Text -- Joshua 5:3-15 (NET)

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?” 5:15 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.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jos 5:3

That is, he caused this to be done; and, because it was to be done speedily, the passover approaching, it was necessary to use many hands in it.

Wesley: Jos 5:3

That is, such of them as were uncircumcised. And, though it be not mentioned, it is more than probable, that the Israelites beyond Jordan were circumcised at the same time.

Wesley: Jos 5:4

This is to be restrained to such as were then above twenty years old, and such as were guilty of that rebellion, Num. 14:1-25, as it is expressed below, Jos 5:6.

Wesley: Jos 5:5

Either their parents, or the rulers of Israel, by Divine permission and indulgence; because they were now on a journey, in which case the passover also might be neglected, Num 9:10, Num 9:13. Rather, it was a continued token of God's displeasure against them, for their unbelief and murmuring: a token that they should never have the benefit of that promise, whereof circumcision was the seal.

Wesley: Jos 5:6

The Hebrew word commonly signifies the Gentiles; so he calls them, to note that they were unworthy the name of Israelites.

Wesley: Jos 5:6

That is, not give them so much as a sight of it, which he granted to Moses, much less the possession.

Wesley: Jos 5:7

Which God would have done, As a testimony of God's reconciliation to the people, and that he would not farther impute their parents rebellion to them. Because the great impediment of circumcision was now removed, their continued travels, and frequent and uncertain removal. 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, Exo 12:25; Lev 23:10; Num 15:2.

Wesley: Jos 5:8

Free from that pain and soreness which circumcision caused, it was indeed an act of great faith, to expose themselves to so much pain and danger too, in this place where they were hemmed in by Jordan and their enemies.

Wesley: Jos 5:9

That is, uncircumcision, was both in truth, and in the opinion of the Jews, a matter of great reproach, and although this was a reproach common to most nations of the world, yet it is particularly called the reproach of Egypt, either, because the other neighbouring nations, being the children of Abraham by the concubines, are supposed to have been circumcised, which the Egyptians at this time were not, as may be gathered from Exo 2:6, where they knew the child to be an Hebrew by this mark. Or because they came out of Egypt, and were esteemed to be a sort of Egyptians, Num 22:5, which they justly thought a great reproach; but by their circumcision they were now distinguished from them, and manifested to be another people. Or because many of them lay under this reproach in Egypt, having wickedly neglected this duty there for worldly reasons; and others of them continued in the same shameful condition for many years in the wilderness.

Wesley: Jos 5:9

That is, rolling.

Wesley: Jos 5:10

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, Amo 5:25. 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.

Wesley: Jos 5:11

The corn of the last year, which the inhabitants of those parts had left in their barns, being fled into their strong cities, or other remoter parts.

Wesley: Jos 5:11

That is, on the sixteenth day; for the passover was killed between the two evenings of the fourteenth day, and was eaten in that evening or night, which, according to the Jewish computation, whereby they begin their days at the evening, was a part of the fifteenth day, all which was the feast of the passover; and so the morrow of the sixteenth day, was the morrow after the passover, when they were obliged to offer unto God the first sheaf, and then were allowed to eat of the rest.

Wesley: Jos 5:11

Of that year's corn. which was most proper for that use.

Wesley: Jos 5:11

same day - Having an eager desire to enjoy the fruits of the land. And this corn came very seasonably; for after the passover, they were to keep the feast of unleavened bread, which they could not do, when they had nothing but manna to live upon.

Wesley: Jos 5:12

Which God now withheld, to shew that Manna was not an ordinary production of nature, but an extraordinary and special gift of God to supply their necessity. And because God would not be prodigal of his favours, by working miracles where ordinary means were sufficient.

Wesley: Jos 5:12

That is, on the seventeenth day.

Wesley: Jos 5:13

Heb. In Jericho, that is, in the territory adjoining to it; whither he went to view those parts, and discern the fittest places for his attempt upon Jericho.

Wesley: Jos 5:13

One in the appearance of a man.

Wesley: Jos 5:13

In readiness to fight, not, as Joshua thought, against him, but for him and his people.

Wesley: Jos 5:14

I am the chief captain of this people, and will conduct and assist thee and them in this great undertaking. Now this person is not a created angel, but the son of God, who went along with the Israelites in this expedition, as their chief and captain. And this appears, By his acceptance of adoration here, which a created angel durst not admit of, Rev 22:8-9. Because the place was made holy by his presence, Jos 5:15, which was God's prerogative, Exo 3:5. Because he is called the Lord, Heb. Jehovah, Jos 6:2.

Wesley: Jos 5:14

I acknowledge thee for my Lord and captain, and therefore wait for thy commands, which I am ready to obey.

Wesley: Jos 5:15

In token of reverence and subjection.

Wesley: Jos 5:15

Consecrated by my presence. The very same orders which God gave to Moses at the bush, when he was sending him to bring Israel out of Egypt, he here gives to Joshua, for the confirming his faith, that as he had been with Moses, so he would be with him.

JFB: Jos 5:3

Probably one of the argillaceous hills that form the highest terrace of the Jordan, on a rising ground at the palm forest.

JFB: Jos 5:4-7

The omission to circumcise the children born in the wilderness might have been owing to the incessant movements of the people; but it is most generally thought that the true cause was a temporary suspension of the covenant with the unbelieving race who, being rejected of the Lord, were doomed to perish in the wilderness, and whose children had to bear the iniquity of their fathers (Num 14:33), though, as the latter were to be brought into the promised land, the covenant would be renewed with them.

JFB: Jos 5:8

As the number of those born in the wilderness and uncircumcised must have been immense, a difficulty is apt to be felt how the rite could have been performed on such a multitude in so short a time. But it has been calculated that the proportion between those already circumcised (under twenty when the doom was pronounced) and those to be circumcised, was one to four, and consequently the whole ceremony could easily have been performed in a day. Circumcision being the sign and seal of the covenant, its performance was virtually an investment in the promised land, and its being delayed till their actual entrance into the country was a wise and gracious act on the part of God, who postponed this trying duty till the hearts of the people, animated by the recent astonishing miracle, were prepared to obey the divine will.

JFB: Jos 5:8

It is calculated that, of those who did not need to be circumcised, more than fifty thousand were left to defend the camp if an attack had been then made upon it.

JFB: Jos 5:9

The taunts industriously cast by that people upon Israel as nationally rejected by God by the cessation of circumcision and the renewal of that rite was a practical announcement of the restoration of the covenant [KEIL].

JFB: Jos 5:9

No trace either of the name or site is now to be found; but it was about two miles from Jericho [JOSEPHUS], and well suited for an encampment by the advantages of shade and water. It was the first place pronounced "holy" in the Holy Land (Jos 5:15).

JFB: Jos 5:10

The time fixed by the law (see on Exo 12:17; Lev 23:5; Num 28:16). Thus the national existence was commenced by a solemn act of religious dedication.

JFB: Jos 5:11-12

Found in storehouses of the inhabitants who had fled into Jericho.

JFB: Jos 5:11-12

New grain (see on Lev 23:10), probably lying in the fields. Roasted--a simple and primitive preparation, much liked in the East. This abundance of food led to the discontinuance of the manna; and the fact of its then ceasing, viewed in connection with its seasonable appearance in the barren wilderness, is a striking proof of its miraculous origin.

JFB: Jos 5:13

In the immediate vicinity of that city, probably engaged in surveying the fortifications, and in meditating the best plan of a siege.

JFB: Jos 5:13

It is evident from the strain of the context that this was not a mere vision, but an actual appearance; the suddenness of which surprised, but did not daunt, the intrepid leader.

JFB: Jos 5:14

Either the Israelitish people (Exo 7:4; Exo 12:41; Isa 55:4), or the angels (Psa 148:2), or both included, and the Captain of it was the angel of the covenant, whose visible manifestations were varied according to the occasion. His attitude of equipment betokened his approval of, and interest in, the war of invasion.

JFB: Jos 5:14

The adoption by Joshua of this absolute form of prostration demonstrates the sentiments of profound reverence with which the language and majestic bearing of the stranger inspired him. The real character of this personage was disclosed by His accepting the homage of worship (compare Act 10:25-26; Rev 19:10), and still further in the command, "Loose thy shoe from off thy foot" (Exo 3:5).

Clarke: Jos 5:4

This is the cause why Joshua did circumcise - The text here explains itself. Before the Israelites left Egypt all the males were circumcised; and some learned men think that all those who were born during their encampment at Sinai were circumcised also, because there they celebrated the passover; but after that time, during the whole of their stay in the wilderness, there were none circumcised till they entered into the promised land. Owing to their unsettled state, God appears to have dispensed, for the time being, with this rite; but as they were about to celebrate another passover, it was necessary that all the males should be circumcised; for without this they could not be considered within the covenant, and could not keep the passover, which was the seal of that covenant. As baptism is generally understood to have succeeded to circumcision, and the holy eucharist to the passover, hence, in the Church of England, and probably in most others, no person is permitted to receive the sacrament of the Lord’ s Supper till he has been baptized.

Clarke: Jos 5:8

They abode - in the camp, till they were whole - This required several days; see the notes on Gen 34:24, Gen 34:25. Sir J. Chardin informs us that when adults were circumcised they were obliged to keep their beds for about three weeks, or at least during that time they are not able to walk about but with great difficulty. The account he had from several renegadoes, who had received circumcision among the Mohammedans. Is it not strange that during this time they were not attacked by the inhabitants of the land, and utterly destroyed, which might have been easily effected? See the case of the poor Shechemites, as related in Gen 34:24-31, with the notes there. Joshua, as an able general, would at once perceive that this very measure must expose his whole host to the danger of being totally annihilated; but he knew that God could not err, and that it was his duty to obey; therefore in the very teeth of his enemies he reduced the major part of his army to a state of total helplessness, simply trusting for protection in the arm of Jehovah! The sequel shows that his confidence was not misplaced; during the whole time God did not permit any of their enemies to disturb them. The path of duty is the path of safety; and it is impossible for any soul to be injured while walking in the path of obedience. But why did not God order them to be circumcised while they were on the east side of Jordan in a state of great security? Because he chose to bring them into straits and difficulties where no counsel or might but his own could infallibly direct and save them; and this he did that they might see that the excellence of the power was of God, and not of man. For the same reason he caused them to pass the Jordan at the time that it overflowed its banks, and not at the time when it was low and easily fordable, that he might have the better opportunity to show them that they were under his immediate care and protection; and convince them of his almighty power, that they might trust in him for ever, and not fear the force of any adversaries. In both cases how apparent are the wisdom, power, and goodness of God!

Clarke: Jos 5:9

The reproach of Egypt - Their being uncircumcised made them like the uncircumcised Egyptians; and the Hebrews ever considered all those who were uncircumcised as being in a state of the grossest impurity. Being now circumcised, the reproach of uncircumcision was rolled away. This is another proof that the Israelites did not receive circumcision from the Egyptians; for they could not have considered those in a state of abomination, from whom they received that rite by which they conceived themselves to be made pure. The Israelites had this rite from Abraham; and Abraham had it from the express order of God himself. See Gen 17:10 (note), and the note there

Clarke: Jos 5:9

The place is called Gilgal - A rolling away or rolling off. See the note on Jos 4:19, where the word is largely explained.

Clarke: Jos 5:10

Kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month - If the ceremony of circumcision was performed on the eleventh day of the month, as many think; and if the sore was at the worst on the thirteenth, and the passover was celebrated on the fourteenth, the people being then quite recovered; it must have been rather a miraculous than a natural healing. We have already seen from the account of Sir J. Chardin, that it required about three weeks to restore to soundness adults who had submitted to circumcision: if any thing like this took place in the case of the Israelites at Gilgal, they could not have celebrated the passover on the third or fourth day after their circumcision. The apparent impossibility of this led Mr. Harmer to suppose that they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month, the preceding time having been employed in the business of the circumcision. See his Observations, vol. iv., p. 427, etc.

Clarke: Jos 5:11

They did eat of the old corn of the land - The Hebrew word עבור abur , which we translate old corn, occurs only in this place in such a sense, if that sense be legitimate. The noun, though of doubtful signification, is evidently derived from עבר 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; or according to Cocceius, what passes from person to person in the way of traffic; hence bought corn, what they purchased from the inhabitants of the land

Clarke: Jos 5:11

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.); and therefore in this case we may suppose that the Israelites had offered a sheaf of the barley-harvest, the only grain that was then ripe, before they ate of the unleavened cakes and parched corn.

Clarke: Jos 5:12

And the manna ceased - after they had eaten of the old corn - 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. Now they are got into the promised land, the anathematized inhabitants of which either fall or flee before them, they find an old stock, and they are brought in just at the commencement of the harvest; hence, as there is an ample provision made in the ordinary way of Providence, there is no longer any need of a miraculous supply; therefore the manna ceased which they had enjoyed for forty years. The circumstances in which it was first given, its continuance with them through all their peregrinations in the wilderness, its accompanying them over Jordan, and ceasing as soon as they got a supply in the ordinary way of Providence, all prove that it was a preternatural gift. "On the fourteenth of Nisan they sacrificed the paschal lamb: on the fifteenth, i.e., according to our calculation, the same day after sunset, they disposed themselves for eating it, and actually did eat it. On the morrow, the sixteenth, after having offered to God the homer, they began eating the corn of the country; and the seventeenth, the manna ceased to fall from heaven. What supports this calculation is, that the homer or sheaf was offered the sixteenth of Nisan, in broad daylight, though pretty late. Now the manna did not fall till night, or very early in the morning; so that it cannot be said to have ceased falling the same day that the Israelites began to eat of the produce of the country."- Dodd.

