Joshua 5 Study Notes: Circumcision, Passover, and the Commander
The kings of Canaan lose heart, and Joshua circumcises the generation born in the desert, so the place is named Gilgal. Israel keeps the Passover, the manna stops once they eat the land's crops, and near Jericho Joshua meets a commander leading the LORD's forces and removes his sandals on holy ground.
General
When Joshua asked the man with the drawn sword whether He was for Israel or for its enemies, how did He answer (5:13-14)?
Answer: Neither; He was leading the army of the LORD
Near Jericho, Joshua looked up to find a man facing him, sword drawn, and asked whose side He was on. He answered neither, for He had come to lead the LORD's army as its Commander (5:13-14). Joshua bowed to the ground and asked what his Lord wished to tell His servant (5:14). Scripture speaks elsewhere of the LORD's heavenly army: heaven's host standing beside His throne (1 Kings 22:19), His angels and hosts serving His purposes (Psalm 103:20-21), and the unseen chariots of fire around Elisha (2 Kings 6:16-17). Christians have understood this Commander in different ways: some as the Son of God appearing before He was born as a man, others as the Angel of the LORD (a heavenly messenger who appears in several Old Testament scenes and at times speaks as the LORD Himself) or as a high-ranking angel sent by God.
- Joshua 5:13-14 (BSB)“Now 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 approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?””Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword who says He has come as Commander of the LORD's army; Joshua falls facedown.
- 1 Kings 22:19 (BSB)“Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.”Micaiah saw the host of heaven standing beside the LORD's throne.
- Psalm 103:20-21 (BSB)“Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command. Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.”The LORD's angels and hosts are His servants who carry out His word.
- 2 Kings 6:16-17 (BSB)““Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”Elisha's servant was shown the unseen horses and chariots of fire around them.
Theological
How does the figure with the drawn sword answer Joshua's question in 5:13-14?
Answer: Neither; He was leading the army of the LORD
Joshua asks which side the man is on, and the answer declines both: He is neither for Israel nor for its enemies but has come to lead the LORD's army as its Commander (5:13-14). Joshua responds with submission, falling facedown and asking what his Lord has to tell His servant (5:14). Scripture elsewhere depicts the LORD's heavenly host standing by His throne (1 Kings 22:19), serving His will (Psalm 103:20-21), and surrounding His servants unseen (2 Kings 6:16-17). Interpreters differ on the Commander's identity: some see a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son, others the Angel of the LORD or a high-ranking angel.
- Joshua 5:13-14 (BSB)“Now 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 approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as Commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua fell facedown in reverence and asked Him, “What does my Lord have to say to His servant?””Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword who says He has come as Commander of the LORD's army; Joshua falls facedown.
- 1 Kings 22:19 (BSB)“Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.”Micaiah saw the host of heaven standing beside the LORD's throne.
- Psalm 103:20-21 (BSB)“Bless the LORD, all His angels mighty in strength who carry out His word, who hearken to the voice of His command. Bless the LORD, all His hosts, you servants who do His will.”The LORD's angels and hosts are His servants who carry out His word.
- 2 Kings 6:16-17 (BSB)““Do not be afraid,” Elisha answered, “for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”Elisha's servant was shown the unseen horses and chariots of fire around them.
General
After the men had healed, what did the LORD tell Joshua He had rolled away from Israel (5:9)?
Answer: The disgrace of Egypt
Once everyone had been circumcised and had healed, the LORD told Joshua that on that day He had rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from Israel, and the text says this is why the place was called Gilgal (5:8-9). The new generation now bore the sign of God's covenant (Genesis 17:10-11), and the way was open for the Passover that came next, since no uncircumcised man could eat it (Exodus 12:48). The outward sign also pointed to something deeper: God had promised to circumcise His people's hearts, so that they would love Him wholeheartedly (Deuteronomy 30:6).
- Joshua 5:8-9 (BSB)“And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.”After the people heal, the LORD declares He has rolled away Egypt's reproach, and the place is named Gilgal.
- Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”Circumcision was the sign of God's covenant with Abraham's descendants.
- Exodus 12:48 (BSB)“If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.”No uncircumcised man could eat the Passover.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (BSB)“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”God promised to circumcise His people's hearts so they would love Him wholeheartedly.
Theological
What does the LORD declare in 5:9 that He has rolled away from Israel?
Answer: The disgrace of Egypt
With the circumcision complete and the men healed, the LORD declares that He has rolled away Egypt's reproach, and the text connects the place-name Gilgal to that act (5:8-9). The covenant sign given to Abraham is restored on the generation entering the land (Genesis 17:10-11), which also qualifies them for the Passover, from which the uncircumcised were barred (Exodus 12:48). The outward rite points to the inward reality the law itself promised, that the LORD would circumcise the hearts of His people (Deuteronomy 30:6).
