filled in from Origen’s Hexapla, serves, among other things, as proof that the original for the ancient Slavonic translation was not the Lucianic text, in whose lists in this place is read what is absent in the ancient Slavonic translation. This second Greek translation consisted of the following words: “And this is the word which Joshua circumcised: all the people who came out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war who died in the wilderness on the way, having come out of the land of Egypt because they were circumcised; all the people who came out and all the people who were born in the wilderness on the way after they came out of the land of Egypt were not circumcised” (Field). This translation also is read in the Lucianic and other lists. The obelus and asterisk at the two translations considered at this place were preserved in very few lists. See Field. Origen’s Hexapla, vol. I, II, p. 344. The edition de Lagarde is meant: Librorum Veteris Testament canonicorum pars prior. In these editions the initial Greek translation Josh 5:4-5, brought in in the eighth note, and then the later one, brought in in the eleventh note, are read one after the other. In the Moscow Greek Bible only the opening words of the second Greek translation “And this is the word which Joshua circumcised” are omitted. Jerome’s translation, according to Tischendorf’s edition: “This is the cause of the second circumcision: All the people who came out of Egypt of the male sex, all the warriors, died in the wilderness through the long circuits of the way, all of whom were circumcised. But the people born in the wilderness through the forty years of the journey in the broad solitude were uncircumcised.” Cook. Commentary 2:23, Keil, Joshua, 40 considers from 280 to 330 thousand circumcised. The corresponding Greek word “whom” is more correctly referred to “to give” and translated “which.” In the Vatican and Alexandrian lists “our.”