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Joshua 5
New English Translation

5 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they[a] crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites.[b]

A New Generation is Circumcised

2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.”[c] 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at the Hill of the Foreskins.[d] 4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the wilderness after they left Egypt.[e] 5 Now[f] all the men[g] who left were circumcised, but all the sons[h] born on the journey through the wilderness after they left Egypt were uncircumcised. 6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the wilderness until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off.[i] For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn by oath to their ancestors to give them,[j] a land rich in[k] milk and honey. 7 He replaced them with their sons,[l] whom Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way. 8 When all the men[m] had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they had healed. 9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away[n] the disgrace[o] of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal[p] even to this day.

10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month in the rift valley plains of Jericho.[q] 11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover, including unleavened bread and roasted grain.[r] 12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate[s] some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again.[t] They ate from the produce of the land of Canaan that year.

Israel Conquers Jericho

13 When Joshua was near[u] Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword.[v] Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?”[w] 14 He answered,[x] “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army.[y] Now I have arrived!”[z] Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground[aa] and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?” 15 The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:1 tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”
  2. Joshua 5:1 tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breath (or perhaps “spirit”) because of the sons of Israel.”
  3. Joshua 5:2 tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.
  4. Joshua 5:3 tn Or “Gibeath Haaraloth.” This name means “Hill of the Foreskins.” Many modern translations simply give the Hebrew name, although an explanatory note giving the meaning of the name is often included.sn The name given to the place, Hill of the Foreskins was an obvious reminder of this important event.
  5. Joshua 5:4 tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the wilderness in the way when they went out from Egypt.”
  6. Joshua 5:5 tn Or “indeed.”
  7. Joshua 5:5 tn Heb “people.”
  8. Joshua 5:5 tn Heb “all the people.”
  9. Joshua 5:6 tn Heb “all the nation, the men of war who went out from Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, came to an end.”
  10. Joshua 5:6 tn Some Hebrew mss, as well as the Syriac version, support this reading. Most ancient witnesses read “us.”
  11. Joshua 5:6 tn Heb “flowing with.”sn The word picture a land rich in milk and honey depicts the land as containing many grazing areas (which would produce milk) and flowering plants (which would support the bees that produced honey).
  12. Joshua 5:7 tn Heb “their sons he raised up in their place.”
  13. Joshua 5:8 tn Heb “nation.”
  14. Joshua 5:9 tn Heb “rolled away.”
  15. Joshua 5:9 sn One might take the disgrace of Egypt as a reference to their uncircumcised condition (see Gen 34:14), but the generation that left Egypt was circumcised (see v. 5). It more likely refers to the disgrace they experienced in Egyptian slavery. When this new generation reached the promised land and renewed their covenantal commitment to the Lord by submitting to the rite of circumcision, the Lord’s deliverance of his people from slavery, which had begun with the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea, reached its climax. See T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 59.
  16. Joshua 5:9 sn The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew verb “roll away” (גַּלַל, galal).
  17. Joshua 5:10 sn This is the area of the rift valley basin in the vicinity of Jericho (see the note at Josh 4:13).
  18. Joshua 5:11 tn The Hebrew text adds, “on this same day.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
  19. Joshua 5:12 tn Heb “the day after, when they ate.” The present translation assumes this means the day after the Passover, though it is possible it refers to the day after they began eating the land’s produce.
  20. Joshua 5:12 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel had no more manna.”
  21. Joshua 5:13 tn Heb “in.”
  22. Joshua 5:13 tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).
  23. Joshua 5:13 tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
  24. Joshua 5:14 tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew mss, as well as the LXX and Syriac versions. The traditional reading of the MT (לֹא, loʾ, “no, neither”) is probably the product of aural confusion (the two variant readings sound the same in Hebrew). Although followed by a number of modern translations (cf. NIV, NRSV), this reading is problematic, for the commander of the Lord’s army would hardly have declared himself neutral.
  25. Joshua 5:14 sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar tsevaʾ, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.
  26. Joshua 5:14 sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the Lord’s invisible army would ensure victory.
  27. Joshua 5:14 tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”
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Joshua 5
Lexham English Bible

The Israelites Are Circumcised

5 And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites[a] who were by the sea heard that Yahweh dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the Israelites[b] until they crossed over, their hearts melted, and there was no courage left in them[c] because of the presence of the Israelites. [d]

2 At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make for yourself knives of flint, and circumcise the Israelites[e] a second time.” 3 So Joshua made knives of flint, and he circumcised the Israelites[f] at the hill of the foreskins.[g] 4 This is the reason why Joshua circumcised all the people: all the males who went out from Egypt, all the warriors, died in the wilderness as they went out from Egypt on the journey.[h] 5 For all the people who left were circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness on the journey[i] after they left from Egypt were not circumcised. 6 For forty years the Israelites[j] traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh. To them Yahweh swore that they would not see the land that he[k] swore to their ancestors[l] to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 And it was their children whom he raised in their place that Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the journey.[m]

The Israelites Celebrate Passover in Canaan

8 And it happened, when all the nation had finished circumcising, they remained where they were in the camp until they recovered. 9 And Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” Therefore, the name of that place is called Gilgal[n] to this day. 10 And the Israelites[o] camped at Gilgal, and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, on the plains of Jericho. 11 On the next day after the Passover, on that[p] very day, they ate from the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and roasted corn. 12 And the manna ceased the day after, when they started eating the produce of the land, and there was no longer manna for the Israelites.[q] They ate from the crop of the land of Canaan in that year.

The Commander of Yahweh’s Army Appears Before Joshua

13 And it happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up,[r] and he saw a man standing opposite him[s] with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said, “Are you with us, or with our adversaries?” 14 And he said, “Neither. I have come now as the commander of Yahweh’s army.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and he bowed down[t] and said to him, “What is my lord commanding his servant?” 15 The commander of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals[u] from your feet,[v] for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 5:1 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  2. Joshua 5:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  3. Joshua 5:1 Literally “a spirit was no longer in them”
  4. Joshua 5:1 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  5. Joshua 5:2 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  6. Joshua 5:3 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  7. Joshua 5:3 Hebrew “Gibeath-haaraloth”
  8. Joshua 5:4 Literally “on the road”
  9. Joshua 5:5 Literally “on the road”
  10. Joshua 5:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  11. Joshua 5:6 Hebrew “Yahweh”
  12. Joshua 5:6 Or “fathers”
  13. Joshua 5:7 Literally “on the road”
  14. Joshua 5:9 Hebrew “rolling”
  15. Joshua 5:10 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  16. Joshua 5:11 Literally “this”
  17. Joshua 5:12 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  18. Joshua 5:13 Literally “he lifted up his eyes”
  19. Joshua 5:13 Literally “against him”
  20. Joshua 5:14 Or “he worshiped”
  21. Joshua 5:15 Hebrew “sandal”
  22. Joshua 5:15 Hebrew “foot”
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Joshua 4
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