Clarke: Jos 5:13

When Joshua was by Jericho - The sixth chapter should have commenced here, as this is an entirely new relation; or these two chapters should have made but one, as the present division has most unnaturally divided the communication which Joshua had from the angel of the Lord, and which is continued to Jos 6:5. It is very likely that Joshua had gone out privately to reconnoitre the city of Jericho when he had this vision; and while contemplating the strength of the place, and probably reflecting on the extreme difficulty of reducing it, God, to encourage him, granted him this vision, and instructed him in the means by which the city should be taken

Clarke: Jos 5:13

There stood a man over against him - 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

Clarke: Jos 5:13

And Joshua went unto him - This is a very natural relation, and carries with it all the appearances and characteristics of a simple relation of fact. The whole history of Joshua shows him to have been a man of the most undaunted mind and intrepid courage - a genuine Hero. An ordinary person, seeing this man armed, with a drawn sword in his hand, would have endeavored to have regained the camp, and sought safety in flight; but Joshua, undismayed though probably slightly armed, walks up to this terrible person and immediately questions him, Art thou for us or for our adversaries? probably at first supposing that he might be the Canaanitish general coming to reconnoitre the Israelitish camp, as himself was come out to examine the city of Jericho.

Clarke: Jos 5:14

But as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come - By this saying Joshua was both encouraged and instructed. As if he had said, "Fear not; Jehovah hath sent from heaven to save thee and thy people from the reproach of them that would swallow thee up. Israel is the Lord’ s host; and the Lord of hosts is Israel’ s Captain. Thou thyself shalt only be captain under me, and I am now about to instruct thee relative to thy conduct in this war.

Clarke: Jos 5:14

And Joshua - 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. See Rev 22:8, Rev 22:9.

Clarke: Jos 5:15

Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, etc. - These were the same words which the angel, on Mount Sinai, spoke to Moses; (see Exo 3:5-8); and from this it seems likely that it was the same person that appeared in both places: in the first, to encourage Moses to deliver the oppressed Israelites, and bring them to the promised land; in the second, to encourage Joshua in his arduous labor in expelling the ancient inhabitants, and establishing the people in the inheritance promised to their fathers. There is scarcely a more unfortunate division of chapters in the whole Bible than that here. Through this very circumstance many persons have been puzzled to know what was intended by this extraordinary appearance, because they supposed that the whole business ends with the chapter, whereas, it is continued in the succeeding one, the first verse of which is a mere parenthesis, simply relating the state of Jericho at the time that Joshua was favored by this encouraging vision. We may draw two useful reflections from the subjects of this chapter: -

1.    As the manna had now failed, the people always greatly addicted to incredulity, might have been led to imagine that God had now given them up, and would be no longer in their armies, had he not given them this strong assurance, that the Angel of his presence should be with them as the guide and protector of the whole camp; for Joshua undoubtedly informed them of the encouragement he had received from the captain of the Lord’ s host

2.    By this vision he showed them that their help came from himself, and that it was not by human might or power, but by the Lord of hosts, they were to have the victory over all their adversaries; and he gave them the most convincing proof of this in the miraculous destruction of Jericho. By this means he continued to keep them dependent on his arm alone, without which dependence the spirit of religion could not have been preserved among them.

Calvin: Jos 5:9

9.And the Lord said unto Joshua, etc The disgrace of Egypt is expounded by some as meaning that the want of circumcision rendered them similar to the Egyptians, in other words, profane and marked with a stigma; as if it had been said that they were again made the peculiar property of God when they were anew stamped with this mark, to distinguish them from the nations that were unclean. Others understand it actively, as meaning that they would no longer be scorned by the Egyptians, as if God had deceived them. This I have no hesitation in rejecting as too far fetched. Others understand that they would no longer lie under the false imputation of worshipping the gods of that nation. I rather understand the meaning to be, that they were freed from an invidious charge, by which they were otherwise overborne. It was disreputable to have shaken off the yoke and revolted from the king under whose government they lived. Moreover, as they gave out that God was the avenger of unjust tyranny, it was easy to upbraid them with using the name of God as a mere color for their conduct. They might, therefore, have been regarded as deserters, had not the disgrace been wiped off by the appeal to circumcision, by which the divine election was sealed in their flesh before they went down into Egypt. It was accordingly made plain by the renewal of the ancient covenant that they were not rebels against legitimate authority, nor had rashly gone off at their own hand, but that their liberty was restored by God, who had long ago taken them under his special protection.

From the removal of disgrace the place obtained its name. For those who think that the prepuce cut off was called Gilgal, because it was a kind of circle, abandon the literal meaning, and have recourse to a very unnecessary fiction; while it is perfectly obvious that the place was called Rolling Off, because God there rolled off from his people the disgrace which unjustly attached to them. The interpretation of liberty, adopted by Josephus, is vain and ridiculous, and makes it apparent that he was as ignorant of the Hebrew tongue as of jurisprudence.

Calvin: Jos 5:10

10.And the children of Israel. kept the Passover, etc Here it is stated that the Passover was celebrated on the regular day, although there are some who think that the words used imply that the practice was unusual. They hence infer that, like circumcision, it had been interrupted for a period of forty years, as it would have been absurd for persons uncircumcised to take part in a sacred feast. To confirm this view, they observe that we do not read of the Passover having been observed after the beginning of the second year. But it is not probable that that which God had lately ordered to be perpetual, (Exo 12:42) was suddenly cast aside. For it had been said to them, It is a night to be observed by the children of Israel in all their generations. How inconsistent, then, would it have been had this practice, which was to be observed throughout all ages, become obsolete in the course of two years! And again, how heartless it would have been to bury the memory of a recent favor within so short a period!

But it is said that the want of circumcision must have kept back a large proportion, that the mystery might not be profaned; for at its institution it had been declared, No uncircumcised person shall eat of it. To this I have already answered, that it was an extraordinary privilege; as the children of Israel were freed from the law. ⁵⁴ For it is certain that they continued to use sacrifices, and to observe the other parts of legal worship, although this was unlawful, unless something of the form prescribed by the law had been remitted by divine authority. It is certain that unclean persons were prohibited from entering the court of the tabernacle, and yet the children of Israel, while uncircumcised, offered sacrifices there, thus doing what was equivalent to the slaying of the Passover. They were therefore permitted, by sufferance, to do that which it was not lawful to do according to the rule of the law.

The mention made by Moses of the second celebration of the Passover (Num 9:0) is for a different purpose, namely, for the purpose of indirectly censuring the carelessness and sluggishness of the people, who would not have observed the sacred anniversary at the end of the first year if they had not been reminded of it. For although God had proclaimed that they should through all ages annually renew the memory of their deliverance, yet they had grown so oblivious before the end of the year, that they had become remiss in the discharge of the duty. It is not without cause they are urged by a new intimation, as they were not sufficiently attentive of their own accord. That passage, therefore, does not prove that the use of the Passover was afterwards interrupted; on the contrary, it may, with some probability, be inferred from it that it was annually observed; as the Lord, towards the end of the year, anticipates the observance, telling them to make careful provision for it in future, and never deviate from the command which had been given them. ⁵⁵

Calvin: Jos 5:11

11.And they did eat of the old corn, etc Whether they then began first to eat wheaten bread is not very clear. For they had dwelt in a country that was not uncultivated, and was tolerably fertile. At least in the territories of the two kings there was enough of corn to supply the inhabitants. It does not seem reasonable to suppose that the children of Israel allowed the corn which they found there to rot and perish by mere waste. And I have no doubt that they ate the flesh which remained over of the sacrifices. It is quite possible, therefore, that they did not wholly abstain from wheaten bread, and yet did not abandon their accustomed food. For a country which was assigned to a tenth part could not have furnished food sufficient for the whole multitude, as there cannot be a doubt that a just estimate was made when Moses settled in it only two tribes and a half tribe. As yet, therefore, the twelve tribes had not found sufficient food, more especially as the country had been devastated by war, and the Israelites, who were not in safety to leave the camp, could not devote their attention to agriculture. The manna was thus necessary to feed them until a more abundant supply was obtained. This took place in the land of Canaan, and then, accordingly, they returned to common food. But why they deferred it till that day is not known, unless it be that after their wound was cured, some days behooved to be spent in collecting corn, while religion did not permit them to bake bread lest they should break the Sabbath. But although that rest was sacred, we gather from the circumstances that they made haste, as the flour must have been previously prepared, seeing they could not grind it and bake it in a single day.

Be this as it may, the Lord furnished them with provision as long as their want required to be supplied. The failure of the manna on a sudden, and at the very moment, must have furnished an additional attestation to the kindness of God, inasmuch as it was thence apparent that the manna was a temporary resource, which had descended not so much from the clouds as from a paternal providence. It is moreover plain, that this is to be understood of the produce of the former year, and it is needless to raise any question in regard to it; for it would have implied too much precipitation to rush upon the produce of the present year when not yet properly matured, and a whole month would scarcely have sufficed to collect enough for the supply of so great a multitude. I cannot see why expounders should give themselves so much trouble with so clear a matter.

Calvin: Jos 5:13

13.And it came to pass when Joshua, etc Here we have the narrative of a remarkable vision, by which Joshua was greatly encouraged and emboldened. For though he was strenuously discharging his office, the application of an additional stimulus was not without its use. The angel, however, did not appear solely on his private account, but for the confirmation of the whole people: nay, the Lord looked further forward, that he might furnish posterity with stronger proofs of a kindness which was never duly considered. For although they boasted in lofty terms of having been planted by the hand of God in a holy land, they were scarcely induced by all the miracles to acknowledge in good earnest that they were placed there as God’s vassals. This vision, therefore, must have been beneficial to all ages, by leaving no doubt as to the divine kindness bestowed. Its being said that he lifted his eyes, tends to confirm the certainty of the vision, lest any one might suppose that his eyesight had merely been dazzled by some evanescent phantom.

The spectacle, when first presented, must have inspired fear; for it is probable that Joshua was then alone, whether he had withdrawn from public view to engage in prayer, or for the purpose of reconnoitering the city. I am rather inclined to think it was the latter, and that he had gone aside to examine where the city ought to be attacked, lest the difficulty might deter others. It appears certain that he was without attendants, as he alone perceives the vision; and there can be no doubt that he was prepared to fight had he fallen in with an enemy. But he puts his question as if addressing a man, because it is only from the answer he learns that it is an angel. This doubt gives more credibility to the vision, while he is gradually led from the view of the man whom he addresses to the recognition of an angel. The words, at the same time, imply that it was not an ordinary angel, but one of special excellence. For he calls himself captain of the Lord’s host, a term which may be understood to comprehend not merely his chosen people, but angels also.

The former view, however, is the more correct, as God does not produce anything of an unwonted nature, but constitutes that which we previously read that he performed to Moses. And we know that Moses himself preferred this favor to all others; and justly, for God there manifested his own glory in an open and familiar manner. Accordingly, he is indiscriminately called an angel, and distinguished by the title of the eternal God. Of this fact Paul is a competent witness, who distinctly declares that it was Christ. (1Co 10:4.) And Moses himself embraced God as present in the person of the Mediator. For when God declares, after the making of the calf, (Exo 33:2 ⁵⁶) that he would no longer be the Leader of the people, he at the same time promises that he will give one of his angels, but only one, as it were taken out of the general body of the angelic host. ⁵⁷ This Moses earnestly deprecates, obviously because he could have no hope that God would be propitious if the Mediator were removed. It was thus a special pledge of the divine favor that the Captain and Head of the Church, to whom Moses had been accustomed, was now present to assist. And indeed the divine adoption could not be ratified in any other way than in the hand of the Mediator.

Calvin: Jos 5:14

14.And he said, Nay; but as captain, etc Although the denial applies equally to both parts of the question, namely, that he was neither an Israelite nor a Canaanite, and was thus equivalent to a denial of his being a mortal man, yet it seems to be more properly applicable to the second, or to that part of the question in which Joshua asked if he were one of the enemy. This, however, is a matter of little moment; the essential thing is to understand that he had come to preside over the chosen people whom he honorably styles the Lord’s host. In his representing himself as different from God, a personal distinction is denoted, but unity of essence is not destroyed.

We have said that in the books of Moses the name of Jehovah ⁵⁸ is often attributed to the presiding Angel, who was undoubtedly the only-begotten Son of God. He is indeed very God, and yet in the person of Mediator by dispensation, he is inferior to God. I willingly receive what ancient writers teach on this subject, — that when Christ anciently appeared in human form, it was a prelude to the mystery which was afterwards exhibited when God was manifested in the flesh. We must beware, however, of imagining that Christ at that time became incarnate, since, first, we nowhere read that God sent his Son in the flesh before the fullness of the times; and, secondly, Christ, in so far as he was a man, behooved to be the Son of David. But as is said in Ezekiel, (Eze 1:0) it was only a likeness of man. Whether it was a substantial body or an outward form, it is needless to discuss, as it seems wrong to insist on any particular view of the subject. ⁵⁹

The only remaining question is, how the Captain of the Lord’s host can speak of having now come, seeing he had not deserted the people committed to his trust, and had lately given a matchless display of his presence in the passage of the Jordan. But according to the common usage of Scripture, God is said to come to us when we are actually made sensible of his assistance, which seems remote when not manifested by experience. It is therefore just as if he were offering his assistance in the combats which were about to be waged, and promising by his arrival that the war would have a happy issue. It cannot be inferred with certainty from the worship which he offered, whether Joshua paid divine honor to Christ distinctly recognized as such; but by asking, What command does my Lord give to his servant? he attributes to him a power and authority which belong to God alone.

