The Israelites Are Circumcised

² At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make knives from flint stones and circumcise [Gen. 17:7–14] the ·Israelites [^Lsons of Israel a second time].” ³ So Joshua made knives from flint stones and circumcised the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] at ·Gibeath Haaraloth [^CHebrew for “Hill of Foreskins”].

⁴ This is why Joshua circumcised the men: After the Israelites left Egypt, all the men old enough to serve in the army died in the desert on the ·way [journey] ·out of [or after leaving] Egypt. ⁵ The men who had come out of Egypt had been circumcised, but none of those who were born in the desert on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised. ⁶ The ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] had moved about in the ·desert [wilderness] for forty years. During that time all the fighting men who had left Egypt had died because they had not obeyed the Lord [Num. 13–14]. So the Lord swore they would not see the land he had promised their ancestors to give them, a ·fertile land [^Lland flowing with milk and honey; ^Ca phrase describing the natural bounty of the land]. ⁷ Their sons ·took [were raised up in] their places. But none of the sons born on the trip from Egypt had been circumcised, so Joshua circumcised them. ⁸ After all the Israelites had been circumcised, they stayed in camp until they were healed.

⁹ Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have ·removed [rolled away] the shame [disgrace; reproach] of ·your slavery in Egypt [^LEgypt].” So that place was named Gilgal [^Csounds like Hebrew for “rolled away”; 4:19], which it is still named today.