32

they encamped against Jericho. And this was fortified with the greatest walls. Therefore they circled it for six days, at God’s command; and on the seventh at dawn they went around it a seventh time, and the priests, sounding the trumpets, roused the whole people to shout with one accord; and when they shouted, the wall fell at once, and the city was taken, and all of it was an offering to the Lord. And after Jericho they set an ambush for the city of Ai, and taking it they set it on fire, and hanging its king on a tree, at the command of Joshua, they crucified him. And at sunset they threw his body into a ravine, and covered it with a heap of stones. But the Gibeonites, having learned of these sieges (for they were their neighbors), cunningly outwitted the Israelites. For lest they should arrive and encamp against their city, they met them dressed in torn clothes and shoes, and burdened with sacks of dry and moldy bread, and old wineskins, saying to them: “Our city is very far from us; for we were supplied with this bread fresh, and we put on the clothing which we wear new, and we put new shoes on our feet; and the length of the journey has worn out all these things and made them old. Make peace, therefore, with us, and make us your friends.” And the blessed Joshua confirmed peace with them by oaths. But later, recognizing their cunning, he spared them on account of the oath, but commanded them to carry wood and water for the Israelites in return for their deceit. But Adonibezek the king of Jerusalem, angered that the Gibeonites had deserted to the Israelites, taking the neighboring kings as allies, Ailam king of Hebron, and Phidon of Ierimoud, and Sipha of Lacheis, and also Dad of Sodollam, encamped against them, and besieged Gibeon. But the Gibeonites, being hard-pressed, sent an embassy to Joshua. And he, being in Gilgal, drew up in battle against them, and when the engagement took place, the foreigners were routed; and some were destroyed by the sword, others by hail. For as they were fleeing, God rained down hail on them, which killed more of the enemy than the war did. And so that Joshua might completely destroy them, he prayed to God to lengthen the day for them against nature by making the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Arnon. And God made the sun and the moon stand still, until he captured the enemies for a whole day. 793 And Joshua the son of Naue, finding the five kings of the nations hiding in a cave, commanded them to be thrown flat on the ground, and having made the people trample on their necks, he killed them; and having hung their bodies on trees, he later buried them in the cave. And having sacked all their cities, he subjugated all the hill country and the plain. But Jabin, the king of Asor, taking the surrounding kings as allies, gathered a great force, so that the multitude of their army could be compared to the innumerable sand of the sea, and drew up in battle against Joshua. And Joshua, falling upon them suddenly, slaughtered him and all his allies with the whole army, and he hamstrung their horses, and distributed all their land among the Israelites; to the tribe of Reuben he allotted the land of the Amorites and Raphasen, and to Gad the same land of the Amorites, and he assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and to the tribe of Judah the land of the Hebrews, and of the Hittites, and of the Anakim. That is, the tribe of Judah, taking the tribe of Simeon as an ally, sacked the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and capturing the fleeing Adonibezek, they cut off his feet and his hands; and lamenting he said of himself: “As I have done, so God has repaid me.