Calvin: Jos 5:15

15.Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, etc To give additional sanctity to the vision, the great Angel requires as a sign of reverence and fear that Joshua put off his shoes. Moses relates, (Exo 3:5) that the same command was given to him on Mount Sinai, and for no other reason than that the Lord there manifested his glory. For one place cannot have a greater sanctity than another, except God deigns specially to make it so. Thus Jacob exclaims, (Gen 28:17 ⁶⁰) that the place where he had known God more nearly is the house of God, a dreadful place, and the gate of heaven. Here, therefore, when God orders his holy servant to take off his shoes, he by this ceremony attests the reality of his presence, and adds more weight to the vision; not that nakedness of feet is of itself of any value in the worship of God, but because the weakness of men requires to be aided by helps of this kind, that they may the better excite and prepare themselves for veneration. Moreover, as God by his presence sanctifies the places in which he appears, I think it probable that the expression, holy ground, is in part commendatory of the excellence of the land of Canaan, which God had chosen for his own habitation and the seat of his pure worship. Hence in various passages it is called “his rest.” (Psa 95:11, and Psa 132:14 ⁶¹) In the end of the verse Joshua is praised for his obedience, that posterity might learn by his example to cultivate pure piety in that land. There seems thus to be a kind of tacit comparison or antithesis, by which the land of Canaan is extolled above all other countries. ⁶²

Defender: Jos 5:12

The "bread from heaven" (Joh 6:31, Joh 6:32) ceased as suddenly and miraculously as it had begun (Exo 16:4, Exo 16:15). God does not dispense miracles capriciously, but with a redemptive purpose. The manna was essential for the survival of His people during their sojourn in the wilderness, but not afterwards. God's laws by which natural processes are ordered are good laws, so miraculous intervention therein is only rarely necessary."

Defender: Jos 5:15

Unseen by the Israelites, a host of angels accompanied them as they prepared to fight the Canaanites. (Note similar references to God's hosts in Gen 32:1, Gen 32:2; 2Ki 6:16, 2Ki 6:17; 2Ki 7:6)."

TSK: Jos 5:3

Joshua : Gen 17:23-27; Mat 16:24

the hill of the foreskins : or, Gibeah haaraloth

TSK: Jos 5:4

All the : Num 14:22, Num 26:64, Num 26:65; Deu 2:16; 1Co 10:5; Heb 3:17-19

TSK: Jos 5:5

they had not : Deu 12:8, Deu 12:9; Hos 6:6, Hos 6:7; Mat 12:7; Rom 2:26; 1Co 7:19; Gal 5:6, Gal 6:15

TSK: Jos 5:6

walked : Num 14:32-34; Deu 1:3, Deu 2:7, Deu 2:14, Deu 8:4; Psa 95:10, Psa 95:11; Jer 2:2

sware that : Num 14:23; Heb 3:11

a land : Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17; Eze 20:6, Eze 20:15; Joe 3:18

TSK: Jos 5:7

their children : Num 14:31; Deu 1:39

TSK: Jos 5:8

when they : etc. Heb. when the people had made an end to be circumcised

till they were whole : Gen 34:25

TSK: Jos 5:9

I rolled away : Jos 24:14; Gen 34:14; Lev 24:14; 1Sa 14:6, 1Sa 17:26, 1Sa 17:36; Psa 119:39; Jer 9:25; Eze 20:7, Eze 20:8, Eze 23:3, Eze 23:8; Eph 2:11, Eph 2:12

Gilgal : That is, rolling. Jos 4:19

TSK: Jos 5:10

kept the passover : Eze 12:3, Eze 12:6, Eze 12:7-16; Num 9:1-5

TSK: Jos 5:11

old corn : The people would find abundance of old corn in the deserted granaries of the affrighted inhabitants, and the barley harvest being ripe, after offering the sheaf of first-fruits, they ate also new parched corn; and thus the manna being no longer necessary, ceased, after having been sent them regularly for almost forty years. To Christians the manna for their souls shall never fail, till they arrive at the Canaan above, to feast on its rich and inexhaustible provisions.

unleavened cakes : Exo 12:18-20, Exo 13:6, Exo 13:7; Lev 23:6, Lev 23:14

TSK: Jos 5:12

the manna : Exo 16:35; Neh 9:20, Neh 9:21; Rev 7:16, Rev 7:17

but they did eat : Deu 6:10, Deu 6:11; Pro 13:22; Isa 65:13, Isa 65:14; Joh 4:38

TSK: Jos 5:13

he lifted : Gen 33:1, Gen 33:5; Dan 8:3, Dan 10:5

a man : Jos 6:2; Gen 18:2, Gen 32:24-30; Exo 23:23; Jdg 13:8, Jdg 13:9, Jdg 13:11, Jdg 13:22; Dan 10:5; Hos 12:3-5; Zec 1:8; Act 1:10; Rev 1:13

his sword : Num 22:23; 1Ch 21:16, 1Ch 21:17, 1Ch 21:27, 1Ch 21:30

Art thou for us : 1Ch 12:17, 1Ch 12:18

TSK: Jos 5:14

but as captain : or, Prince, Exo 23:20-22; Isa 55:4; Dan 10:13, Dan 10:21, Dan 12:1; Heb 2:10; Rev 12:7; Rev 19:11-14

fell on his : Gen 17:3, Gen 17:17; Lev 9:24; Num 16:22, Num 16:45; Mat 8:2; Luk 5:12; Act 10:25, Act 10:26; Rev 19:10, Rev 22:8, Rev 22:9

What saith : 1Sa 3:9, 1Sa 3:10; Isa 6:8; Act 9:6

my lord : Exo 4:10, Exo 4:13; Psa 110:1; Mat 22:44; Luk 1:43, Luk 20:42; Joh 20:28; Phi 3:8

TSK: Jos 5:15

Loose : Exo 3:5; Act 7:32, Act 7:33; 2Pe 1:18

And Joshua : Many persons have been puzzled to know what was intended by this extraordinary appearance of the angel to Joshua, because they supposed that the whole business ends with the chapter; whereas it is continued in the succeeding one, the first verse of which is a mere parenthesis, simply relating to the state of Jericho at the time when Joshua was favoured with this encouraging vision; by which he was shewn that their help came from God alone, and that it was not by human might or power, but by the Lord of hosts they were to obtain the victory.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jos 5:3

The hill of the foreskins - i. e. the hill where the foreskins, the emblem of all worldly and carnal affections, were buried. (Compare Col 2:11-13; Col 3:1-6.)

Barnes: Jos 5:4-7

Of the whole nation those only were already circumcised at the time of the passage of the Jordan who had been under twenty years of age at the time of the complaining and consequent rejection at Kadesh (compare the marginal reference). These would have been circumcised before they left Egypt, and there would still survive of them more than a quarter of a million of thirty-eight years old and upward.

The statements of these verses are of a general kind. The "forty years"of Jos 5:6 is a round number, and the statement in the latter part of Jos 5:5 cannot be strictly accurate. For there must have been male children born in the wilderness during the first year after the Exodus, and these must have been circumcised before the celebration of the Passover at Sinai in the first month of the second year (compare Num 9:1-5, and Exo 12:48). The statements of the verses are, however, sufficiently close to the facts for the purpose in hand; namely, to render a reason for the general circumcising which is here recorded.

The reason why circumcision was omitted in the wilderness, was that the sentence of Num 14:28 ff placed the whole nation for the time under a ban; and that the discontinuance of circumcision, and the consequent omission of the Passover, was a consequence and a token of that ban. The rejection was not, indeed, total, for the children of the complainers were to enter into the rest; nor final, for when the children had borne the punishment of the fathers’ sins for the appointed years, and the complainers were dead, then it was to be removed, as now by Joshua. But for the time the covenant was abrogated, though God’ s purpose to restore it was from the first made known, and confirmed by the visible marks of His favor which He still vouchsafed to bestow during the wandering. The years of rejection were indeed exhausted before the death of Moses (compare Deu 2:14): but God would not call upon the people to renew their engagement to Him until He had first given them glorious proof of His will and power to fulfill His engagements to them. So He gave them the first fruits of the promised inheritance - the kingdoms of Sihon and Og; and through a miracle planted their feet on the very soil that still remained to be conquered; and then recalled them to His covenant. It is to be noted, too, that they were just about to go to war against foes mightier than themselves. Their only hope of success lay in the help of God. At such a crisis the need of full communion with God would be felt indeed; and the blessing and strength of it are accordingly granted.

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.

Barnes: Jos 5:8

The circumcision must have taken place on the day after the passage of Jordan, i. e. the 11th Nisan, and the Passover was kept on the 14th of the same month. For so long at least, they who had been circumcised would be disabled from war (compare the marginal reference), 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 (see the note at Jos 5:4).

Barnes: Jos 5:9

The reproach of Egypt - i. e. "reproach proceeding from Egypt."The expression probably refers to taunts actually uttered by the Egyptians against Israel, because of their long wanderings in the desert and failures to acquire a settlement in Canaan (compare Exo 32:12; Num 14:13-16; Deu 9:28; Deu 32:27). These reproaches were now to end, for they had actually entered Canaan, and the restoration of the covenant was a pledge from God to accomplish what was begun for them.

Barnes: Jos 5:11

Old corn of the land - Rather "produce of the land,"the new grain just coming in at the time of the Passover. (So in Jos 5:12.)

On the morrow after the passover - These words denote in Num 33:3 the 15th Nisan, but must here apparently mean the 16th. For the Israelites could not lawfully eat of the new grain until the first fruits of it had been presented, and this was done on "the morrow after the Sabbath,"i. e. the morrow after the first day of Unleavened Bread, which was to be observed as a Sabbath, and is therefore so called. (Compare Lev 23:7, Lev 23:11, Lev 23:14.)

The term Passover, which is sometimes used for the lamb slain on the evening of the 14th Nisan, sometimes for the paschal meal, sometimes for the whole eight days’ festival, here means the first great day of the eight, the Sabbath of the first holy convocation.

Barnes: Jos 5:13

A man - See Gen 12:7, note; Gen 18:2, note. The appearance was that of God manifested in the Person of His Word. Hence, the command of Jos 5:15. That the appearance was not in a vision merely is clear from the fact that Joshua "went unto Him"and addressed Him.

Barnes: Jos 5:14

Captain of the host of the Lord - i. e. of the angelic host, the host of heaven (compare 1Ki 22:19; 1Sa 1:3, etc.). The armed people of Israel are never called "the host of the Lord,"though once spoken of in Exo 12:41 as "all the hosts of the Lord."The Divine Person intimates that He, the Prince (see the marginal references) of the Angels had come to lead Israel in the coming strife, and to overthrow by heavenly might the armies and the strongholds of God’ s and Israel’ s enemies. Accordingly, the capture of Jericho and the destruction of the Canaanites generally form a fit type of a grander and more complete conquest and excision of the powers of evil which yet waits accomplishment. (Compare with this verse Mat 25:31; 2Th 1:7-8.)

Poole: Jos 5:3

i.e. He caused this to be done; and because it was to be done speedily, the passover approaching, it was necessary to use many hands in it, either priests and Levites, or other circumcised persons, who, at least in those circumstances, were permitted to do it.

The children of Israel i.e. such of them as were uncircumcised. And though it be not mentioned, it is more than probable, that the Israelites beyond Jordan were circumcised at the same time.

Poole: Jos 5:4

This is to be restrained to such as were then above twenty years old, and such as were guilty of that rebellion, Nu 14 , as it is expressed below, Jos 5:6 .

Poole: Jos 5:5

They either their parents, or the rulers of Israel, whose omission hereof was not through neglect; for then God, who had ordered the neglecter of circumcision to be cut off, Gen 17:14 , would not have left so gross a fault unpunished; but by Divine permission and indulgence; partly because they were now in a journey, in which case the passover also might be neglected, Num 9:10,13 , and in that journey the passover was but once observed; and partly because there was not so great a necessity of this note of circumcision to distinguish them from other nations, whilst they dwelt alone and unmixed in the wilderness, as there was afterwards.

Poole: Jos 5:6

All the people the Hebrew word commonly signifies the Gentiles; so he calls them, to note that they were unworthy of the name and privileges of Israelites.

He would not show them i.e. not give them so much as a sight of it, which he granted to Moses, much less the possession and enjoyment of it. Or showing is put for giving , as it is Psa 4:6 60:3 Ecc 2:24 .

Poole: Jos 5:7

Them Joshua circumcised which God would have now done,

1. As a testimony of God’ s reconciliation to the people, of which circumcision was a sign, and that God would not further impute their parents’ rebellions to them.

2. Because the great impediment of circumcision was now removed, to wit, their continued travels, and frequent and uncertain removal.

3. To prepare them for the approaching passover.

4. To distinguish them from the Canaanites, into whose land they were now come.

5. To ratify the covenant between God and them, where of 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 and services to which that covenant bound them, of which circumcision was the beginning and foundation, all which they were expressly joined to do, as soon as ever they came into Canaan, Exo 12:25 Lev 23:10 Num 15:2 .

