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it reminds of the legislation, the preface of the book itself teaches. "For," it says, "Moses began to clarify this law, saying, 'The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb.'" Then, having said both that and how he commanded them upon entering to inherit the land, he added that he had said at that time that, 'I alone am not able to preside over so many thousands, and for this reason,' he says, 'I appointed commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, so as to have them as partners in the rule.' He reminded them of these words, since he had appointed Joshua the son of Nun as successor to the leadership, teaching that even while still present he entrusted the leadership to others, and that it is necessary to obey this one eagerly as well, and to do what is commanded. And he reminds them how God commanded them to take the land which he had promised; how they had deemed it right for spies to be sent to them first, and that when those returned and reported about the land, they disbelieved God who had saved them and were not willing to receive the land; how the Lord God was angry and declared against all those thousands that none of them would enter that land, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. "This one," he says, "shall see it, and to him I will give the land on which he has set foot, and to his sons, because he was devoted to the things of the Lord." However, he mentioned this one alone; and he appointed Joshua as ruler and general and prophet; for this is what follows. For having said, "The Lord God was angry with me also on your account"; for when you provoked me, I did not serve the divine command according to reason, and for this reason I have been forbidden to lead you into that land. He reminded of the things spoken by God to 229 him: "Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; strengthen him, because he shall cause Israel to inherit it." And he says these things, teaching them that the general received his appointment from God, so that they might not again rebel concerning the leadership. And he relates to them how later, having repented, they wanted to fight the Canaanites; how God prevented them, and that becoming bold and going up against the divine command, they returned defeated; and how much time they spent in the wilderness, wandering through that impassable and waterless land, what they declared to the Edomites and Moabites, but received no answers from them as they contended; and how they delivered Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, with all their host and with those who inhabited the cities and villages, to utter destruction. He also mentioned the size of his body. "For the bed of Og," he says, "was of iron, nine cubits its length, and four cubits its breadth." Then he exhorted and advised them to keep carefully the commandments of the Lord. "Hear, O Israel," he says, "the statutes and the judgments, which I teach you today to do, that you may live and, having entered, may inherit the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you." Then of necessity he brings up the memory of Baal-peor, and of those who perished in the wilderness on account of that impiety. Then in parallel he shows the divine benefactions. "For what great nation," he says, "230 has a God so near to them, as the Lord our God is in all things for which we call upon him?" And he commands not only them to keep the laws of God, but also to raise up their children and grandchildren in piety, and to teach them the divine commandments from childhood. Then again he reminded them how the God of all appeared to them, uttering words through fire, but showing no form. For he said this: "From the midst of the fire you heard the voice of words, and you saw no likeness, but only a voice." And he says these things, instructing them to make no idol, nor ever to attempt to construct a divine image, since they have not seen the form of the archetype; whence he added again: "Lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image, the likeness of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth,