- Joshua 5:8-9 (BSB)“And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.”After the people heal, the LORD declares He has rolled away Egypt's reproach, and the place is named Gilgal.
- Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”Circumcision was the sign of God's covenant with Abraham's descendants.
- Exodus 12:48 (BSB)“If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it.”No uncircumcised man could eat the Passover.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (BSB)“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”God promised to circumcise His people's hearts so they would love Him wholeheartedly.
General
True or False: According to 5:6, the fighting men who left Egypt died in the wilderness because they disobeyed the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. Israel wandered forty years until every fighting man who had left Egypt was dead, because they had not obeyed the LORD, and He had sworn that they would not set eyes on the land promised to their fathers (5:6). This goes back to Kadesh, where that generation refused to enter the land; God swore that those who had tested Him and disobeyed would not see it (Numbers 14:22-23), and every one of them died before Israel moved on (Deuteronomy 2:14). Hebrews draws the lesson that they could not enter because of disobedience and unbelief (Hebrews 3:17-19).
- Joshua 5:6 (BSB)“For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”The fighting men from Egypt died in the wilderness because they did not obey, and God swore they would not see the land.
- Numbers 14:22-23 (BSB)“not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times— not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.”God swore that those who had tested and disobeyed Him would never see the promised land.
- Deuteronomy 2:14 (BSB)“The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years, until that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.”The whole generation of fighting men perished in the wilderness as the LORD had sworn.
- Hebrews 3:17-19 (BSB)“And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.”Hebrews says that generation was kept out because of disobedience and unbelief.
Theological
True or False: 5:6 attributes the death of the Exodus generation's fighting men in the wilderness to their disobedience to the LORD.
Answer: True
This is true. The forty years lasted until the fighting men from Egypt had perished, because they disobeyed the LORD's voice, and He swore that they would not see the land promised to the fathers (5:6). The oath was pronounced at Kadesh against those who tested and disobeyed Him (Numbers 14:22-23), and Deuteronomy records that it was carried out to the last man (Deuteronomy 2:14). Hebrews interprets the episode as a failure of faith: unbelief kept them out (Hebrews 3:17-19).
- Joshua 5:6 (BSB)“For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.”The fighting men from Egypt died in the wilderness because they did not obey, and God swore they would not see the land.
- Numbers 14:22-23 (BSB)“not one of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness—yet have tested Me and disobeyed Me these ten times— not one will ever see the land that I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have treated Me with contempt will see it.”God swore that those who had tested and disobeyed Him would never see the promised land.
- Deuteronomy 2:14 (BSB)“The time we spent traveling from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed over the Brook of Zered was thirty-eight years, until that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them.”The whole generation of fighting men perished in the wilderness as the LORD had sworn.
- Hebrews 3:17-19 (BSB)“And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed? So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.”Hebrews says that generation was kept out because of disobedience and unbelief.
General
What did the heavenly Commander tell Joshua to do (5:15)?
Answer: Take off his sandals because the place was holy
The Commander told Joshua to take off his sandals, because the place where he stood was holy, set apart by this meeting, and Joshua obeyed (5:15). These words echo what God said to Moses at the burning bush before sending him to bring Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:5), an event Stephen later recalled (Acts 7:33). Moses was met at the start of the exodus; Joshua is met at the start of the conquest. God had promised to be with Joshua just as He had been with Moses (1:5), and this meeting showed it.
- Joshua 5:15 (BSB)“The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”The Commander tells Joshua to remove his sandals because the place is holy, and Joshua obeys.
- Exodus 3:5 (BSB)““Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.””God gave Moses the same command at the burning bush.
- Acts 7:33 (BSB)“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”Stephen recalls the command given to Moses at the bush.
- Joshua 1:5 (BSB)“No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”God had promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses.
Theological
What command does the Commander give Joshua in 5:15?
Answer: Take off his sandals because the place was holy
The Commander orders Joshua to remove his sandals because the ground is holy; Joshua complies (5:15). The command is almost identical to the one Moses received at the burning bush on the eve of the exodus (Exodus 3:5; recalled by Stephen in Acts 7:33). The parallel links the two leaders: as Moses was commissioned in a holy encounter before the deliverance from Egypt, so Joshua is met before the conquest begins, confirming the promise that the LORD would be with him as He was with Moses (1:5).
- Joshua 5:15 (BSB)“The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”The Commander tells Joshua to remove his sandals because the place is holy, and Joshua obeys.
- Exodus 3:5 (BSB)““Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.””God gave Moses the same command at the burning bush.