Poole: Jos 5:8

Free from that pain and sore which circumcision caused, Gen 34:25 . It was indeed an act of great faith to expose themselves to so much pain and danger too in this place, where they were hemmed in by Jordan and their enemies; but they had many considerations to support their faith, and suppress their fears: the fresh experience of God’ s power and readiness to work miracles for their preservation; the great consternation of all their enemies, which they might observe and rationally presume; the considerable number of the people who were above forty years old, and therefore circumcised before this time, their great general being one of this number; the time it would require for their enemies to bring together a force sufficient to oppose them.

Poole: Jos 5:9

The reproach of Egypt i.e. uncircumcision, which was both in truth, and in the opinion of the Jews, a matter of great reproach, Gen 34:14 1Sa 14:6 17:26 . And although this was a reproach common to most nations of the world, yet it is particularly called the reproach of Egypt; either,

1. Because the other neighbouring nations, being the children of Abraham by the concubines, are supposed to have been circumcised, which the Egyptians at this time were not, as may be gathered from Exo 2:6 , where they knew the child to be an Hebrew by this mark. Or,

2. Because they came out of Egypt, and were esteemed to be a sort of Egyptians, Num 22:5 , which they justly thought a great reproach; but by their circumcision they were now distinguished from them, and manifested to be another kind of people. Or,

3. Because many of them lay under this reproach in Egypt, having wickedly neglected this duty there for worldly reasons; and others of them continued in the same shameful condition for many years in the wilderness.

Poole: Jos 5:10

This was their third passover: the first was in Egypt, Ex 12 ; the second at Mount Sinai, Nu 9 ; the third here; for in their wilderness travels these and all other sacrifices were neglected, Amo 5:25 .

Poole: Jos 5:11

The old corn the corn of the last year, which the inhabitants of those parts had left in their barns, being doubtless fled for fear of the Israelites into their strong cities, or other remoter and safer parts.

On the morrow after the passover i.e. on the sixteenth day; for the passover was killed between the two evenings of the fourteenth day, and was eaten in that evening or night, which, according to the Jewish computation, whereby they begin their days at the evening, was a part of the fifteenth day, all which was the feast of the passover; and so the morrow of the sixteenth day was

the morrow after the passover when they were obliged to offer unto God the first sheaf, and then were allowed to eat of the rest.

Parched corn of that year’ s corn, which was most proper and customary for that use.

In the selfsame day having an eager desire to enjoy the fruits of the land.

Poole: Jos 5:12

God now withheld

the manna

1. To show that it was not an ordinary production of nature, as by the long and constant enjoyment of it they might be prone to think; but an extraordinary and special gift of God to supply their necessity.

2. because God would not be prodigal of his favours, nor expose them to contempt by giving them superfluously, or by working miracles where ordinary means were sufficient.

On the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn i.e. on the seventeenth day.

Poole: Jos 5:13

By Jericho Heb. in Jericho , i.e. in the country or territory adjoining to Jericho, whither he went to view those parts, and discern the fittest places for his attempt upon Jericho, as generals usually do.

A man one in the appearance of man.

With his sword drawn in readiness to fight, not, as Joshua thought, against him, but for him and his people.

Poole: Jos 5:14

He said, Nay I am neither Israelite nor Canaanite.

Captain of the host of the Lord either,

1. Of all creatures in heaven and earth, which are God’ s hosts. Or,

2. Of the angels, who are called the host of heaven,

1Ki 22:19 2Ch 18:18 Luk 2:13 . Or,

3. Of the host or people of Israel, which are called the Lord’ s host , Exo 12:41 . The sense is, I am the chief Captain of this people, and will conduct and assist thee and them in this great undertaking. Now this person is none other than Michael the Prince , Dan 10:21 12:1 ; not a created angel, but the Son of God, who went along with the Israelites in this expedition, 1Co 10:4 ; not surely as an underling, but as their Chief and Captain. And this appears,

1. By his acceptance of adoration here, which a created angel durst not admit of, Rev 22:8,9 .

2. Because the place was made holy by his presence, Exo 3:15 , which was God’ s prerogative, Exo 3:5 .

3. Because he is called the Lord , Heb. Jehovah , Jos 6:2 . What saith my lord unto his servant? I acknowledge thee for my Lord and Captain, and therefore wait for thy commands, which I am ready to obey.

Poole: Jos 5:15

Loose thy shoe from off thy foot in token of reverence and subjection: see on Exo 3:5 . The place is holy, consecrated by my presence; which when it was withdrawn, it was no more holy than any other place, the reason of its holiness being removed.

Haydock: Jos 5:3

Hill, at Galgal. Josue took care to have this ceremony performed. (Calmet) ---

Perhaps he circumcised some himself, as Abraham did those of his own house, Genesis xvii. 23. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jos 5:4

Second. Hebrew, "this is the thing, (the cause why) Josue gave circumcision."

Haydock: Jos 5:5

Desert. After the departure from Sinai, where the Passover was celebrated, and where, of course, the people must have been circumcised. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 5:6

Forty. Some copies of the Septuagint add, "two," as if the 40 years' wandering in the desert, were to be dated from the time that the spies discouraged the people, in the second year of their departure from Egypt. But the Hebrew and the best chronologers allow only 40 years in the whole. (Calmet) ---

Hebrew, "For the children of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, till all the men fit for war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord, unto whom the Lord swore that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord swore unto their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey; ( 7 ) and their children he raised up in their stead, them Josue circumcised." (Haydock) ---

The Septuagint is also rather fuller than the Vulgate but gives the same sense. These children who receive, what their rebellious fathers had been refused, are a sensible figure of the Christian Church; as that second circumcision under Josue, represents the spiritual cleansing of the heart, which Jesus Christ has enjoined, Romans ii. 28., and 1 Corinthians vii. 19.

Haydock: Jos 5:8

Healed. The Passover lasted eight days: after which they proceeded to attack Jericho. Yet the people, unfit for war, remained at Galgal; where the camp continued a long time afterwards.

Haydock: Jos 5:9

Egypt. The people of that country adopted circumcision only after this period, (Calmet) and it never became general among them. They were therefore held in abhorrence, like the rest of the uncircumcised nations, among the Jews, Genesis xxxiv. 14., and 1 Kings xiv. 6. Theodoret (q. 4,) looks upon circumcision as a symbol of the liberation from the servitude of Egypt, where, he says, history informs us, that many of the Hebrews had neglected this rite. ---

Galgal is interpreted liberty, by Josephus; but moderns render it "a rolling away," (Calmet) or revolution. Hebrew, "I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." (Haydock) ---

Those Israelites who remained at the other side of the river, were ordered to be circumcised at the same time with their brethren. But they could not partake in the solemnity of the Passover, as they were at a distance from the ark. (Salien)

Haydock: Jos 5:10

Phase. This was the third. The first was celebrated in Egypt, Exodus xii. The second at Sinai, Numbers ix. (Menochius) ---

Afterwards it was disused till the Israelites took possession of Chanaan, as it was chiefly designed for that country, Exodus xii. 25.

Haydock: Jos 5:11

Corn. Some pretend that the Hebrew means "old corn." But the ancient interpreters take no notice of this restriction. The offering of corn was probably omitted on this occasion, as the Israelites had not cultivated the land. ---

Frumenty. Septuagint, "new corn." Hebrew, "parched, on that same day." These last words are taken by the Septuagint as a part of the next sentence.

Haydock: Jos 5:12

Land. The Septuagint intimate on the 15th. The Hebrew seems to say the 16th, Nisan, "on the morrow after they had eaten of the (old) corn." (Calmet) ---

Grabe's Septuagint agrees with the Vulgate and Hebrew, and specifies that the Israelites "eat of the corn of the country on the day after the Passover, unleavened and new. On that day, the morrow, manna ceased." All depends on the determination of the first day of the festival. If we date from the eating of the paschal lamb on the 14th, or from the solemn day, which was the 15th, manna must have been withdrawn either on the 15th or 16th of the month; though Salien thinks that it ceased as soon as the Israelites had begun to eat of the fruit of the country, on the eastern side of the Jordan. This miraculous food was withholden as soon as the Israelites entered the land of promise; and so the blessed Eucharist, of which it was a figure, and all the sacraments, will cease, when the Christian people shall have taken possession of their heavenly country. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 5:13

Adversaries? Dost thou bear arms for or against us? (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 5:14

Prince of the host of the Lord, &c. St. Michael, who is called prince of the people of Israel, Daniel x. 21. (Challoner) ---

Some of the Fathers explain it of the son of God. (Origen, hom. 6.) But St. Augustine, City of God xi. 13., St. Jerome in Galatians iii., and interpreters in general agree, that the person who here appeared to Josue, was the archangel Michael. He came, in the name of God, to assure Josue of success, as the angel had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, as if to denote the distress of the Hebrews, and to encourage Moses to undertake their liberation. (Calmet) ---

Chaldean, "I am the angel sent by God." In that character he is called the Lord. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 5:15

Worshipping. Not with divine honour, but with a religious veneration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of his person. (Challoner) ---

He styles the angel Adonai, which is a title frequently given to men; and hence he does not seem to have designed to give him supreme worship. (Calmet) ---

If he did, (Haydock) it was referred to God. (Calmet) (Exodus xx.)

Gill: Jos 5:3

And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel,.... 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. And as any that had skill might make the knives, so might any circumcise; circumcision was not restrained to any order of men, not to the priests and Levites, but any might perform it; so that though the number to be circumcised was great, it might soon be finished: and this was done

at the hill of the foreskins; as the place was afterward called from hence; these being heaped up one upon another, made a hill of them, as the Jews say ^y, being covered with dust. This circumcision performed by Joshua, or his orders, was typical of the spiritual circumcision without hands, which those that believe in Jesus, the antitype of Joshua, partake of.

Gill: Jos 5:4

And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise,.... Or the reason of the command given him to circumcise the children of Israel at this time, namely, what follows:

all the people that came out of Egypt that were males, even all the men of war; meaning such that were twenty years old, and upwards:

died in the wilderness, by the way, after they came out of Egypt; not directly, but in a course of forty years, as they journeyed through the wilderness; this is to be understood with an exception of Joshua, Caleb, Eleazar, &c. but then there was a large number who were under twenty years of age, that came out of Egypt, and were now living.

Gill: Jos 5:5

Now all the people that came out were circumcised,.... All that came out of Egypt, and males, were circumcised, whether under or above twenty years of age; for though it is possible all were circumcised before they came out of Egypt, which favours the opinion of Dr. Lightfoot, that they might be circumcised during the three nights' darkness of the Egyptians, when they could take no advantage of it, as Levi and Simeon did of the Shechemites; and which seems more probable than that it should be on the night they came out of Egypt, when many must have been unfit for travelling, and seems preferable to that of their being circumcised at Mount Sinai, which was a year after their coming out of Egypt:

but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way, as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised; the reasons of which neglect; See Gill on Jos 5:2. The phrase, "by the way", seems to point at the true reason of it, at least to countenance the reason there given, which was on account of their journey; that is, their stay at any place being uncertain and precarious; so the Jews say ^z, because of the affliction or trouble of journeying, the Israelites did not circumcise their children. This is to be understood of all males only born in the wilderness, they only being the subjects of circumcision.

Gill: Jos 5:6

For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,.... Wanting a few days, the round number is given: not forty two, as the Septuagint version:

till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt,

were consumed; all that were above twenty years of age, excepting Joshua and Caleb:

because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; but murmured against him, and against his servants, and particularly against Aaron, being the high priest; and chiefly because of the report of the spies, and their murmurs then, which so incensed the Lord against them, that he threatened them with an entire consumption of their carcasses, and which accordingly was fulfilled, to which the following clause refers:

unto whom the Lord sware, that he would not show them the land which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey; see Num 14:23.

Gill: Jos 5:7

And the children whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised,.... Who were born to them in the wilderness, and succeeded them, some of which might be near forty years of age; as for those that were born before, of which there might be many now living, they had been circumcised already, but others, were not:

for they were circumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way; or while journeying the forty years in the wilderness; which, as before observed, seems to be the true reason of the omission of circumcision.

Gill: Jos 5:8

And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people,.... Which seems as if it was done in one day, even on the same day they passed over Jordan, and came to Gilgal; though Bishop Usher ^a thinks it was the day following; and so the Jews ^b say it was on the eleventh of Nisan:

that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole: till the wound made by circumcision was healed; now as it was on the tenth day they passed over Jordan, and came to Gilgal, where they were circumcised, there were three entire days between that and the fourteenth, when they kept the passover; during which time they kept within their tents in the camp, being unfit to move from thence, for on the third day of circumcision they were usually sore, Gen 34:25; but being well on the fourth, were able to attend the passover. As the providence of God greatly appeared in favour of Israel, by causing a dread to fall on their enemies, that they durst not sally out of the city and attack them; so it showed great faith in Joshua, and the Israelites, to administer circumcision at this time, just as they were landed in an enemy's country; and when the waters of Jordan were returned, and there was no going back, and if they could, as they were not in a condition to fight, so not to flee.

