Joshua 5
5
Circumcision of the Israelites
1When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea#Nm 13:29; Dt 1:7; Jos 11:3 heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over,#Jos 2:11 they lost heart and their courage failed because of the Israelites.
2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelite men again.”#Gn 17:10–14; Ex 4:24–26; 12:44,48; Lv 12:3 3So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at Gibeath-haaraloth.#5:3 Or The Hill of Foreskins 4This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males — all the men of war — had died in the wilderness along the way after they had come out of Egypt. 5Though all the people who came out were circumcised, none of the people born in the wilderness along the way were circumcised after they had come out of Egypt. 6For the Israelites wandered in the wilderness forty years until all the nation’s men of war who came out of Egypt had died off because they did not obey the Lord.#Dt 2:7,14 So the Lord vowed never to let them see the land he had sworn to their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.#Nm 14:23–24; Dt 11:9 7He raised up their sons in their place; it was these Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way. 8After the entire nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they recovered.#Dt 30:6; Hs 6:1–2 9The Lord then said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, that place is still called Gilgal#5:9 = to roll today.#Jos 6:25
Food from the Land
10While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they observed the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.#Ex 12:11,18,21; Lv 23:5; Nm 28:16; Ezk 45:21 11The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.#Lv 23:14 12And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased.#Ex 16:35; Ps 78:25; Jn 6:48–51 Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
Commander of the Lord’s Army
13When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand.#Gn 18:2; 32:24; Nm 22:31 Joshua approached him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
14“Neither,” he replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”#Ex 7:4; 12:41; 1Sm 17:45
Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in homage#Gn 17:3 and asked him, “What does my lord want to say to his servant?”
15The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.”#Ex 3:5 And Joshua did that.
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Joshua 5: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Joshua 5
5
1All the Amorite and Canaanite kings heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River. They heard how he had dried it up for the Israelites until they had gone across it. The Amorite kings lived west of the Jordan. The kings of Canaan lived along the Mediterranean Sea. When all those kings heard what the Lord had done, they were terrified. They weren’t brave enough to face the Israelites anymore.
Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make knives out of flint. Use them to circumcise the men of Israel.” 3So Joshua made knives out of flint. Then he used them to circumcise the men of Israel at Gibeath Haaraloth.
4Here is why Joshua circumcised them. All the men who came out of Egypt had died. They died while they were wandering through the Sinai Desert. They were the men old enough to serve in the army. 5All the men who came out had been circumcised. But all the men born in the desert during the journey from Egypt hadn’t been circumcised. 6The Israelites had moved around in the desert for 40 years. By the end of that time all the men old enough to serve in the army when they left Egypt had died. That’s because they hadn’t obeyed the Lord. He had made a promise to them. He had told them they wouldn’t see the land. It’s the land he had promised to their people to give us. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. 7Because they hadn’t obeyed him, he raised up their sons to take their place. They were the ones Joshua circumcised. They hadn’t been circumcised yet. That’s because no one had circumcised them during the journey. 8So Joshua circumcised all those men. The whole nation remained in the camp until the men were healed.
9Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Today I have taken away from you the shame of being slaves in Egypt.” That’s why the place where the men were circumcised has been called Gilgal to this very day.
10The Israelites celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the plains around Jericho. 11The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food grown in the land. On that same day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread made without yeast. 12The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food grown in the land. The Israelites didn’t have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food grown in Canaan.
Israel Captures Jericho
13When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword. He was ready for battle. Joshua went up to him. He asked, “Are you on our side? Or are you on the side of our enemies?”
14“I am not on either side,” he replied. “I have come as the commander of the Lord’s army.” Then Joshua fell with his face to the ground. He asked the man, “What message does my Lord have for me?”
15The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals. The place you are standing on is holy ground.” So Joshua took them off.
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