Two Discourses from the Apocryphon of Joshua and Their Context (4Q378 3 i-ii)

The article offers a fresh collation and a commentary on 4Q378 i-ii, one of the better preserved fragments of this manuscripts, which constitutes a copy of the Qumran work entitled the Apocryphon of Joshua. The fragment contains two speeches. In column i the address of Joshua to the people of Israel is recorded. In column ii fragments of the people response to Joshua are preserved. Both discourses belong to the beginning of Joshua's leadership, soon after the death of Moses. From the content and material data it is clear that 4Q378 preserved passages from the initial phase of Joshua's career, in 4Q379 survived sections about the middle of his leadership while 4Q522 preserved the final episodes of his life.