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ἀναμιμνήσκει νομοθεσίας, αὐτὸ διδάσκει τοῦ βιβλίου τὸ προοίμιον. " ἤρξατο, γάρ φησι, Μωϋσῆς διασαφῆσαι τὸν νόμον τοῦτον, λέγων, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν Χωρήβ ". εἶτα εἰρηκώς, καὶ ὡς προσέταξεν αὐτοὺς εἰσελθόντας κληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν, ἐπήγαγεν, ὡς κατ' ἐκεῖνον εἰρήκει τὸν καιρόν, ὅτι, μόνος ἐγὼ τοσού των προστατεύειν οὐ δύναμαι μυριάδων καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κατέστησα, φησί, χιλιάρχους καὶ ἑκατοντάρχους, ὥστε ἔχειν αὐτοὺς τῆς ἀρχῆς κοινωνούς. τούτων δὲ τῶν λόγων ἀνέμνησεν, ἐπειδήπερ Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναυῆ κατέσ τησε τῆς ἡγεμονίας διάδοχον· διδάσκων ὡς καὶ ἔτι περιὼν ἑτέροις τὴν προστασίαν ἐπίστευσε καὶ ὅτι χρὴ καὶ τούτῳ προθύμως ὑπακούειν, καὶ τὰ κελευόμενα δρᾶν. ἀναμιμνήσκει δὲ αὐτούς, ὅπως μὲν ὁ Θεὸς προσέταξε παραλαβεῖν αὐτοὺς ἣν ἐπηγγείλατο γῆν· ὅπως δὲ κατασκόπους αὐτοῖς πεμφθῆναι προτέρους ἠξιώθησαν, καὶ ὅτι ἐκείνων ἐπανελθόντων καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς γῆς μεμηνυκότων, ἠπίστησαν μὲν τῷ σεσωκότι Θεῷ ἀπολαβεῖν δὲ τὴν γῆν οὐκ ἠθέλησαν· ὡς χαλεπῆναι μὲν τὸν δεσπότην Θεὸν ἀποφή νασθαι δὲ κατὰ πασῶν ἐκείνων τῶν μυριάδων, ὥστε μηδένα ἐκείνων εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν γῆν εἰσελθεῖν, πλὴν Χαλὲβ υἱοῦ Ἰεφωνῆ. " οὗτος, φησίν, ὄψεται αὐτήν, καὶ τούτῳ δώσω τὴν γῆν ἐφ' ἣν ἐπέβη, καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ, διὰ τὸ προσκεῖσ θαι αὐτὸν τὰ πρὸς Κύριον ". τούτου μέντοι ἐμνημόνευσε μόνου· καὶ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἔταξεν ὡς ἄρχοντα καὶ στρατηγὸν καὶ προφήτην· τοῦτο γὰρ δηλοῖ τὰ ἑξῆς. εἰπὼν γάρ, ὅτι " κἀμοὶ ὠργίσθη δι' ὑμᾶς ὁ δεσπότης Θεός "· ὑμῶν γάρ με θορυβησάντων, οὐ κατὰ λόγον τῷ θείῳ προστάγματι διηκόνησα, καὶ τούτου χάριν εἰσαγαγεῖν ὑμᾶς εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην κεκώλυμαι. ἀνέμνησε τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς 229 αὐτὸν εἰρημένων· " Ἰησοῦς υἱὸς Ναυῆ, ὁ παρεστηκώς σοι, οὗτος εἰσελεύσεται ἐκεῖ· αὐτὸν κατίσχυ σον, ὅτι αὐτὸς κατακληρονομήσει αὐτὴν τῷ Ἰσ ραήλ ". ταῦτα δὲ λέγει, διδάσκων αὐτούς, ὡς θεόθεν ὁ στρατηγὸς τὴν χειροτονίαν ἐδέξατο, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς στασιάσωσιν. διηγεῖται δὲ αὐτοῖς, ὅπως μὲν ὕστερον μεταμεληθέντες ἐβουλήθησαν πο λεμῆσαι τοῖς χαναναίοις· ὅπως δὲ αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς διεκώλυσε, καὶ ὅτι θρασυ νόμενοι καὶ παρὰ τὴν θείαν ἐντολὴν ἀναβάντες, ἡττηθέντες ἐπανῆλθον· καὶ ὅσον ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ κατηνάλωσαν χρόνον, τὴν ἄβατον γῆν ἐκείνην καὶ ἄνυδρον περιϊόντες, τίνα τε ἰδουμαίοις καὶ μωαβίταις δεδηλωκότες φιλονεικούντων οὐκ ἔτυχον ἀποκρίσεων· καὶ ὅπως τὸν Σηὼν καὶ τὸν Ὤγ, τοὺς βασιλεῖς τῶν ἀμορραίων, πανστρατιᾷ μετὰ τῶν τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὰς κώμας οἰκούντων πανωλεθρίᾳ παρέδοσαν. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ τοῦ σώματος μέγεθος. " ἡ γὰρ κλίνη, φησίν, Ὢγ σιδηρᾶ, ἐννέα πήχεων τὸ μῆκος αὐτῆς, καὶ τεσσάρων πή χεων τὸ εὖρος αὐτῆς ". ἔπειτα παρῄνεσε καὶ συνεβούλευσε φυλάττειν ἐπιμελῶς τοῦ δεσπότου τὰς ἐντολάς. " ἄκουε, γάρ φησιν, Ἰσραήλ, τῶν δικαιωμάτων καὶ τῶν κριμάτων, ὅσα ἐγὼ διδάσκω ὑμᾶς σήμερον ποιεῖν, ἵνα ζῆτε καὶ εἰσελθόντες κληρονομήσητε τὴν γῆν, ἣν Κύ ριος ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ὑμῶν δίδωσιν ὑμῖν ". εἶτα ἀναγκαίως τοῦ Βεελφεγὼρ εἰς μέσον φέρει τὴν μνήμην, καὶ τῶν δι' ἐκείνην τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διολωλότων. ἔπειτα ἐκ παραλλήλου δείκνυσι τὰς θείας εὐεργεσίας. " ποῖον, γάρ φησιν, ἔθνος μέγα 230 ᾧ ἐστὶν αὐτῷ Θεὸς ἐγγίζων αὐτοῖς, ὡς Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐν ἅπασιν οἷς ἐὰν αὐτὸν ἐπικαλεσώ μεθα "; κελεύει δὲ μὴ μόνον αὐτοὺς φυλάττειν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοὺς νόμους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς παῖδας καὶ τοὺς ἐγγόνους ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ διατρέφειν, καὶ παι δόθεν τὰς θείας ἐντολὰς ἐκπαιδεύειν. εἶτα πάλιν αὐτοὺς ἀνέμνησεν, ὅπως αὐτοῖς ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἐπέφανε Θεός, λόγους μὲν διὰ πυρὸς ἀφείς, οὐδὲν δὲ εἶδος ἐπιδεικνύς. τοῦτο γὰρ ἔφη· " ἐκ μέσου τοῦ πυρὸς φωνὴν ῥημάτων ὑμεῖς ἠκούσατε καὶ ὁμοίωμα οὐκ ἴδετε, ἀλλ' ἢ φωνήν ". ταῦτα δὲ λέγει παιδεύων αὐτοὺς μηδὲν ἴνδαλμα τεκτήνασθαι, μηδὲ πειραθῆναί ποτε θείαν εἰκόνα κατασκευάσαι, ἐπειδὴ τοῦ ἀρχετύπου τὸ εἶδος οὐχ ἑωράκασιν· ὅθεν πάλιν ἐπήγαγε· " μὴ ἀνο μήσητε μηδὲ ποιήσητε ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς γλυπτὸν ὁμοίωμα, πᾶσαν εἰκόνα, ὁμοίωμα ἀρσενικοῦ ἢ θηλυκοῦ, ὁμοίωμα παντὸς κτήνους τῶν ὄντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς,