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Texts -- Joshua 5:1-14 (NET)

Context
5:1 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 crossed , they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites .
A New Generation is Circumcised
5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua , “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again .” 5:3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins . 5:4 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 desert after they left Egypt . 5:5 Now all the men who left were circumcised , but all the sons born on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt were uncircumcised . 5:6 Indeed , for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt , the ones who had disobeyed the Lord , died off. For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them , a land rich in milk and honey . 5:7 He replaced them with their sons , whom Joshua circumcised . They were uncircumcised ; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way . 5:8 When all the men had been circumcised , they stayed there in the camp until they had healed . 5:9 The Lord said to Joshua , “Today I have taken away the disgrace of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal even to this day . 5:10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho . 5:11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover , including unleavened bread and roasted grain. 5:12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate some of the produce of the land ; the Israelites never ate manna again .
Israel Conquers Jericho
5:13 When Joshua was near Jericho , he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword . Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies ?” 5:14 He answered , “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army . Now I have arrived !” Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground and asked , “What does my master want to say to his servant ?”

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • This section is somewhat repetitive, but the emphasis is on the Lord's right to the first-born in Israel and how the Israelites were to acknowledge that right. The repetition stresses its importance.13:1-2 "Every"refers to th...
  • In this final part of the Book of the Covenant, which concludes with 23:33, God gave the Israelites promises and precepts relating to their conquest of the Promised Land. Suzerainty treaties normally concluded with an explana...
  • On the first anniversary of the Passover in Egypt, just after the Israelites had dedicated the tabernacle, they observed this feast as God had commanded (v. 5). Most of the males were already circumcised (cf. Josh. 5:5).This ...
  • This account fits chronologically after 21:13. It records two great victories that God gave His people over two of the mighty Amorite kings."The term Amorite has various meanings in the OT: Canaanites generally (e.g., Gen. 15...
  • When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts purposing to obey Him again (vv. 1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to t...
  • The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua....
  • As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).7Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land abo...
  • I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-21. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-92. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-183. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:121. Passag...
  • In one sense verses 1-9 are a preamble to the whole book. They contain the basic principles that were to guide Joshua and Israel so they could obtain all that God had promised their forefathers.1:1 The first word of the book ...
  • "This chapter [five] records four experiences which God brought to Joshua and the people, each one centered about a token, or symbol . . . The Token of Circumcision: Restoration to covenant favor (5:2-9) . . . The Token of Bl...
  • 5:13-15 "Despite Joshua's long military experience he had never led an attack on a fortified city that was prepared for a long siege. In fact, of all the walled cities in Palestine, Jericho was probably the most invincible. T...
  • At Jericho, Israel learned God's strength. At Ai, she learned her own weakness. She could only conquer her enemies as she remained faithful to God's covenant."We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a grea...
  • The writer identified 31 kings in the order in which Joshua defeated them."Many of the same names appear in the Amarna letters, thus confirming the historicity of our text."158"The description was not complete. Shechem is not...
  • After the process of assigning land to the three tribes mentioned above, Israel's attention turned to relocating the tabernacle in a more central location (v. 1). God undoubtedly made the choice of Shiloh (lit. rest; cf. Deut...
  • Aharoni, Yohanan. "The Province-List of Judah."Vetus Testamentum9 (1959):225-46.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwel...
  • The events of this pericope tie in directly with those of the previous one. Israel's failure recorded there led to the discipline announced here."The narrator moves from chap. 1 to chap. 2 like a modern preacher moves from te...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • Elkanah was a bigamist, a condition forbidden by God (Gen. 2:24). However, he loved Hannah dearly and gave her special consideration since she was infertile (v. 5; cf. Jacob's relationship with Rachel and Leah). Hannah's ster...
  • The Philistines, as we have already seen in Judges, were Israel's primary enemy to the west at this time. Samson, too, fought the Philistines (Judg. 13-16).52There are about 150 references to the Philistines in 1 and 2 Samuel...
  • Admirably Saul sought no personal revenge on those who initially had failed to support him (10:27; cf. Judg. 20:13; Luke 19:27). Furthermore he gave God the glory for his victory (cf. Jon. 2:9; Ps. 20:7; Prov. 21:31). He was ...
  • In this section David asked God to deliver him from enemies who were trying to kill him without cause.35:1-3 David appealed to the Lord for defense as to a champion who goes out in battle for another (cf. Josh. 5:13-15).35:4-...
  • The psalmist recalled God's past faithfulness to Israel's forefathers and affirmed the nation's present confidence in the Lord.44:1-3 Speaking for the nation the psalmist related the account of God's giving the Promised Land ...
  • The psalmist wrote that he heard a conversation between Yahweh and David's Master. Clearly this distinguishes two members of the Godhead. LORD (Yahweh) refers to God the Father and Lord (adonay) refers to God the Son, the Mes...
  • Isaiah next described the remnant who will stream to Zion praising God at the beginning of Messiah's reign. Notice the many triadic formations in the structure of this chapter, creating a feeling of the completeness of joy. T...
  • This poem depicts the effects of Yahweh's wrath on the self-exalting nations. His judgment will be universal (vv. 1-4). Isaiah particularized it with reference to Edom, a representative nation (vv. 5-17; cf. 25:10-12)."Here w...
  • "Having described the exaltation of Zion and her enlargement through the influx of the Gentiles, the prophet turns to describe the destruction of Zion's enemies."701"The oracle is most dramatic. The only OT passage that in an...
  • 16:1-2 The Lord instructed Ezekiel to make the detestable practices of the people of Jerusalem known to them. He prophesied to the exiles, but his message presented the people of Jerusalem as the primary object of his attenti...
  • 21:1-2 Again the Lord told His prophet to speak a message of judgment against Jerusalem, the pagan sanctuaries, and the whole land of Israel (i.e., Judah). This would be a clarification of the figures used in the previous par...
  • 4:4 Ironically the Lord told these sinful Israelites to go to Bethel but to transgress, not to worship. Such a call parodied the summons of Israel's priests to come to the sanctuary to worship (cf. Ps. 95:6; 96:8-9; 100:2-4)....
  • 1:7 Zechariah received another revelation from the Lord three months after his previous one in Darius' second year, 520 B.C.35"On the same day (24 Shebat), five months earlier, the rebuilding of the temple had been resumed (c...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • The triple division appears again. First God commands Joshua, who then transmits the command to the people, who, in turn, then obey. And thus at each stage the divine causality, Joshua's delegated but absolute authority, and ...
  • Joshua 5:14The army of Israel was just beginning a hard conflict under an untried leader. Behind them the Jordan barred their retreat, in front of them Jericho forbade their advance. Most of them had never seen a fortified ci...
  • Joshua 7:1-12This passage naturally parts itself into,1. The hidden sin (Joshua 5:1); 2. The repulse by which it is punished (Joshua 5:2-5); 3. The prayer of remonstrance (Joshua 5:6-9); 4. The answer revealing the cause (Jos...
  • Then, that the sin is laid at the doors of the whole nation, while yet it was the secret act of one man. That is a strange for' in Joshua 5:1--the people did it; for' Achan did it. Observe, too, with what bitter particularity...
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