Jos 5:1 And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that Jehovah had dried up the waters of Jordan in front of the sons of Israel until we had passed over, that their hearts melted. Neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the sons of
The Amorites were the principal of those nations which occupied the hill country of
kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward,.... On the side the Israelites were now on; and this is observed, to distinguish them from the other kings of the Amorites beyond Jordan, on the eastern side, who were already conquered by the Israelites, Sihon and Og, who seem to be a colony that went over from the Amorites in Canaan, and possessed themselves of that part of the land of Moab.
Melted - They lost all their courage, And because of this, the Israelites were able to quietly participate of the two great sacraments of their beliefs, circumcision and the passover, and thereby be prepared for their high and hard work, and for the possession of the holy and promised land; which would have been defiled by an uncircumcised people.
Jos 5:2 At that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make sharp knives for yourselves and circumcise the sons of Israel again, the second time.
Make thee sharp knives - the Hebrew text is, "knives of rocks", "flints" or "stones" Knives of flint or stone were in fact used for circumcision, and retained for that and other sacred purposes, even after iron had become in common use. Consider Zipporah Exodus
Circumcise again the children of
Circumcision is the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant
Genesis 17:7-14 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you. And I will give the land to you in which you are a stranger, and to your seed after you, all the
Romans 4:11 And he received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith while still uncircumcised; so that he might be the father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be imputed to them also.
When the people came out of
Joshua 5:5 For all the people who came out were circumcised. But all the people born in the wilderness by the wayside, as they came forth out of
The New Testament analogue is world conformity; the failure openly to take a believer's place with Christ in death and resurrection.
Romans 6:2-11 Let it not be! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin. For he who died has been justified from sin. But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that when Christ was raised from the dead, He dies no more; death no longer has dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died to sin once; but in that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise count yourselves also to be truly dead to sin, but alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Galatians 6:14-16 But may it never be for me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision has any strength, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God.
Spiritually it is mortifying the deeds of the body through the Spirit.
Romans
Galatians 5:16-17 I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do.
Colossians 2:11-12 in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in whom also you were raised through the faith of the working of God, raising Him from the dead.
Colossians 3:5-10 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness (which is idolatry), on account of which things' sake the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience, among whom you also once walked, when you lived in these. But now also put off all these things: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, shameful speech out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his deeds and having put on the new, having been renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.
the second time - refers to the introduction of circumcision, first when Abraham was circumcised with all his house, and second, here after the years of wandering in the desert wilderness. Genesis 17:10-11 This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your seed after you. Every male child among you shall be circumcised. And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. And it shall be a token of the covenant between Me and you.
As Moses needed to restore the covenant of circumcision in his own family Exodus 4:24-26 And it happened by the way, in the inn, that Jehovah met him and sought to kill him. And Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and threw it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband you are to me. So He let him go. Then she said, You are a bloody husband, because of the circumcision so too did Joshua have to restore it for his people.
Jos 5:3 And Joshua made sharp knives and circumcised the sons of
And Joshua made him sharp knives- Not that Joshua circumcised them himself, any more than he made the knives himself, but he ordered both to be done, and took care that they were done.
at the hill of the foreskins; Gibeath Haaraloth, as the place was afterward called from hence; these being heaped up one upon another, made a hill of them.
Jos 5:4 And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised. All the people that came out of
The revival of the two great ordinances - circumcision and the Passover - after so long an intermission could not but awaken the zeal and invigorate the faith and fortitude of the people. Both as seals and as means of grace and God’s good purpose toward them then, the general circumcision of the people, followed up by the solemn celebration of the Passover - the one formally restoring the covenant and reconciling them nationally to God, the other ratifying and confirming all that circumcision intended - were at this juncture most opportune.
Numbers 14:22-23 Because all those men who have seen My glory and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not listened to My voice, surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it. Some have taken this to mean that as the Lord pronounced this punishment within His covenant with the Israelites for their disobedience and unbelief, in that those of that generation would not see the promised land, so too the Israelites suspended their signs of the covenant, circumcision during their time in the wilderness.
