Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city — on his firstborn he will found it, and on his youngest he will set up its gates. And behold, there arises a man of Belial.
— 4Q379, Fragment 22
The Apocryphon of Joshua (4Q378–379) is a Hebrew apocryphon preserved in two manuscript groups from Qumran Cave 4, composed in the tradition of Mosaic-period pseudepigrapha. It expands the narrative of Deuteronomy 31–34 and Joshua 1–6, reimagining the transfer of leadership from Moses to Joshua and the conquest of Jericho. The composition is fragmentary — dozens of small fragments survive from two manuscripts — but its central theological purpose is clear in its most preserved passage: the expansion of Joshua's curse on Jericho's rebuilder (Joshua 6:26) into a prophecy against a coming man of Belial who will found a wicked city in Israel and lead the people astray.
The text belongs to the Qumran community's tradition of rewritten scripture, reshaping foundational narratives to speak to the community's own historical moment. The "man of Belial" in Fragment 22 is almost certainly a historical figure — a ruler or rival religious leader — read through the lens of the ancient curse. The passage closely parallels the community's language elsewhere: the wicked priest as one who "builds a city of vanity with blood" (cf. 1QpHab X:10).
4Q378 (Apocryphon of Joshua^a) and 4Q379 (Apocryphon of Joshua^b) were edited by Carol Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXII (Oxford, 1996). The text is substantially fragmentary throughout; many passages survive only as isolated words. Lacunae are marked [...] throughout.
The Commission of Joshua
(4Q378, Fragments 3–4)
[...] And he called all the elders of Israel and spoke to them, saying:
Do not fear and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God goes before you. He will not fail you and he will not forsake you. Be strong and of good courage — for you will go with this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you will cause them to inherit it.
And Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him. And the children of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
And Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: Be strong and of good courage, for you will bring this people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers to give them. The LORD himself goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you and he will not forsake you. Do not fear and do not be dismayed.
[...] the commandments and the statutes which I command you today — keep them all, so that you may live and multiply and enter and inherit the land which the LORD swore to your fathers [...] all the days of your life [...]
The Crossing of the Jordan
(4Q378, Fragment 11)
[...] And when all the people had passed over the Jordan [...] the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant stood on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan [...] the waters of the Jordan parted [...]
[...] And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood — and they are there to this day [...]
[...] a memorial to the children of Israel forever [...]
A Prayer of Joshua
(4Q379, Fragment 12)
[...] O LORD our God, who brought us up from the land of Egypt and led us through the wilderness [...] who performed all these wonders for your servant Moses and for your people Israel [...] according to all that you commanded [...]
[...] Let your name be exalted [...] and your mercy endure upon us forever [...]
The Curse of Jericho and the Man of Belial
(4Q379, Fragment 22, Column ii)
This is the most fully preserved passage of the Apocryphon. It cites Joshua's oath after the fall of Jericho (cf. Joshua 6:26) and then expands it into a sectarian prophecy — the curse on the city's rebuilder becomes a type for the man of Belial who will arise in Israel.
And it was, when Joshua had finished [destroying Jericho], that he raised his voice and swore an oath, and he cursed [the city] in that day, saying:
Cursed be the man who rebuilds this city —
on his firstborn he will found it,
and on his youngest he will set up its gates.
And behold, there arises a man of Belial [who sets a trap] for his people. He will arise and will cause many to stumble [through deceit].
He builds a city of vanity with blood
and founds a congregation with lies.
[He wearies many with a burden of wickedness]
and teaches them paths of falsehood.
He leads them into deeds of lawlessness,
so that they shed blood like water
[upon the walls of the daughter of Zion]
[and within the precincts of Jerusalem.]
[...]
Colophon
The Apocryphon of Joshua (4Q378–379) is a Hebrew apocryphon in the rewritten scripture tradition, preserved in two manuscript groups from Qumran Cave 4, designated 4Q378 (Apocryphon of Joshua^a, 26 fragments) and 4Q379 (Apocryphon of Joshua^b, 22 fragments). Paleographic evidence places the manuscripts in the first century BCE; the underlying composition is likely earlier. The text was edited by Carol Newsom in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXII (Oxford, 1996).
The Apocryphon belongs to the tradition of Mosaic pseudepigrapha alongside the Reworked Pentateuch (4Q158, 4Q364–367) and the book of Jubilees, both of which were held in high esteem at Qumran. Its distinctive contribution is the sectarian use of Joshua's curse: the ancient oath against Jericho's rebuilder is reread as prophecy against a historical enemy of the community, identified with the language used elsewhere for the Wicked Priest — one who founds a city of wickedness with blood and leads the people into falsehood. The passage stands as one of the clearest examples of Qumran pesher-typology operating within a rewritten scripture framework rather than in an explicit commentary.
Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church. Translated from the Hebrew (4Q378–379). Primary sources: F. García Martínez & E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 2 (Brill, 1997–98); C. Newsom, DJD XXII (Oxford, 1996). The text is highly fragmentary across both manuscripts; lacunae marked [...]. Bracketed material represents restorations where scholarly consensus is strong; uncertain readings are left as lacunae.
Scribal credit: DSS Tulku lineage, 2026.
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Source Text: ספר יהושע החיצוני (4Q378–379)
Hebrew transcription from F. García Martínez & E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 2 (Brill, 1997–98); C. Newsom, Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXII (Oxford, 1996). Lacunae marked [...]. Restorations in brackets follow the critical editions.
4Q378 — ספר יהושע החיצוני א
קטעים 3–4
(Transfer of authority from Moses to Joshua)
[... ויקרא מ]שה לזקני ישראל ויד[בר אליהם לאמר]
[אל תי]ראו ואל [תח]תו
[כי יהוה אלהיכם הולך לפניכם]
[לא ירפך] ולא יעזבך
[חזק ואמץ]
[כי אתה] תלך את העם הזה
[אל הארץ אשר נשבע יהוה לאבתם לתת להם]
[ואתה תנחילנה אותם]
[ויהושע בן נון מלא רוח חכמה]
[כי סמך משה את ידיו עליו]
[וישמעו אליו בני ישראל]
[ויעשו כאשר צוה יהוה את משה]
[ויקרא משה ליהושע ויאמר אליו לעיני כל ישראל]
[חזק ואמץ]
[כי אתה תביא את העם הזה]
[אל הארץ אשר נשבע יהוה לאבתם לתת להם]
[ויהוה הוא ההולך לפניך]
[הוא יהיה עמך לא ירפך ולא יעזבך]
[לא תירא ולא תחת]
[...] המצות [והחקים] אשר אנכי מצוך היום
[שמר אותם]
[למען תחיה ורבית]
[ובאת וירשת את הארץ]
[אשר נשבע יהוה לאבתיך] [...]
[כל ימי חייך] [...]
קטע 11
(Crossing of the Jordan)
[...] ויעברו [כל העם את הירדן] [...]
[רגלי הכהנים נשאי ארון הברית]
[עמדו בחרבה בתוך הירדן] [...]
[ויחצו מי הירדן] [...]
[...] ויקם יהושע שתים עשרה אבנים
[בתוך הירדן]
[במקום אשר עמדו רגלי הכהנים נשאי ארון הברית]
[ויהיו שם עד היום הזה] [...]
[...] לזכרון לבני ישראל עד עולם [...]
4Q379 — ספר יהושע החיצוני ב
קטע 12
(A Prayer)
[יהוה אלהינו אשר העליתנו מארץ מצרים]
[והולכתנו במדבר] [...]
[אשר עשית את כל הנפלאות האלה]
[לעבדך משה ולעמך ישראל] [...]
[ככל אשר צוית] [...]
[...] ויתרומם שמך [...]
[וחסדך עלינו] לעולם [...]
קטע 22, עמוד ב
(The Jericho Curse and the Man of Belial)
[ויהי ככלות] יהושע [להשמיד את יריחו]
[וישא את קולו וישבע] ויקלל [את העיר] ביום ההוא לאמר
ארור האיש אשר יבנה את העיר [הז]את
בבכרו ייסדנה
[ובצעירו] יציב דלתיה
[והנה] קם [א]יש [ב]ליעל
[ויפרוש פח] לעמו
[ויכשיל] רבים [בתרמית]
[ה]וא בנה עיר [שוא] בדמים
ויקים עדה [ב]כזב
[ויגע רבים בסבל און]
[וילמדם ארחות שקר]
[ויביאם] [במעשי] רשע
[לשפוך דם] כמים
[על חומות בת ציון]
[ובגבול ירושלים]
[...]
Source Colophon
Hebrew text: 4Q378 (Apocryphon of Joshua^a) and 4Q379 (Apocryphon of Joshua^b). C. Newsom, Qumran Cave 4, XVII: Parabiblical Texts, Part 3 (DJD XXII, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996); F. García Martínez & E. J. C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 2 (Brill, 1997–98). Lacunae marked [...]. Restorations in brackets follow the critical editions.
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