Gill: Jos 5:9

And the Lord said unto Joshua,.... Out of the tabernacle:

this day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you; either the reproach of being reckoned office same religion with the Egyptians, they now having observed the command of the Lord, and thereby declared themselves to be his servants and worshippers, which sense Ben Gersom mentions; or else the reproach with which the Egyptians reproached them, that they were brought out from them into the wilderness for evil, to be destroyed there, they now being safely arrived in the land of Canaan; which tense he seems to approve of, and so Abarbinel: or rather by it is meant the reproach of being bondmen, and slaves, as they were in Egypt, having now entered upon their inheritance, they as free men, the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were heirs unto; and perhaps it was this sense of the phrase led Josephus ^c to give a wrong interpretation of the word "Gilgal", which he says signifies "liberty": and adds,"for, having passed the river, they knew they were free from the Egyptians, and from troubles in the wilderness;''though the more commonly received sense is, that this reproach is to be understood of uncircumcision, which was the reproach of the Egyptians, they at this time not using circumcision they afterwards did, when some of the nations thereabout used it, who descended, from Abraham, as the Midianites, Ishmaelites, Arabians, and Edomites:

wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day; which signifies "rolling" ^d; so that when it is met with before, it is so called by anticipation.

Gill: Jos 5:10

And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal,.... Not after their circumcision, but before, and where they continued encamped during that, and until the passover had been kept by them; this was little more than a mile from Jericho; see Gill on Jos 4:19,

and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even; exactly as it was ordered to be observed, and was observed when first kept, Exo 12:6,

in the plains of Jericho: a proper place both for their encampment, and the celebration of the passover, and where very likely they met with lambs enough for their purpose, which belonged to the inhabitants of Jericho; or however being now got into the good land, they needed not, and were under no temptation of sparing their own: historians agree, as Strabo ^e, Josephus ^f, and others, that Jericho was seated in a plain.

Gill: Jos 5:11

And they did eat the old corn of the land,.... That of the last year, as some versions ^g, which agree with ours; in which they seem to follow the Jewish writers, who, as particularly Kimchi, Gersom, and Ben Melech, interpret it of the old corn, for this reason, because they might not eat of the new until the wave sheaf was offered up, Lev 23:10; of which old corn they suppose the unleavened cakes were made, and was also parched corn, though that word the Septuagint version translates "new"; and indeed were it not for the above law, there does not seem to be any reason for rendering it old corn, only corn of the land, as the Septuagint does; and there is some difficulty how they should get at the old corn, which it may be supposed was laid up in the granaries, when Jericho was close shut up, and none went in or out; unless they met with it in some of the villages near at hand, or it was brought them by the traders in corn, of whom they bought it, or found it in some houses and barns without the city:

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 ^h; 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, as it follows:

unleavened bread, and parched corn in the selfsame day; unleavened bread, for the uses before mentioned, they were obliged to, and parched corn for their pleasure; but new corn, as the Septuagint render it, was expressly forbidden before the waving of the sheaf, Lev 23:14; and therefore old corn seems to be meant; this was just forty years to a day from their coming out of Egypt.

Gill: Jos 5:12

And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land,.... There being now no further need of it; miracles are not wrought or continued when unnecessary; for the ceasing of the manna shows, that it was not a common but an extraordinary provision. The ceasing of the manna, which was a type of Christ, may signify the cessation of Gospel ordinances, in which Christ is held forth as food for his people. These are to continue till all the spiritual Israel of God have passed over the river Jordan, or death, even until the end of the world, and then to cease, Mat 28:19; the eating of the old corn may signify the glories of the future state, the joys and happiness of the heavenly Canaan, prepared for those that love the Lord from the foundation of the world; it may denote those ancient things the saints will feed and live upon to all eternity; the eternal love of the three divine Persons, electing grace, the ancient settlements of grace, the everlasting covenant of grace, and the blessings of it; the glorious Mediator of it, that was set up from everlasting, and the grace given to them in him before the world began:

neither had the children of Israel manna any more; having no more need of it, as the saints in heaven will stand in no more need of Gospel ordinances:

but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year; the increase of the land, not only of the fields, but of the vineyards and oliveyards, which they had neither sown nor planted, see Deu 6:10; which may denote the plenty and variety of the joys of heaven, and glories of the future state; the various fruits which grow on Christ, the tree of life, brought forth every month, or continually; all which will be enjoyed through the free grace of God, without the works or merits of men.

Gill: Jos 5:13

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho,.... Or "in Jericho" ⁱ; not in the city itself, but in the border of it, as Kimchi and Ben Melech; or on the side of it, as Jarchi; on one side of which he was reconnoitring by himself, very probably seeking for a proper place where to make his first attack; or if he could find out some avenue to the city, whereby he could enter more easily; or it may be he was meditating a scheme how to subdue the city; and it is very likely praying to God that he would direct him, and succeed him. Ben Gersom interprets it, his thoughts were in Jericho; and both he, and Abarbinel, suppose, that what follows was in a vision of prophecy, that it seemed to him that he was in Jericho, and saw a person, as after described, and was only a dream or night vision; but, no doubt, whether this was in the day or in the night, which is not certain, it was a real sight that Joshua had, or one really appeared to him as a man, as after related:

that he lifted up his eyes, and looked; his eyes before looked downwards, as the eyes of a person in deep study and meditation usually do:

and, behold, there stood a man over against him; not a mere man, nor a created angel in an human form, but a divine Person in such a form, even the Son of God, who frequently appeared in this manner to the patriarchs; as is clear from the worship paid unto him by Joshua, by his calling him Lord, and owning himself to be his servant; and by the ground on which he stood, being holy through his presence, as well as by his title, the Captain of the Lord's host. Jarchi says, this is Michael, which, if understood of Michael the uncreated angel, the head of all principality and power, is right, who is always meant by Michael, whenever he is spoken of in Scripture; and so this is interpreted by the ancient Jews ^k of the Angel the Redeemer:

with his sword drawn in his hand; who sometimes is said to have a twoedged one come out of his mouth, and sometimes one girt on his thigh, and here with one drawn out of the scabbard, to justify the war with the Canaanites, and to encourage Joshua to proceed in it. His sword has been drawn against his enemies, and those of his people from the beginning, ever since the fall of man, when enmity commenced between him and the seed of the serpent; it appeared drawn when here on earth combating with all our spiritual enemies, and will never be put up until all enemies are put under his feet:

and Joshua went unto him; which showed great courage, presence of mind, and magnanimity:

and said unto him, art thou for us, or for our adversaries? by his appearing in this warlike posture, he concluded it was to take on one side or the other, either on the side of Israel, or of the Canaanites; and he seemed to suspect that it was on the side of the latter, and that he was one that was come to defy the armies of Israel, as Goliath afterwards did, 1Sa 17:8; and to engage in a single combat with Joshua their general, and so decide the war; in which, had this been the case, Joshua was ready to fight with him.

Gill: Jos 5:14

And he said, nay,.... Not for or on the side of their adversaries was he come, as Joshua suspected at the first sight of him; the Septuagint version is, "he said unto him", taking לא for לו, as it sometimes is:

but as Captain of the host of the Lord am I now come; of the host of the Lord both in heaven and in earth, angels and men, and particularly of the people of Israel, called the armies and host of the Lord, Exo 7:4; so that though Joshua was general, Christ was Generalissimo; and so Joshua understood him, and therefore showed a readiness to do whatsoever he should command him; the spiritual Israel of God, the church, is in a militant state, and has many enemies to combat with, sin, Satan, the world, and false teachers; Christ is their Leader and Commander, the Captain of their salvation, and has all necessary qualifications or wisdom, courage, and might, for such an office; see Isa 55:4,

and Joshua fell on his face to the earth; in reverence of this divine and illustrious Person, whom he perceived to be what he was:

and did worship; gave him religious worship and adoration, which had he been a created angel he would not have given to him, nor would such an one have received it, Rev 19:10,

and said unto him, what saith my Lord unto his servant? that is, what commands had he to lay upon him, and he was ready to execute them? he was heartily willing to be subject to him as the chief general of the Israelitish forces, and to consider himself, and behave, as an officer under him, and to obey all orders that should be given.

Gill: Jos 5:15

And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua,.... As a trial and proof of his obedience to him:

loose thy shoe from off thy foot; which is to be understood literally, as when the like was commanded Moses at Horeb, Exo 3:5; though some interpret it figuratively; as Abarbinel,"remove from thee such thoughts that thou shall take this city by strength:"

for the place whereon thou standest is holy; because of the presence of this Person, and as long as he was there, though afterwards was as another place; the Jewish commentator, last mentioned, thinks this intimates that the city, and all in it (and all round about it), should be "cherem", devoted, and so be holy to the Lord:

and Joshua did so; loosed his shoe from his foot, in obedience to the Captain of the Lord's host, thereby giving proof of his readiness, willingness, and alacrity to serve under him.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jos 5:3

¹ 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.

NET Notes: Jos 5:4

¹ tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the desert in the way when they went out from Egypt.”

NET Notes: Jos 5:5

¹ tn Or “indeed.”

² tn Heb “people.”

³ tn Heb “all the people.”

NET Notes: Jos 5:6

¹ 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.”

² tn Some Hebrew mss, as well as the Syriac version, support this reading. Most ancient witnesses read “us.”

³ 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).

NET Notes: Jos 5:7

¹ tn Heb “their sons he raised up in their place.”

NET Notes: Jos 5:8

¹ tn Heb “nation.”

NET Notes: Jos 5:9

¹ tn Heb “rolled away.”

² 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.

³ sn The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew verb “roll away” (גַּלַל, galal).

NET Notes: Jos 5:10

¹ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

NET Notes: Jos 5:11

¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “on this same day.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.

NET Notes: Jos 5:12

¹ 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.

² tn Heb “and the sons of Israel had no more manna.”

NET Notes: Jos 5:13

¹ tn Heb “in.”

² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

³ 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).

⁴ tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”

NET Notes: Jos 5:14

¹ 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, lo’, “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.

² sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “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.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”

Geneva Bible: Jos 5:3

And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at ^{( c )} the hill of the foreskins.

^{( c )} Gilgal was so called, because they were there circumcised.

Geneva Bible: Jos 5:5

Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had ^{( d )} not circumcised.

^{( d )} For they looked daily to move at the Lord's command, which they who were newly circumcised could not do without great danger.

Geneva Bible: Jos 5:8

And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they ^{( e )} were whole.

^{( e )} For their sore was so grievous, that they were not able to move.

Geneva Bible: Jos 5:9

And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the ^{( f )} reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

^{( f )} By bringing you into this promised land, contrary to the wicked opinion of the Egyptians or the foreskin by which you were like the Egyptians.

Geneva Bible: Jos 5:14

And he said, Nay; but [as] captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and ^{( g )} did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

^{( g )} In that Joshua worships him, he acknowledges him to be God: and in that he calls himself the Lord's captain he declares himself to be Christ.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jos 5:1-15

1 The Canaanites are afraid.

2 Joshua renews circumcision.

10 The passover is kept at Gilgal

12 They eat the corn of the land and the manna ceases.

13 An angel appears to Joshua.

Maclaren: Jos 5:14

Joshua 5:14

The 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 city, and had no experience nor engines for a siege. So we may well suppose that many doubts and fears shook the courage of the host, as it drew around the doomed city. Their chief had his own heavy burden. He seems to have gone apart to meditate on what his next step was to be. Absorbed in thought, he lifts up his eyes mechanically, as brooding men will, not expecting to see anything, and is startled by the silent figure of a man with a sword drawn' in his hand, close beside him. There is nothing supernatural in his appearance; and the immediate thought of the leader is, Is this one of the enemy that has stolen upon my solitude?' So, promptly and boldly, he strides up to him with the quick challenge: Whose side are you on? Are you one of us, or from the enemy's camp?' And then the silent lips open. Upon neither the one nor the other. I am not on your side, you are on mine, for as Captain of the Lord's host, am I come up.' And then Joshua falls on his face, recognizes his Com-mander-in-Chief, owns himself a subordinate, and asks for orders. What saith my Lord unto his servant?'

Now let us try to gather the meaning and the lessons of this striking incident.

I. I See In It A Transient Revelation Of An Eternal Truth.

I believe, as the vast majority of careful students of the course of Old Testament revelation and its relation to the New Testament completion believe, that we have here not a record of the appearance of a created superhuman person, but that of a preliminary manifestation of the Eternal Word of God, who, in the fulness of time, became flesh and dwelt among us.'

You will observe that there run throughout the whole of the Old Testament notices of the occasional manifestation of a mysterious person who is named the Angel,' the Angel of the Lord.' For instance, in the great scene in the wilderness, where the bush burned and was not consumed, he who appeared is named the Angel of the Lord'; and his lips declare I am that I am.' In like manner, soon after, the divine voice speaks to Moses of the Angel in whom is My name.' When Balaam had his path blocked amongst the vineyards, it was a replica of the figure of my text that stayed his way, a man with a drawn sword in his hand, who spoke in autocratic and divine fashion. When the parents of Samson were apprised of the coming birth of the hero, it was' the Angel of the Lord' that appeared to them, accepted their sacrifice, declared the divine will, and disappeared in a flame of fire from the altar. A psalm speaks of the Angel of the Lord' as encamping round about them that fear him, and delivering them. Isaiah tells us of the Angel of his face,' who was afflicted in all Israel's afflictions, and saved them.' And the last prophetic utterance of the Old Testament is most distinct and remarkable in its strange identification and separation of Jehovah and the Angel, when it says,' the Lord shall suddenly come to His Temple, even the Angel of the Covenant.' Now, if we put all these passages--and they are but select instances--if we put all these passages together, I think we cannot help seeing that there runs, as I said, throughout the whole of the Old Testament a singular strain of revelation in regard to a Person who, in a remarkable manner, is distinguished from the created hosts of angel beings, and also is distinguished from, and yet in name, attributes, and worship all but identified with, the Lord Himself.