Jos 5:5 For all the people who came out were circumcised. But all the people born in the wilderness by the wayside, as they came forth out of
Jos 5:6 For the sons of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the people, the men of war, who came out of Egypt, were destroyed, because they did not obey the voice of Jehovah. To them Jehovah swore that He would not show them the land which Jehovah swore to their fathers that He would give us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
The people - The Hebrew word commonly signifies the Gentiles; so he calls them, to note that they were unworthy the name of Israelites.
Shew them - That is, not give them so much as a sight of it, which he granted to Moses, much less the possession.
Jos 5:7 And Joshua circumcised their sons, whom He raised up in their place. For they were not circumcised, because they had not been circumcised by the wayside.
Circumcised - As a testimony of God's reconciliation to the people, and that he would not farther impute their parents rebellion to them. To prepare them for the approaching passover. To distinguish them from the Canaanites, into whose land they were now come. To ratify the covenant between God and them, whereof circumcision was a sign and seal, to assure them that God would now make good his covenant, in giving them this land; and to oblige them to perform all the duties to which that covenant bound them, as soon as they came into Canaan, Exodus 12:25 And it shall be, when you have come to the land which Jehovah will give you, according as He has promised, that you shall keep this service.
Jos 5:8 And it happened when they had finished circumcising all the people, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were well.
till they were whole - For so long at least, they who had been circumcised would be disabled from war, though they would not necessarily be debarred from keeping the feast. The submission of the people to the rite was a proof of faith, even though we remember that the panic of the Canaanites Jos_5:1 would render any immediate attack from them unlikely, and that there must have been a large number of “men of war” who would not need to be circumcised at all.
Jos 5:9 And Jehovah said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of
The place is called Gilgal - A rolling away or rolling off.
The reproach of
Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians speak and say, He brought them out for harm, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and be moved to pity as to this evil against Your people.
Numbers 14:13-16 And Moses said to Jehovah, Then the Egyptians will hear, for You have brought up this people in Your might from among them. And they will say to the inhabitant of this land, They have heard that You, Jehovah, are among this people, who is seen eye to eye. You are Jehovah, and Your cloud stands over them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. And will You kill this people as one man? Then the nations who have heard Your fame will speak, saying, Because Jehovah was not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He has slain them in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 9:28 lest the land from where You bring us out say, Because Jehovah was not able to bring them into the land which He promised them, and because He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness, which rested upon Israel as long as it was condemned to wander restlessly about and to die in the wilderness. These reproaches were rolled away from
Jos
The passover - Which was their third passover: the first was in Egypt, Exo_12:11-24, the second at mount Sinai, Num_9:1-5, the third here; for in their wilderness travels, these and all other sacrifices were neglected, Amos 5:25 Have you offered sacrifices and offerings to Me forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? While they were in the wilderness, they were denied the comfort of this ordinance, as a farther token of God's displeasure. But now God comforted them again, after the time that he had afflicted them.
the passover on the fourteenth day --The time fixed by the law Leviticus 23:5-6 In the fourteenth day of the first month, between the evenings, is Jehovah's Passover, and on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to Jehovah. You must eat unleavened bread seven days. Also Num_28:16.
Jos 5:11 And they ate of the old grain of the land on the next day after the Passover, unleavened cakes and roasted grain in the same day.
They did eat of the old corn of the land - The Hebrew word abur, is translated old corn. The noun is evidently derived from abar, to pass over, to go beyond; and here it may be translated simply the produce, that which passes from the land into the hands of the cultivator. The Septuagint renders it corn of the land Joshua
The commentators seem divided on when this took place as seen in the next 2 paragraphs.
On the morrow after the passover - That is, on the fifteenth day; for then the feast of unleavened bread began. But they could neither eat bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, till the first-fruits of the harvest had been waved at the tabernacle; (see Lev_23:9, etc.).
on the morrow after the passover; which Kimchi and Ben Gersom say was on the fifteenth of Nisan, the passover being on the fourteenth; but if the morrow after the passover is the same with the morrow after the Sabbath, Lev_23:11; that was the sixteenth of Nisan; and so Jarchi here says, this is the day of waving the sheaf, which was always done on the sixteenth: it is difficult to say which day is meant; if it was the sixteenth, then it may refer to what they ate on that day, after the sheaf was offered; if it was the fifteenth, it seems necessary to understand it of the old corn; and such they must have to make their unleavened cakes of, both for the passover on the fourteenth, and the Chagigah, or feast of unleavened bread, which began the fifteenth.