32

στρατοπεδεύουσιν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἱεριχώ. Ἦν δὲ αὕτη μεγίστοις ὠχυρωμένη τείχεσι. Κυκλοῦσι γοῦν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ ἡμέρας ἓξ, Θεοῦ προστάξαντος· καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμη ὄρθρου περιῆλθον αὐτὴν ἕβδομον κυκλόθεν, καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς σαλπίγξαντες ταῖς σάλπιγξι τὸν λαὸν πάντα ἀλαλάξαι ὁμοθυμαδὸν διήγειραν· καὶ βοησάντων αὐτῶν, παραχρῆμα τὸ τεῖχος ἔπεσε, καὶ ἑάλω ἡ πόλις, καὶ πᾶσα τῷ Κυρίῳ ὑπῆρξεν ἀνάθημα. Καὶ μετὰ τὴν Ἱεριχὼ ἐνεδρεύουσι τὴν πόλιν Οὐαῒ, καὶ λαβόντες αὐτὴν ἐνέπρησαν, καὶ τὸν βασιλέα αὐτῆς ἐπὶ ξύλου κρεμάσαντες, προστάξαντος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἐσταύρωσαν. Καὶ δύνοντος τοῦ ἡλίου ἔῤῥιψαν τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ εἰς φάραγγα, καὶ σωρῷ αὐτὸ λίθων ἐπέχωσαν. Οἱ δὲ Γαβαωνῖται, τούτων τὰς πολιορκίας πυθόμενοι (ὑπῆρχον γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀστυγείτονες), πανούργως τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας κατασοφίζονται. Ἦσαν [φ. ὡς ἂν] γὰρ μὴ φθάσαντες τῇ πόλει αὐτῶν παρεμβάλωσιν, ὑπαντῶσιν αὐτοῖς ἐσθῆτα καὶ ὑποδήματα διεῤῥωγότα ἠμφιεσμένοι, καὶ σάκκους ἄρτων ξηρῶν καὶ εὐρωτιώντων, καὶ ἀσκοὺς παλαιοὺς ἐπηχθισμένοι, φάσκοντες αὐτοῖς· «Ἡ μὲν πόλις ἡμῶν πολὺ ἀφ' ἡμῶν διέστηκε· τοὺς γὰρ ἄρτους τούτους νεαροὺς ἐφωδιάσθημεν, καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ἣν περικείμεθα καινὴν ἠμφιέσμεθα, καὶ τὰ ὑποδήματα νέα τοῖς ποσὶν ὑπεβάλομεν· καὶ ταῦτα πάντα τὸ μῆκος τῆς ὁδοῦ κατέτριψε, καὶ ἐπαλαίωσε. ∆ιάθεσθε οὖν πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰρήνην, καὶ φίλους ἡμῶν καταστήσατε.» Καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἰησοῦς ὅρκοις εἰρήνην τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐπιστώσατο. Ὕστερον δὲ τὴν πανουργίαν αὐτῶν ἐπιγνοὺς, ἐφείσατο μὲν αὐτῶν διὰ τὸν ὅρκον, ξυλοφορεῖν δὲ καὶ ὑδροφορεῖν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις ἀντὶ τῆς ἀπάτης προσέταξεν. Ὀργισθεὶς δὲ Ἀδωνιβεζὲκ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτομολῆσαι τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις τοὺς Γαβαωνίτας, συμμάχους τοὺς πλησιοχώρους λαβὼν βασιλεῖς, τὸν Αἰλὰμ βασιλέα Χεβρὼν, καὶ τὸν Φιδὼν τὸν τῆς Ἰεριμοὺδ, καὶ Σιφὰ τὸν Λαχεὶς, ἕτι δὲ καὶ τὸν ∆ὰδ τῆς Σοδολλὰμ, ἐστρατοπέδευσε πρὸς αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐπολιόρκει τὴν Γαβαών. Οἱ δὲ Γαβαωνῖται συνεχόμενοι πρεσβεύονται πρὸς Ἰησοῦν. Ὁ δὲ ἐν Γαλγάλοις ὢν, ἀντιπαρετάξατο αὐτοῖς, καὶ συμβολῆς γενομένης ἐτροπώθησαν οἱ ἀλλόφυλοι· καὶ οἱ μὲν ξίφει διεφθάρησαν, οἱ δὲ χαλάζῃ. Φευγόντων γὰρ αὐτῶν, ὁ Θεὸς χάλαζαν αὐτοῖς κατώμβρησεν, ἥτις πλείστους τῶν ἐναντίων ἀνεῖλε, ἤπερ ὁ πόλεμος. Ἵνα δὲ τέλεον ἐξαφανίσῃ αὐτοὺς Ἰησοῦς, ηὔξατο τῷ Θεῷ, ὅπως τὴν ἡμέραν παρὰ φύσιν μηκύνῃ αὐτοῖς στήσας τὸν ἥλιον κατὰ Γαβαὼν, καὶ τὴν σελήνην κατὰ φάραγγα Ἀρνῶν. Καὶ ἔστησεν ὁ Θεὸς στάσει τὸν ἥλιον καὶ τὴν σελήνην, ἕως οὗ παηνμέριον τοὺς πολεμίους ἥλω. 793 Τοὺς δὲ πέντε βασιλεῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν Ἰησοῦς ὁ τοῦ Ναυῆ κρυπτομένους εὑρὼν, εἰς σπήλαιον ὑπτίους ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ῥιφῆναι αὐτοὺς προσέταξε, καὶ καταπατεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ τραχήλου ποιήσας, ἀπέκτεινε· καὶ τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ἐπὶ ξύλου ἀναρτήσας, ὕστερον εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον αὐτὰ κατώρυξε. Πάσας δὲ τὰς πόλεις ἐκπορθήσας αὐτῶν, πᾶσαν τὴν ὀρεινὴν καὶ τὴν πεδινὴν ὑπέταξε. Ἀσὼρ δὲ, ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰαβὶν, συμμάχους τοὺς πέριξ λαβὼν βασιλεῖς, πολλὴν συνήγαγε δύναμιν, ὡς εἰκάσαι τὸ πλῆθος τῆς στρατείας αὐτῶν τῇ ἀναριθμήτῳ τῆς θαλάσσης ψάμμῳ, καὶ ἀντιπαρετάξατο τῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ὁ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄφνω ἐπιπεσὼν Ἰησοῦς αὐτόν τε καὶ πάντας τοὺς συμμάχους πανστρατὶ κατέσφαξε, καὶ τοὺς ἵππους αὐτῶν ἐνευροκόπησε, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτῶν τὴν γῆν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις διένειμε· τῇ μὲν φυλῇ τοῦ Ῥουβὶν τὴν τῶν Ἀμοῤῥαίων γῆν ἀπεκλήρωσε καὶ τὴν Ῥαφασὴν, τὴν δὲ Γὰδ τὴν αὐτὴν γῆν τῶν Ἀμοῤῥαίων, καὶ τὸ ἥμισυ φυλῇ Μανασσῆ ἀπένειμε, καὶ τῇ φυλῇ Ἰούδα τὴν τῶν Ἑβραίων, καὶ Χετταίων, καὶ τὴν Ἐνακείμ. Ἤγουν Ἰούδα φυλὴ, σύμμαχον λαβοῦσα τὴν φυλὴν Συμεὼν, τοὺς Χαναναίους καὶ Φερεζαίους ἐπόρθησε, καὶ φεύγοντα τὸν Ἀδωνιβεζὲκ χειρωσάμενοι, τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἠκρωτηρίασαν· καὶ κατοδυρόμενος ἑαυτὸν ἔφη· «Καθὼς ἐποίησα, οὕτω μοι ὁ Θεὸς ἀνταπέδωκεν.