If we turn to the narrative before us, we find there similar phenomena marked out. For this mysterious man with the sword drawn' in his hand, quotes the very words which were spoken at the bush, when he says, Loose thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.' And by fair implication, He would have us to identify the persons in these two great theophanies. He ascribes to Himself, in the further conversation in the next chapter, directly divine attributes, and is named by the sacred name: The Lord said unto Joshua, see, I have given into thy hand Jericho and its king.'

If we turn to the New Testament, we find that there under another image the same strain of thought is presented. The Word of God, who from everlasting was with God, and was God,' is represented as being the Agent of Creation, the Source of all human illumination, the Director of Providence, the Lord of the Universe. By him were all things, and in him all things consists.' So, surely, these two halves make a whole; and the Angel of the Lord, separate and yet so strangely identified with Jehovah, who at the crises of the nation's history, and stages of the development of the process of Revelation, is manifested, and the Eternal Word of God, whom the New Testament reveals to us, are one and the same.

This truth was transiently manifested in our text. The vision passed, the ground that was hallowed by His foot is undistinguished now in the sweltering plain round the mound that once was Jericho. But the fact remains, the humanity, that was only in appearance, and for a few minutes, assumed then, has now been taken up into everlasting union with the divine nature, and a Man reigns on the Throne, and is Commander of all who battle for the truth and the right. The eternal order of the universe is before us here.

It only remains to say a word in reference to the sweep of the command which our vision assigns to the Angel of the Lord. Captain of the Lord's host' means a great deal more than the true General of Israel's little army. It does mean that, or the words and the vision would cease to have relevance and bearing on the moment's circumstances and need. But it includes also, as the usage of Scripture would sufficiently show, if it were needful to adduce instances of it, all the ordered ranks of loftier intelligent beings, and all the powers and forces of the universe. These are conceived of as an embattled host, comparable to an army in the strictness of their discipline and their obedience to a single will. It is the modern thought that the universe is a Cosmos and not a Chaos, an ordered unit, with the addition of the truth beyond the reach and range of science, that its unity is the expression of a personal will. It is the same thought which the centurion had, to Christ's wonder, when he compared his own power as an officer in a legion, where his will was implicitly obeyed, to the power of Christ over diseases and sorrows and miseries and death, and recognized that all these were His servants, to whom, if His autocratic lips chose to say Go,' they went, and if He said, Do this,' they did it.

So the Lord of the universe and its Ordered ranks is Jesus Christ. That is the truth which was flashed from the unknown, like a vanishing meteor in the midnight, before the face of Joshua, and which stands like the noonday sun, unsetting and irradiating for us who live under the Gospel.

II. I See Here The Leader Of All The Warfare Against The World's Evil.

The Captain of the Lord's host.' He Himself takes part in the fight. He is not like a general who, on some safe knoll behind the army, sends his soldiers to death, and keeps his own skin whole. But He has fought, and He is fighting. Do you remember that wonderful picture in two halves, at the end of one of the Gospels, the Lord went up into Heaven and sat at the right hand of God … they went forth everywhere preaching the Word'? Strange contrast between the repose of the seated Christ and the toils of His peripatetic servants X Yes, strange contrast; but the next words harmonize the two halves of it; the Lord also working with them, and confirming the word with signs following.' The Leader does not so rest as that He does not fight; and the servants do not need so to fight, as that they cannot rest. Thus the old legends of many a land and tongue have a glorious truth in them to the eye of faith, and at the head of all the armies that are charging against any form of the world's misery and sin, there moves the form of the Son of Man, whose aid we have to invoke, even from His crowned repose at the right hand of God. Gird thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Most Mighty, and in Thy majesty ride forth prosperously, and Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things.'

If this, then, be for us, as truly as for Joshua and his host, a revelation of who is our true leader, surely all of us in our various degrees, and especially any of us who have any' quixotic crusade' for the world's good on our consciences and on our hands, may take the lessons and the encouragement's that are here. Own your Leader; that is one plain duty. And recognize this fact, that by no other power than by His, and with no other weapons than those which He puts into our hands, in His Cross and meekness, can a world's evils be overcome, and the victory be won for the right and the truth. I have no faith in crusades which are not under the Captain of our salvation. And I would that the earnest men, and there are many of them, the laborious and the self-sacrificing men in many departments of philanthropy and benevolence and social reformation--who labor unaware of who is their Leader, and not dependent upon His help, nor trusting in His strength--would take to heart this vision of my text, and see beside them the man with the drawn sword in his hand,' the Christ with the sharp two-edged sword going out of his mouth,' by whom, and by whom alone, the world's evil can be overcome and slain.

Own your General; submit to His authority; pick the weapons that He can bless; trust absolutely in His help. We may have, we shall have, in all enterprises for God and man that are worth doing, need of patience,' just as the army of Israel had to parade for six weary days round Jericho blowing their useless trumpets, whilst the impregnable walls stood firm, and the defenders flouted and jeered their aimless procession. But the seventh day will come, and at the trumpet blast down will go the loftiest ramparts of the cities that are' walled up to heaven,' with a rush and a crash, and through the dust and over the ruined rubbish Christ's soldiers will march and take possession. So trust in your Leader, and be sure of the victory, and have patience and keep on at your work.

Do not make Joshua's mistake. Art Thou for us?' --Nay! Thou art for me.' That is a very different thing. We have the right to be sure that God is on our side, when we have made sure that we are on God's. So take care of self-will and self-regard, and human passions, and all the other parasitical insects that creep round philanthropic religious work, lest they spoil your service. There is a great deal that calls itself after Jehu's fashion, My zeal for the Lord,' which is nothing better than zeal for my own notions and their preponderance. Therefore we must strip ourselves of all that,, and not fancy that the cause is ours, and then graciously admit Christ to help us, but recognize that it is His, and lowly submit ourselves to His direction, and what we do, do, and when we fight, fight, in His name and for His sake.

III. Here Is The Ally In All Our Warfare With Ourselves.

That is the worst fight. Far worse than all these Hittites and Hivites, and the other tribes with their barbarous names, far worse than all external foes, are the foes that each man carries about in his own heart. In that slow hand-to-hand and foot-to-foot struggle I do not believe that there is any conquering power available for a man that can for a moment be compared with the power that comes through submission to Christ's command and acceptance of Christ's help. He has fought every foot of the ground before us. We have to run the race '--to take another metaphor that is set before us, looking unto Jesus,' the great Leader, and in His own self the Perfecter of the faith which conquers. In Him, His example, the actual communication of His divine Spirit, and in the motives for brave and persistent conflict which flow from His Cross and Passion, we shall find that which alone will make us the victors in this internecine warfare. There can be no better directory given to any man than to tread in Christ's footsteps, and learn how to fight, from Him who in the wilderness repelled the triple assault with the single It is written ; thus recognizing the word and will of God as the only directory and defense.

Thus, brethren, if we humbly take service in His ranks, and ask Him to show us where our foes within are, and to give us the grace to grapple with them, and cast them out, anything is possible rather than ultimate defeat, and however long and sore the struggle may be, its length and its severity are precious parts of the discipline that makes us strong, and we shall at last be more than conquerors through Him that loveth us.

IV. Lastly, I See Here The Power Which It Is Madness To Resist.

Think of this vision. Think of the deep truths, partially shadowed and symbolized by it. Think of Christ, what He is, and what resources He has at His back, of what are His claims for our service, and our loyal, milltant obedience. Think of the certain victory of all who follow Him amongst' the armies of Heaven, clad in fine linen, clean and white.' Think of the crown and the throne for him that overcomes.'

Remember the destructive powers that sleep in Him: the drawn sword in His hand,' the two-edged sword out of His mouth,' the wrath of the Lamb.' Think of the ultimate certain defeat of all antagonisms; of that last campaign when He goes forth with the name written on His vesture and on His thigh "King of kings and Lord of lords."Think of how He strikes through kings in the day of His wrath, and fills the place with the bodies of the dead'; and how His enemies become His footstool.'

Ponder His own solemn word, He that is not with Me, is against Me.' There is no neutrality in this warfare. Either we are for Him or we are for His adversary. Under which King? speak or die!' As sensible men, not indifferent to your highest and lasting well-being, ask yourselves, Can I, with my ten thousand, meet Him with His twenty thousand?' Put yourselves under His orders, and He will be on your side. He will teach your hands to war, and your fingers to fight; will cover your heads in the day of battle, and bring you at last, palm-bearing and laurel-crowned, to that blissful state where there will still be service, and He still be the Captain of the Lord's host,' but where swords will be beaten into ploughshares' and the victors shall need to learn war no more.'

MHCC: Jos 5:1-9

How dreadful is their case, who see the wrath of God advancing towards them, without being able to turn it aside, or escape it! Such will be the horrible situation of the wicked; nor can words express the anguish of their feelings, or the greatness of their terror. Oh that they would now take warning, and before it be too late, flee for refuge to lay hold upon that hope set before them in the gospel! God impressed these fears on the Canaanites, and dispirited them. This gave a short rest to the Israelites, and circumcision rolled away the reproach of Egypt. They were hereby owned to be the free-born children of God, having the seal of the covenant. When God glorifies himself in perfecting the salvation of his people, he not only silences all enemies, but rolls back their reproaches upon themselves.

MHCC: Jos 5:10-12

A solemn passover was kept, at the time appointed by the law, in the plains of Jericho, in defiance of the Canaanites round about them. It was a performance of the promise, that when they went up to keep the feasts, their land should be under the special protection of the Divine providence, Exo 34:24. Notice is taken of the ceasing of the manna as soon as they had eaten the old corn of the land. For as it came just when they needed, so it continued as long as they needed it. This teaches us not to expect supplies by miracles, when they may be had in a common way. The word and ordinances of God are spiritual manna, with which God nourishes his people in this wilderness. Though often forfeited, yet they are continued while we are here; but when we come to the heavenly Canaan, this manna will cease, for we shall no longer need it.

MHCC: Jos 5:13-15

We read not of any appearance of God's glory to Joshua till now. There appeared to him one as a man to be noticed. This Man was the Son of God, the eternal Word. Joshua gave him Divine honours: he received them, which a created angel would not have done, and he is called Jehovah, Jos 6:2. To Abraham he appeared as a traveller; to Joshua as a man of war. Christ will be to his people what their faith needs. Christ had his sword drawn, which encouraged Joshua to carry on the war with vigour. Christ's sword drawn in his hand, denotes how ready he is for the defence and salvation of his people. His sword turns every way. Joshua will know whether he is a friend or a foe. The cause between the Israelites and Canaanites, between Christ and Beelzebub, will not admit of any man's refusing to take one part or the other, as he may do in worldly contests. Joshua's inquiry shows an earnest desire to know the will of Christ, and a cheerful readiness and resolution to do it. All true Christians must fight under Christ's banner, and they will conquer by his presence and assistance.

Matthew Henry: Jos 5:1-9

A vast show, no doubt, the numerous camp of Israel made in the plains of Jericho, where now they had pitched their tents. Who can count the dust of Jacob? That which had long been the church in the wilderness has now come up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved, and looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. How terrible she was in the eyes of her enemies we are here told, Jos 5:1. How fair and clear she was made in the eyes of her friends, by the rolling away of the reproach of Egypt, we are told in the following verses.

I. Here is the fright which the Canaanites were put into by their miraculously passing over Jordan, Jos 5:1. The news of it was soon dispersed all the country over, not only as a prodigy in itself, but as an alarm to all the kings and kingdoms of Canaan. Now, as when Babylon was taken, One post runs to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to carry the amazing tidings to every corner of their land, Jer 51:31. And here we are told what impressions the tidings made upon the kings of this land: Their heart melted like wax before the fire, neither was there spirit in them any more. This intimates that, though the heart of the people generally had fainted before (as Rahab owned, Jos 2:9), yet the kings had till now kept up their spirits pretty well, had promised themselves that, being in possession, their country populous, and their cities fortified, they should be able to make their part good against the invaders; but when they heard not only that they had come over Jordan, and that this defence of their country was broken through, but that they had come over by a miracle, the God of nature manifestly fighting for them, their hearts failed them too, they gave up the cause for gone, and were now at their wits' end. And, 1. they had reason enough to be afraid; Israel itself was a formidable body, and much more so when God was its head, a God of almighty power. What can make head against them if Jordan be driven back before them? 2. God impressed these fears upon them, and dispirited them, as he had promised (Exo 23:27), I will send my fear before thee. God can make the wicked to fear where no fear is (Psa 53:5.), much more where there is such cause for fear as was here. He that made the soul can, when he pleases, make his sword thus to approach to it and kill it with his terrors.