Corn – aw-boor' A masculine noun referring to produce, food, food passed over, food that is kept over; word refers to stored grain, old corn. Corn is a new world food and was not available to people in the middle east in that time. For whatever reason, the word translated grain in the MKJV is translated as corn in the KJV.
Jos
And the manna ceased - This miraculous supply continued with them as long as they needed it. While they were in the wilderness they required such a provision; nor could such a multitude, in such a place, be supported without a miracle.
Jos 5:13 And it happened, when Joshua was beside Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked. And, behold, there stood a Man in front of him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are You for us, or for our foes?
A man - The appearance was that of God manifested in the Person of His Word. Hence, the command of Jos_5:15. It has been a very general opinion, both among the ancients and moderns, that the person mentioned here was no other than the Lord Jesus in that form which, in the fullness of time, he was actually to assume for the redemption of man. That the appearance was supernatural is agreed on all hands; and as the name Jehovah is given him, (Jos_6:2), and he received from Joshua Divine adoration, we may presume that no created angel is intended. That the appearance was not in a vision merely is clear from the fact that Joshua “went unto Him” and addressed Him. The drawn sword indicative of the Lord’s engagement in the battle of
Jos 5:14 And He said, No, but I have come as the Commander of the army of Jehovah. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth. And he worshiped and said to Him, What does my Lord say to His servant?
The Lord's host (commander of the army of Jehovah) does not mean “the people of Israel, who were just at the commencement of their warlike enterprise,” for although the host of Israel who came out of Egypt are called “the hosts of the Lord” in Exodus 12:41 And it happened at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even it was on this very day, all the armies of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt, the Israelites are never called the host or army of Jehovah (in the singular). “The host of Jehovah” is synonymous with “the host of heaven” 1 Kings 22:19 And he said, Hear therefore the Word of Jehovah: I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left and signifies the angels, as in Psalms 148:2 Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts and Psalms 103:21 Bless Jehovah, all His hosts, ministers of His who do His pleasure.
did worship - Nor was he reprehended for offering Divine worship to this person, which he would not have received had he been a created angel. Revelation 22:8-9 And I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel showing me these things. Then he said to me, Behold! See, do not do it! For I am your fellow-servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the Words of this Book. Do worship to God.
Lord - Interestingly, the word translated as Lord is Adoni (and not Elohim or YHWH). A masculine noun meaning lord or master. The most frequent usage is of a human lord, but it is also used of divinity. Generally, it carries the nuances of authority rather than ownership. When used of humans, it refers to authority over slaves (Gen_24:9; Jdg_19:11); people (1Ki_22:17); a wife (Gen_18:12; Amo_4:1); or a household (Gen_45:8; Psa_105:21). When used of divinity, it frequently occurs with yehōwāh (H3068), signifying His sovereignty
It by no means follows that because Joshua fell down upon the ground and “did worship”, he must have recognised him at once as the angel of the Lord who was equal with God; for the word which is connected with the falling down, does not always mean divine worship, but very frequently means nothing more than the deep reverence paid by a dependant to his superior or king (e.g., 2Sa_9:6; 2Sa_14:33), and Joshua did not address the person who appeared to him by the name of God, but simply as “My lord.” In any case, however, Joshua regarded him at once as a superior being, i.e., an angel. And he must have recognised him as something more than a created angel of superior rank, that is to say, as the angel of Jehovah who is essentially equal with God, the visible revealer of the invisible God, as soon as he gave him the command to take off his shoes, etc. - a command which would remind him of the appearance of God to Moses in the burning bush, and which implied that the person who now appeared was the very person who had revealed himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Jos 5:15 And the Commander of Jehovah's army said to Joshua, Take your shoe off your foot, for the place on which you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot. - These were the same words which the angel, on
