Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-08-20
LIGHT ON HISTORY
RECENT DISCOVERY is OF UNI.
VERSAL INTEREST.
Samaritan Version of the Book Of
Joshua Differs in Some Ways
from the incidents as Told
in the Bible.

Mention was made by cable the
other day of the discovery of DR.. Moses
Caster, the Hebrew scholar and anti
quarian, of the Samaritan version of
the Book of Joshua. A few days ago
DR.. Caster described to the members
of the Royal Asiatic society how he
discovered this book, which had been
lost 1000 years. This remarkable vol
ume agrees with and yet differs mate
rally from our Bible version and
among other things it furnishes new
version of the fall of the walls of
Jericho.
The new book starts with a definite
date of the era of creation, the year
1884 from the creation being given as
the date of the death of Moses, and
from that year starts the new calcu-
lation of the jubilee. That, DR.. Caster
explained, was omitted from the Bible.
1t then describes how Joshua was
commanded to proceed to the entry of
the Promised Land. Joshua ordered
the counting of the people, which also
did not appear in the Bible.
Then it states that the spies went to
Jericho and on their return gave a re-
port to Joshua and the High Priest
Eleazar. They crossed the Jordan,
preceded by the ark, and put up the
stones in Gilgal, but there was no
mention of the "reproach of Egypt"
A new story is given of the sin of
account. In the latter Achan is stated
to have stolen mantle. According to
the new book he stole a golden idol
from a temple and his guilt was dis
covered by the stones on the breast
piece of the high priest getting dim
and losing their luster when the name
of the guilty man was pronounced.
The story of the stratagem of the
capture of All Is related, but no men
ton is made of Joshua holding up the
lance. The Bible, by the way, says
that Joshua sent 10000 men against
All, whereas the new book says that
he sent only 5000.
In the fight with the combined
forces of the kings there is nothing
told in the Samaritan version of
Joshua's invocation to the sun to stand
still on Gideon and the moon in the
valley of Ajalon. The history pro-
ceeded, said DR.. Caster, On the same
lines as the Bible until the division of
the land among the nine tribes and a
half.
One of the most interesting stories
in the book describes how Joshua was
saved before Jericho. The version
goes that the two and half tribes re-
turned beyond the Jordan with King
Nobah appointed over them. Joshua
was attacked by King Shobach, and
his army trapped or encircled by
seven walls of iron made by the wiz
ards and enchanters in the service of
Shobach.
Joshua prayed to God. A dove came to
him; he tied letter to it's wings, and
it bore the message to King Nobah,
who, with his tribes, came to Joshua's
rescue. The priest Phineas blew a
trumpet once, the walls fell down, and
Joshua defeated Shobach.
Many of the points wherein the Sa-
maritan text differed from the Bible
were found also in Josephus, and also
in other Jewish rabbinical writings, a
further proof that Josephus did not
invent the legends, as he was sup
posed to have done. The original of
the newly-recovered Hebrew version,
DR.. Gastar said, must have been COM
posed at least 200 years before Christ.
DR.. Caster, chief rabbi of the Span
ish and Portuguese Jews in England,
has been closely connected with the
Samaritans for many years, and when
In Samaria had free access to their
libraries. While he was visiting Ma
blus last year the high priest gave him
a manuscript which proved to be a
chronicle or brief history of the Sa-
maritans from the entry of the Chill
dren of Israel into Palestine under
Joshua up to the present time. From
the verger he received another manu-
script, almost identical with that
which the high priest had given him.
At first he did not pay much atten-
ton to it, but careful examination
convinced him that it was an authentic
copy of the old Hebrew original 1t
must, he considers, have been regard
ed by the Samaritans as book of au-
thority, for the calendar started from
the indications in it. 1t could not have
been translated from the Greek, be-
cause it agreed entirely with the
Hebrew, while the knowledge of the
Hebrew language among modern Sa-
maritans is very limited.