II. The opportunity which this gave to the Israelites to circumcise those among them that were uncircumcised: At that time (Jos 5:2), when the country about them was in that great consternation, God ordered Joshua to circumcise the children of Israel, for at that time it might be done with safety even in an enemy's country; their hearts being melted, their hands were tied, that they could not take this advantage against them as Simeon and Levi did against the Shechemites, to come upon them when they were sore. Joshua could not be sure of this, and therefore, if he had ordered this general circumcision just at this time of his own head, he might justly have been censured as imprudent; for, how good soever the thing was in itself, in the eye of reason it was not seasonable at this time, and might have been of dangerous consequence; but, when God commanded him to do it, he must not consult with flesh and blood; he that bade them to do it would, no doubt, protect them and bear them out in it. Now observe,

1. The occasion there was for this general circumcision. (1.) All that came out of Egypt were circumcised, v. 5. while they had peace in Egypt doubtless they circumcised their children the eighth day according to the law. But after they began to be oppressed, especially when the edict was made for the destruction of their male infants, the administration of this ordinance was interrupted; many of them were uncircumcised, of whom there was a general circumcision, either during the time of the three days' darkness, as Dr. Lightfoot conjectures, or a year after, just before their eating the second passover at Mount Sinai, and in order to that solemnity (Num 9:2) as many think. And it is with reference to that general circumcision that this is called a second, v. 2. But the learned Masius thinks it refers to the general circumcision of Abraham's family when that ordinance was first instituted, Gen 17:23. That first confirmed the promise of the land of Canaan, this second was a thankful celebration of the performance of that promise. But, (2.) All that were born in the wilderness, namely, after their walking in the wilderness, became by the divine sentence a judgment upon them for their disobedience, as is intimated by that repetition of the sentence, Jos 5:6. Al that were born since that fatal day on which God swore in his wrath that none of that generation should enter into his rest were uncircumcised. But what shall we say to this? Had not God enjoined it to Abraham, under a very severe penalty, that every man-child of his seed should be circumcised on the eighth day? Gen 17:9-14. Was it not the seal of the everlasting covenant? Was not so great a stress laid upon it when they were coming out of Egypt that when, immediately after the first passover, the law concerning that feast was made perpetual, this was one clause of it, that no uncircumcised person should eat of it, but should be deemed as a stranger? and yet, under the government of Moses himself, to have all their children that were born for thirty-eight years together left uncircumcised is unaccountable. So great an omission could not be general but by divine direction. Now, [1.] Some think circumcision was omitted because it was needless: it was appointed to be a mark of distinction between the Israelites and other nations, and therefore in the wilderness, where they were so perfectly separated from all and mingled with none, there was no occasion for it. [2.] Others think that they did not look upon the precept of circumcision as obligatory till they came to settle in Canaan; for in the covenant made with them at Mount Sinai nothing was said about circumcision, neither was it of Moses but of the fathers (Joh 7:22), and with particular reference to the grant of the land of Canaan, Gen 17:8. [3.] Others think that God favourably dispensed with the observance of this ordinance in consideration of the unsettledness of their state, and their frequent removals while they were in the wilderness. It was requisite that children after they were circumcised should rest for some time while they were sore, and stirring them might be dangerous to them; God therefore would have mercy and not sacrifice. This reason is generally acquiesced in, but to me it is not satisfactory, for sometimes they staid a year in a place (Num 9:22), if not much longer, and in their removals the little children, though sore, might be wrapped so warm, and carried so easy, as to receive no damage, and might certainly be much better accommodated than the mothers in travail or while lying in. Therefore, [4.] To me it seems to have been a continued token of God's displeasure against them for their unbelief and murmuring. Circumcision was originally a seal of the promise of the land of Canaan, as we observed before. It was in the believing hope of that good land that the patriarchs circumcised their children; but when God had sworn in his wrath concerning the men of was who came out of Egypt that they should be consumed in the wilderness, and never enter Canaan, nor come within sight of it (as that sentence is here repeated, Gen 17:6, reference being made to it), as a further ratification of that sentence, and to be a constant memorandum of it to them, all that fell under that sentence, and were to fall by it, were forbidden to circumcise their children, by which they were plainly told that, whatever others might, they should never have the benefit of that promise of which circumcision was the seal. And this was such a significant indication of God's wrath as the breaking of the tables of the covenant was when Israel had broken the covenant by making the golden calf. It is true that there is no express mention of this judicial prohibition in the account of that sentence; but an intimation of it in Num 14:33, Your children shall bear your whoredoms. It is probable the children of Caleb and Joshua were circumcised, for they were excepted out of that sentence, and of Caleb it is particularly said, To him will I give the land, and to his children (Deu 1:36), which was the very promise that circumcision was the seal of: and Joshua is here told to circumcise the people, not his own family. Whatever the reason was, it seems that this great ordinance was omitted in Israel for almost forty years together, which is a plain indication that it was not of absolute necessity, nor was to be of perpetual obligation, but should in the fulness of time be abolished, as now it was for so long a time suspended.

2. The orders given to Joshua for this general circumcision (Jos 5:2): Circumcise again the children of Israel, not the same person, but the body of the people. Why was this ordered to be done now? Answ. (2.) Because now the promise of which circumcision was instituted to be the seal was performed. The seed of Israel was brought safely into the land of Canaan. "Let them therefore hereby own the truth of that promise which their fathers had disbelieved, and could not find in their hearts to trust to."(2.) Because now the threatening of which the suspending of circumcision for thirty-eight years was the ratification was fully executed by the expiring of the forty years. That warfare is accomplished, that iniquity is pardoned (Isa 40:2), and therefore now the seal of the covenant is revived again. But why was it not done sooner? why not while they were resting some months in the plains of Moab? why not during the thirty days of their mourning for Moses? Why was it not deferred longer, till they had made some progress in the conquest of Canaan, and had gained a settlement there, at least till they had entrenched themselves, and fortified their camp? why must it be done the very next day after they had come over Jordan? Answ. Because divine Wisdom saw that to be the fittest time, just when the forty years were ended, and they had entered Canaan; and the reasons which human wisdom would have offered against it were easily overruled. [1.] God would hereby show that the camp of Israel was not governed by the ordinary rules and measures of war, but by immediate direction from God, who by thus exposing them, in the most dangerous moments, magnified his own power in protecting them even then. And this great instance of security, in disabling themselves for action just when they were entering upon action, proclaimed such confidence in the divine care for their safety as would increase their enemies' fears, much more when their scouts informed them not only of the thing itself that was done, but of the meaning of it, that it was a seal of the grant of this land to Israel. [2.] God would hereby animate his people Israel against the difficulties they were now to encounter, by confirming his covenant with them, which gave them unquestionable assurance of victory and success, and the full possession of the land of promise. [3.] God would hereby teach them, and us with them, in all great undertakings to begin with God, to make sure of his favour, by offering ourselves to him a living sacrifice (for that was signified by the blood of circumcision), and then we may expect to prosper in all we do. [4.] The reviving of circumcision, after it had been so long disused, was designed to revive the observance of other institutions, the omission of which had been connived at in the wilderness. This command to circumcise them was to remind them of that which Moses had told them (Deu 21:8), that when they should have come over Jordan they must not do as they had done in the wilderness, but must come under a stricter discipline. It was said concerning many of the laws God had given them that they must observe them in the land to which they were going, Deu 6:1; Deu 12:1. [5.] This second circumcision, as it is here called, was typical of the spiritual circumcision with which the Israel of God, when they enter into the gospel rest, are circumcised; it is the learned bishop Pierson's observation that this circumcision being performed under the direction of Joshua, Moses' successor, it points to Jesus as the true circumciser, the author of another circumcision than that of the flesh, commanded by the law, even the circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:29), called the circumcision of Christ, Col, Jos 2:11.

3. The people's obedience to these orders. Joshua circumcised the children of Israel (Jos 5:3), not himself with his own hands, but he commanded that it should be done, and took care that it was done: it might soon be despatched, for it was not necessary that it should be done by a priest or Levite, but any one might be employed to do it. All those that were under twenty years old when the people were numbered at Mount Sinai, and not being numbered with them fell not by the fatal sentence, were circumcised, and by them all the rest might be circumcised in a little time. The people had promised to hearken to Joshua as they had hearkened to Moses (Jos 1:17), and here they gave an instance of their dutifulness by submitting to this painful institution, and not calling him for the sake of it a bloody governor, as Zipporah because of the circumcision called Moses a bloody husband.

4. The names given to the place where this was done, to perpetuate the memory of it. (1.) It was called the hill of the foreskins, v. 3. Probably the foreskins that were cut off were laid on a heap, and covered with earth, so that they made a little hillock. (2.) It was called Gilgal, from a word which signifies to take away, from that which God said to Joshua (v. 9), This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt. God is jealous for the honour of his people, his own honour being so much interested in it; and, whatever reproach they may lie under for a time, first or last it will certainly be rolled away, and every tongue that riseth up against them he will condemn. [1.] Their circumcision rolled away the reproach of Egypt. they were hereby owned to be the free-born children of God, having the seal of the covenant in their flesh, and so the reproach of their bondage in Egypt was removed. They were tainted with the idolatry of Egypt, and that was their reproach; but now that they were circumcised it was to be hoped they would be so entirely devoted to God that the reproach of their affection to Egypt would be rolled away. [2.] Their coming safely to Canaan rolled away the reproach of Egypt, for it silenced that spiteful suggestion of the Egyptians, that for mischief they were brought out, the wilderness had shut them in, Exo 14:3. Their wandering so long in the wilderness confirmed the reproach, but now that they had entered Canaan in triumph that reproach was done away. When God glorifies himself in perfecting the salvation of his people he not only silences the reproach of their enemies, but rolls it upon themselves.

Matthew Henry: Jos 5:10-12

We may well imagine that the people of Canaan were astonished, and that when they observed the motions of the enemy they could not but think them very strange. When soldiers take the field they are apt to think themselves excused from religious exercises (they have not time nor thought to attend to them), yet Joshua opens the campaign with one act of devotion after another. What was afterwards said to another Joshua might truly be said to this, Hear now, O Joshua! thou and thy fellows that sit before thee are men wondered at (Zec 3:8), and yet indeed he took the right method. that is likely to end well which begins with God. Here is,

I. A solemn passover kept, at the time appointed by the law, the fourteenth day of the first month, and in the same place where they were circumcised, v. 10. While they were wandering in the wilderness they were denied the benefit and comfort of this ordinance, as a further token of God's displeasure; but now, in answer to the prayer of Moses upon the passing of that sentence Psa 90:15, God comforted them again, after the time that he had afflicted them, and therefore now that joyful ordinance is revived again. Now that they had entered into Canaan it was very seasonable to remember those wondrous works of divine power and goodness by which they were brought out of Egypt. The finishing of mercies should bring to mind the beginning of them; and when it is perfect day we must not forget how welcome the morning-light was when we had long waited for it. The solemn passover followed immediately after the solemn circumcision; thus, when those that received the word were baptized, immediately we find them breaking bread, Act 2:41, Act 2:42. They dept this passover in the plains of Jericho, as it were in defiance of the Canaanites that were round about them and enraged against them, and yet could not give them any disturbance. Thus God gave them an early instance of the performance of that promise that when they went up to keep the feasts their land should be taken under the special protection of the divine Providence. Exo 34:24, Neither shall any man desire thy land. He now prepared a table before them in the presence of their enemies, Psa 23:5.

II. Provision made for their camp of the corn of the land, and the ceasing of the manna thereupon, Jos 5:11, Jos 5:12. Manna was a wonderful mercy to them when they needed it. But it was the mark of a wilderness state; it was the food of children; and therefore, though it was angel's food, and not to be complained of a light bread, yet it would be more acceptable to them to eat of the corn of the land, and this they are now furnished with.

1. The country people, having retired for safety into Jericho, had left their barns and fields, and all that was in them, which served for the subsistence of this great army. And the supply came very seasonably, for, (1.) After the passover they were to keep the feast of unleavened bread, which they could not do according to the appointment when they had nothing but manna to live upon; and perhaps this was one reason why it was intermitted in the wilderness. But now they found old corn enough in the barns of the Canaanites to supply them plentifully for that occasion; thus the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, and little did those who laid it up think whose all these things should be which they had provided. (2.) On the morrow after the passover-sabbath they were to wave the sheaf of first-fruits before the Lord, Lev 23:10, Lev 23:11. And this they were particularly ordered to do when they came into the land which God would vice them: and they were furnished for this with the fruit of the land that year (Jos 5:12), which was then growing and beginning to be ripe. Thus they were well provided for, both with old and new corn, as good householders. See Mat 13:52. And as soon as ever the fruits of this good land came to their hands they had an opportunity of honouring God with them, and employing them in his service according to his appointment. And thus, behold, all things were clean and comfortable to them. Calvin is of opinion that they had kept the passover every year in its season during their wandering in the wilderness, though it is not mentioned, and that God dispensed with their being uncircumcised, as he did, notwithstanding that, admit them to offer other sacrifices. but some gather from Amo 5:25 that after the sentence passed upon them there were no sacrifices offered till they came to Canaan, and consequently no passover was kept. And it is observable that after that sentence (Num. 14) the law which follows (Num. 15) concerning sacrifices begins thus: " When you shall have come into the land of your habitations "you shall do so and so.

2. Notice is taken of the ceasing of the manna as soon as ever they had eaten the old corn of the land, (1.) To show that it did not come by chance or common providence, as snow or hail does, but by the special designation of divine wisdom and goodness; for, as it came just when they needed it, so it continued as long as they had occasion for it and no longer. (2.) To teach us not to expect extraordinary supplies when supplies may be had in an ordinary way. If God had dealt with Israel according to their deserts, the manna would have ceased when they called it light bread; but as long as they needed it God continued it, though they despised it; and now that they needed it not God withdrew it, though perhaps some of them desired it. He is a wise Father, who knows the necessities of his children, and accommodates his gifts to them, not to their humours. The word and ordinances of God are spiritual manna, with which God nourishes his people in this wilderness, and, though often forfeited, yet they are continued while we are here; but when we come to the heavenly Canaan this manna will cease, for we shall no longer have need of it.