- Acts 7:33 (BSB)“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”Stephen recalls the command given to Moses at the bush.
- Joshua 1:5 (BSB)“No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”God had promised to be with Joshua as He was with Moses.
General
How did the Amorite and Canaanite kings on the western side of the river react when they heard what the LORD had done to the Jordan (5:1)?
Answer: Their courage drained away for fear of Israel
When the Amorite kings and the Canaanite kings by the sea got news that the LORD had stopped the Jordan until Israel was across, they melted with fear and lost all courage because of Israel (5:1). God had promised this. After the Red Sea, Moses sang that the people of Canaan would melt away in terror (Exodus 15:14-16), and God said He would put the dread of Israel on the nations who heard of them (Deuteronomy 2:25). Rahab had already told the spies that Jericho felt this way after hearing about the Red Sea and Israel's victories east of the Jordan (2:10-11). The LORD was fighting for Israel before a battle began.
- Joshua 5:1 (BSB)“Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.”The kings west of the Jordan hear of the crossing and lose heart.
- Exodus 15:14-16 (BSB)“The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away, and terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of Your arm they will be as still as a stone until Your people pass by, O LORD, until the people You have bought pass by.”The Song of the Sea foretold that the people of Canaan would melt away in terror.
- Deuteronomy 2:25 (BSB)“This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.””God promised to put the dread of Israel on the nations who heard of them.
- Joshua 2:10-11 (BSB)“For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.”Rahab had already told the spies that news of the LORD's deeds had drained Jericho's courage.
Theological
What effect does 5:1 report the Jordan crossing had on the kings on the western side of the river?
Answer: Their courage drained away for fear of Israel
News of the crossing produced the collapse of morale among the Amorite and Canaanite kings: their hearts melted, their courage gave way for fear of Israel (5:1). This is the fulfillment of what the Song of the Sea anticipated for the dwellers of Canaan (Exodus 15:14-16) and of God's pledge to make the nations dread Israel (Deuteronomy 2:25). Rahab's confession had already described the same effect in Jericho (2:10-11). The LORD's mighty acts, reported abroad, go before His people and weaken their enemies in advance.
- Joshua 5:1 (BSB)“Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.”The kings west of the Jordan hear of the crossing and lose heart.
- Exodus 15:14-16 (BSB)“The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away, and terror and dread will fall on them. By the power of Your arm they will be as still as a stone until Your people pass by, O LORD, until the people You have bought pass by.”The Song of the Sea foretold that the people of Canaan would melt away in terror.
- Deuteronomy 2:25 (BSB)“This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.””God promised to put the dread of Israel on the nations who heard of them.
- Joshua 2:10-11 (BSB)“For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.”Rahab had already told the spies that news of the LORD's deeds had drained Jericho's courage.
General
When did the manna stop (5:12)?
Answer: One day after they first ate food grown in Canaan
The day after Israel first ate food grown in Canaan, the manna stopped, and from then on they ate the crops of Canaan (5:12). Manna was the bread-like food God sent from heaven every morning in the wilderness. Israel had eaten it for forty years, right up to Canaan's border (Exodus 16:35), and God had used it to teach them to live by everything God speaks (Deuteronomy 8:3). Now He fed them in a new way, from a land full of good things they had not planted, just as He had promised (Deuteronomy 6:10-11). God's care did not end; only the way He provided changed.
- Joshua 5:12 (BSB)“And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.”The manna stops the day after Israel eats from the land, and they begin eating Canaan's crops.
- Exodus 16:35 (BSB)“The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”Israel ate manna for forty years, until they reached the border of Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 (BSB)“He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”God gave manna to teach Israel to live by every word from His mouth.
- Deuteronomy 6:10-11 (BSB)“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied,”God promised a land full of good things Israel had not built or planted.
Theological
According to 5:12, at what point did the manna cease?
Answer: One day after they first ate food grown in Canaan
The manna ceased on the day after Israel ate the land's own produce, and that year they ate the yield of Canaan (5:12). The wilderness provision had lasted forty years, until Israel reached Canaan (Exodus 16:35), and served to teach dependence on every word from the LORD's mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). Its end marks the transition from miraculous daily provision to the inheritance itself, a land stocked with what Israel had not planted (Deuteronomy 6:10-11). God's provision continues unbroken; only its means change.
- Joshua 5:12 (BSB)“And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.”The manna stops the day after Israel eats from the land, and they begin eating Canaan's crops.
- Exodus 16:35 (BSB)“The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”Israel ate manna for forty years, until they reached the border of Canaan.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 (BSB)“He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”God gave manna to teach Israel to live by every word from His mouth.
