Joshua 5
5
1When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings of the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the River Jordan so that the Israelites could cross over, their courage melted and they no longer had any fighting spirit to face the Israelites.
2At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the new generation#5:2. “Circumcise the new generation”: literally, “circumcise again a second time.” This was not a command to repeat circumcision on those already circumcised, but to circumcise the new generation that had been born during the time in the wilderness. of Israelites.” 3Joshua had flint knives made and all male Israelites were circumcised at the place that became known as “the hill of foreskins.” 4This is the reason why Joshua had them all circumcised: all those who left Egypt—the men of fighting age—had died on the journey through the wilderness after the Exodus. 5They had all been circumcised when they left Egypt, but those born on the journey since then had not. 6For forty years the Israelites traveled through the wilderness until all the men of fighting age when they left Egypt had died, because they had not done what the Lord had told them to do. So the Lord had vowed that he would not let them see the land he had promised their forefathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7The Lord replaced them with their children, and these were the ones that Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised since they hadn't been circumcised on the way. 8Once they had all been circumcised, they stayed in the camp until they recovered.
9The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have removed from all of you the disgrace of Egypt.”#5:9. What this disgrace was is not explicitly defined. Some link it to slavery in Egypt, but more likely is it related to the Israelites' rebellion at Kadesh (Numbers 14) and God's decision not to allow that generation into the Promised Land. Initially he had threatened to destroy them, but Moses intervened, mentioning how much this would please the Egyptians (Numbers 14:13). The disgrace then would be that the Israelites had failed God by rebelling against him, and God would be perceived by the Egyptians and others as being unable to keep his promise. The act of circumcision (a sign of God's favor) brought the situation full circle back to the Exodus, and now the entrance into the Promised Land. So that place has been called Gilgal to this day. 10The Israelites camped at Gilgal and celebrated Passover there on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month. 11From the very next day they began to eat produce from the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12On the same day when they began eating produce from the land there was no more manna. No longer did the Israelites have manna; after that they ate the produce of the land of Canaan.
13One day when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or against us?”
“Neither,” said the man. “I am the commander of the Lord's army. Now I'm here!”
14Joshua fell down with his face to the ground in awe. Then he said, “What orders does my lord have for his servant?”
15The commander of the Lord's army told Joshua, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you're standing is holy ground.” Joshua did so.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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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