- Deuteronomy 6:10-11 (BSB)“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He would give you—a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied,”God promised a land full of good things Israel had not built or planted.
General
What did Israel do on the fourteenth of the month, at evening, while camped near Jericho (5:10)?
Answer: They celebrated the Passover
At evening on the fourteenth of the month, camped at Gilgal near Jericho, Israel celebrated the Passover (5:10). The Passover was the yearly feast remembering the night the LORD spared Israel's homes when He struck Egypt (Exodus 12:26-27), and God had set it for twilight on the fourteenth day (Exodus 12:6). The next day the people ate unleavened bread, bread made without yeast as at the first Passover (Exodus 12:8), along with roasted grain grown in the land itself (5:11). Their first feast in the land looked back to their rescue from Egypt.
- Joshua 5:10-11 (BSB)“On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.”Israel keeps the Passover at Gilgal and the next day eats unleavened bread and roasted grain from the land.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The Passover animals were to be slaughtered at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.
- Exodus 12:8 (BSB)“They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”The Passover meal was eaten with unleavened bread.
- Exodus 12:26-27 (BSB)“When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”The Passover remembered how the LORD spared Israel's homes when He struck Egypt.
Theological
What observance does 5:10 record at Gilgal at evening on the fourteenth of the month?
Answer: They celebrated the Passover
Encamped at Gilgal, Israel celebrated the Passover at evening on the fourteenth, the time fixed in the original ordinance (5:10; Exodus 12:6). The feast commemorated the LORD's sparing of Israel's houses when He judged Egypt (Exodus 12:26-27). On the following day they ate bread without yeast, as prescribed for the Passover meal (Exodus 12:8), together with roasted grain grown in the land (5:11). The first Passover in Canaan joins the memory of redemption from Egypt to the first taste of the inheritance.
- Joshua 5:10-11 (BSB)“On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.”Israel keeps the Passover at Gilgal and the next day eats unleavened bread and roasted grain from the land.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The Passover animals were to be slaughtered at twilight on the fourteenth day of the month.
- Exodus 12:8 (BSB)“They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”The Passover meal was eaten with unleavened bread.
- Exodus 12:26-27 (BSB)“When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”The Passover remembered how the LORD spared Israel's homes when He struck Egypt.
General
Whom did Joshua circumcise with the flint knives, according to 5:5-7?
Answer: The sons born on the desert journey, still uncircumcised
Circumcision was the cutting away of the foreskin, which God gave to Abraham as the sign of His covenant, His binding relationship of promise with Abraham's family (Genesis 17:10-11). After the crossing the LORD told Joshua to make knives of flint and circumcise Israel again (5:2-3). The men who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but the boys born during the journey through the wilderness had not been (5:5). These were the sons God had raised up in place of their fathers, and Joshua circumcised them (5:7). God had promised years earlier that this younger generation would enter the land after wandering forty years (Numbers 14:31, 33).
- Joshua 5:2-3 (BSB)“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.”The LORD commands Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise Israel again, and Joshua does so.
- Joshua 5:7 (BSB)“And He raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.”The ones circumcised are the sons God raised up in their fathers' place.
- Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”God gave circumcision to Abraham as the sign of His covenant with Abraham's descendants.
- Numbers 14:31 (BSB)“But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.”God promised to bring the children of the faithless generation into the land.
- Numbers 14:33 (BSB)“Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.”The children would wander forty years in the wilderness until the last of their fathers had died.
Theological
According to 5:5-7, who were the men Joshua circumcised after the crossing?
Answer: The sons born on the desert journey, still uncircumcised
Circumcision was the covenant sign given to Abraham and his seed (Genesis 17:10-11). The generation that left Egypt had borne it, but their sons, born during the desert years, had not received it (5:5). At the LORD's command Joshua made knives of flint and performed the rite on Israel again (5:2-3), and the text specifies that those circumcised were the sons God raised up in their fathers' place (5:7). This is the generation God had promised to bring in after forty years of wandering (Numbers 14:31, 33); before they take the land they receive the covenant sign first given to Abraham.
- Joshua 5:2-3 (BSB)“At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.” So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.”The LORD commands Joshua to make flint knives and circumcise Israel again, and Joshua does so.
- Joshua 5:7 (BSB)“And He raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.”The ones circumcised are the sons God raised up in their fathers' place.
- Genesis 17:10-11 (BSB)“This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.”God gave circumcision to Abraham as the sign of His covenant with Abraham's descendants.
- Numbers 14:31 (BSB)“But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.”God promised to bring the children of the faithless generation into the land.
- Numbers 14:33 (BSB)“Your children will be shepherds in the wilderness for forty years, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness.”The children would wander forty years in the wilderness until the last of their fathers had died.