Matthew Henry: Jos 5:13-15

We have hitherto found God often speaking to Joshua, but we read not till now of any appearance of God's glory to him; now that his difficulties increased his encouragements were increased in proportion. Observe,

I. The time when he was favoured with this vision. It was immediately after he had performed the great solemnities of circumcision and the passover; then God made himself known to him. Note, We may then expect the discoveries of the divine grace when we are found in the way of our duty and are diligent and sincere in our attendance on holy ordinances.

II. The place where he had this vision. It was by Jericho; in Jericho, so the word is; in it by faith and hope, though as yet he had not begun to lay siege to it; in it in thought and expectation; or in the fields of Jericho, hard by the city. There, it should seem, he was all alone, fearless of danger, because sure of the divine protection. There he was (some think) meditating and praying; and to those who are so employed God often graciously manifests himself. Or perhaps there he was to take a view of the city, to observe its fortifications, and contrive how to attack it; and perhaps he was at a loss within himself how to make his approaches, when God came and directed him. Note, God will help those that help themselves. Vigilantibus non dormientibus succurrit lex - The law succours those who watch, not those who sleep. Joshua was in his post as a general, when God came and made himself known as Generalissimo.

III. The appearance itself. Joshua, as is usual with those that are full of thought and care, was looking downwards, his eyes fixed on the ground, when of a sudden he was surprised with the appearance of a man who stood before him at some little distance, which obliged him to lift up his eyes, and gave a diversion to his musings, v. 13. He appeared to him as a man, but a considerable man, and one fit to be taken notice of. Now, 1. We have reason to think that this man was the Son of God, the eternal Word, who, before he assumed the human nature for a perpetuity, frequently appeared in a human shape. So bishop Patrick thinks, consonant to the judgment of the fathers. Joshua gave him divine honours, and he received them, which a created angel would not have done, and he is called Jehovah, Jos 6:2. 2. He here appeared as a soldier, with his sword drawn in his hand. To Abraham in his tent he appeared as a traveller; to Joshua in the field as a man of war. Christ will be to his people what their faith expects and desires. Christ had his sword drawn, which served, (1.) To justify the war Joshua was engaging in, and to show him that it was of God, who gave him commission to kill and slay. If the sovereign draw the sword, this proclaims war, and authorizes the subject to do so too. The sword is then well drawn when Christ draws it, and gives the banner to those that fear him, to be displayed because of the truth, Psa 60:4. (2.) To encourage him to carry it on with vigour; for Christ's sword drawn in his hand denotes how ready he is for the defence and salvation of his people, who through him shall do valiantly. His sword turns every way.

IV. The bold question with which Joshua accosted him; he did not send a servant, but stepped up to him himself, and asked, Art thou for us or for our adversaries? which intimates his readiness to entertain him if he were for them, and to fight him if he were against them. This shows, 1. His great courage and resolution. He was not ruffled by the suddenness of the appearance, nor daunted with the majesty and bravery which no doubt appeared in the countenance of the person he saw; but, with a presence of mind that became so great a general, put this fair question to him. God had bidden Joshua be courageous, and by this it appears that he was so; for what God by his word requires of his people he does by his grace work in them. 2. His great concern for the people and their cause; so heartily has he embarked in the interests of Israel that none shall stand by him with the face of a man but he will know whether he be a friend or a foe. It should seem, he suspected him for an enemy, a Goliath that had come to defy the armies of the living God, and to give him a challenge. Thus apt are we to look upon that as against us which is most for us. The question plainly implies that the cause between the Israelites and the Canaanites, between Christ and Beelzebub, will not admit of a neutrality. He that is not with us is against us.

V. The account he gave of himself, Jos 5:14. "Nay, not for your adversaries, you may be sure, but as captain of the host of the Lord have I now come, not only for you as a friend, but over you as commander in chief."Here were now, as of old (Gen 32:2), Mahanaim, two hosts, a host of Israelites ready to engage the Canaanites and a host of angels to protect them therein, and he, as captain of both, conducts the host of Israel and commands the host of angels to their assistance. Perhaps in allusion to this Christ is called the captain of our salvation (Heb 2:10), and a leader and commander to the people, Isa 55:4. Those cannot but be victorious that have such a captain. He now came as captain to review the troops, to animate them, and to give the necessary orders for the besieging of Jericho.

VI. The great respect Joshua paid him when he understood who he was; it is probable that he perceived, not only by what he said but by some other sensible indications, that he was a divine person, and not a man. 1. Joshua paid homage to him: He fell on his face to the earth and did worship. Joshua was himself general of the forces of Israel, and yet he was far from looking with jealousy upon this stranger, who produced a commission as captain of the Lord's host above him; he did not offer to dispute his claims, but cheerfully submitted to him as his commander. It will become the greatest of men to be humble and reverent in their addresses to God. 2. He begged to receive commands and directions from him: What saith my Lord unto his servant? His former question was not more bold and soldier-like than this was pious and saint-like; nor was it any disparagement to the greatness of Joshua's spirit thus to humble himself when he had to do with God: even crowned heads cannot bow to low before the throne of the Lord Jesus, who is King of kings, Psa 2:10, Psa 2:11; Psa 72:10, Psa 72:11; Rev 19:16. Observe, (1.) The relation he owns between himself and Christ, that Christ was his Lord and himself his servant and under his command, Christ his Captain and himself a soldier under him, to do as he is bidden, Mat 8:9. Note, The foundation of all acceptable obedience is laid in a sincere dedication of ourselves, as servants to Jesus Christ as our Lord, Psa 16:2. (2.) The enquiry he makes pursuant to this relation: What saith my Lord? which implies an earnest desire to know the will of Christ, and a cheerful readiness and resolution to do it. Joshua owns himself an inferior officer, and stands to receive orders. This temper of mind shows him fit for the post he was in; for those know best how to command that know how to obey.

VII. The further expressions of reverence which this divine captain required from Joshua (Jos 5:15): Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, in token of reverence and respect (which with us are signified by uncovering the head), and as an acknowledgment of a divine presence, which, while it continued there, did in a manner sanctify the place and dignify it. We are accustomed to say of a person for whom we have a great affection that we love the very ground he treads upon; thus Joshua must show his reverence for this divine person, he must not tread the ground he stood on with his dirty shoes, Ecc 5:1. Outward expressions of inward reverence, and a religious awe of God, well become us, and are required of us, whenever we approach to him in solemn ordinances. Bishop Patrick well observes here that the very same orders that God gave to Moses at the bush, when he was sending him to bring Israel out of Egypt (Exo 3:5), her here gives to Joshua, for the confirming of his faith in the promise he had lately given him, that as he had been with Moses so he would be with him, Jos 1:5. Had Moses such a presence of God with him as, when it became sensible, sanctified the ground? So had Joshua.

And ( lastly ) Hereby he prepares him to receive the instructions he was about to give him concerning the siege of Jericho, which this captain of the Lord's host had now come to give Israel possession of.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 5:1-9

Circumcision of the People. - Jos 5:1. Whilst, on the one hand, the approach of the passover rendered it desirable that the circumcision of those who had remained uncircumcised should be carried out without delay, on the other hand the existing circumstances were most favourable for the performance of this covenant duty, inasmuch as the miracle wrought in connection with the passage through the Jordan had thrown the Canaanites into such alarm that there was no fear of their attacking the Israelitish camp. To indicate this, the impression produced by this miracle is described, namely, that all the kings of Canaan had been thrown into despair in consequence. All the tribes of Canaan are grouped together here under the names of Amorites and Canaanites, the tribes in possession of the mountains being all called Amorites, and those who lived by the sea, i.e., by the shore of the Mediterranean, Canaanites (vid., Jos 1:4): for the Amorites upon the mountains were the strongest of all the Canaanitish tribes at that time (see at Gen 10:16); whilst the name Canaanites, i.e., the bent one (see at Gen 9:25), was peculiarly appropriate to the inhabitants of the lowlands, who relied upon trade more than upon warfare, and were probably dependent upon the strong and mighty Amorites. The application of the expression "beyond Jordan" (Eng. Ver. "on the side of") to the country on this side, may be explained on the ground that the historian was still writing from the stand-point of the crossing. But in order to prevent any misunderstanding, he adds "towards the west," as he had previously added "towards the sunrise,"in Jos 1:15, when speaking of the land on the eastern side. That we have the report of an eye-witness here is evident from the words, "until we were passed over:"the reading of the Keri, עברם (till they were passed over), is nothing but an arbitrary and needless conjecture, and ought not to have been preferred by Bleek and others, notwithstanding the fact that the ancient versions and some MSS also adopt it.

Jos 5:2-8

At that time (sc., the time of their encampment at Gilgal, and when the Canaanites were in despair) Joshua had the people "circumcised again, the second time." The word שׁנית (a second time) is only added to give emphasis to שׁוּב , or as an explanation of it, and is not to be pressed, either here or in Isa 11:11, as though it denoted the repetition of the same act in every respect, i.e., of an act of circumcision which had once before been performed upon the whole nation. It merely expresses this meaning, "circumcise the people again, or the second time, as it was formerly circumcised"(i.e., a circumcised people, not in the same manner in which it once before had circumcision performed upon it). When the people came out of Egypt they were none of them uncircumcised, as distinctly affirmed in Jos 5:5; but during their journey through the wilderness circumcision had been neglected, so that now the nation was no longer circumcised, and therefore it was necessary that circumcision should be performed upon the nation as a whole, by circumcising all who were uncircumcised. The opinion of Masius and O. v. Gerlach, that the expression "the second time"refers to the introduction of circumcision, when Abraham was circumcised with all his house, is very far-fetched. צרים חרבות are not "sharp knives,"but "stone knives," which were used according to ancient custom (see at Exo 4:25), literally knives of rocks (the plural zurim is occasioned by charboth, as in Num 13:32, etc.; the singular might have been used: see Ewald, §270, c .).

Jos 5:3

Joshua had the circumcision performed "at the hill of the foreskins," as the place was afterwards called from the fact that the foreskins were buried there.

Jos 5:4-7

The reason for the circumcision of the whole nation was the following: all the fighting men who came out of Egypt had died in the wilderness by the way; for all the people that came out were circumcised; but all that were born in the wilderness during the journey had not been circumcised ( ממּצרים בּצאתם , on their coming out of Egypt, which only came to an end on their arrival in Canaan). They walked forty years in the wilderness; till all the people - that is to say, all the fighting men - who came out of Egypt were consumed, because they had not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and had been sentenced by the Lord to die in the wilderness (Jos 5:6; cf. Num 14:26., Num 26:64-65, and Deu 2:14-16). But He (Jehovah) set up their sons in their place, i.e., He caused them to take their place; and these Joshua circumcised (i.e., had them circumcised), for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised by the way. This explains the necessity for a general circumcision of all the people, but does not state the reason why those who were born in the wilderness had not been circumcised. All that is affirmed in Jos 5:5 and Jos 5:7 is, that this had not taken place "by the way."The true reason may be gathered from Jos 5:6, if we compare the statement made in this verse, "for the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the men that were capable of bearing arms were consumed ... unto whom the Lord sware that He would not show them the land promised to the fathers,"with the sentence pronounced by God to which these words refer, viz., Num 14:29-34. The Lord is then said to have sworn that all the men of twenty years old and upwards, who had murmured against Him, should perish in the wilderness; and though their sons should enter the promised land, they too should pasture, i.e., lead a nomad life, for forty years in the wilderness, and bear the apostasy of their fathers, till their bodies had fallen in the desert. This clearly means, that not only was the generation that came out of Egypt sentenced to die in the wilderness because of its rebellion against the Lord, and therefore rejected by God, but the sons of this generation had to bear the whoredom, i.e., the apostasy of their fathers from the Lord, for the period of forty years, until the latter had been utterly consumed; that is to say, during all this time they were to endure the punishment of rejection along with their fathers: with this difference alone, that the sons were not to die in the wilderness, but were to be brought into the promised land after their fathers were dead. The sentence upon the fathers, that their bodies should fall in the desert, was unquestionably a rejection of them on the part of God, an abrogation of the covenant with them. This punishment was also to be borne by their sons; and hence the reason why those who were born in the desert by the way were not circumcised. As the covenant of the Lord with the fathers was abrogated, the sons of the rejected generation were not to receive the covenant sign of circumcision. Nevertheless this abrogation of the covenant with the generation that had been condemned, was not a complete dissolution of the covenant relation, so far as the nation as a whole was concerned, since the whole nation had not been rejected, but only the generation of men that were capable of bearing arms when they came out of Egypt, whilst the younger generation which had grown up in the desert was to be delivered from the ban, which rested upon it as well, and brought into the land of Canaan when the time of punishment had expired. For this reason the Lord did not withdraw from the nation every sign of His grace; but in order that the consciousness might still be sustained in the young and rising generation, that the covenant would be set up again with them when the time of punishment had expired, He left them not only the presence of the pillar of cloud and fire, but also the manna and other tokens of His grace, the continuance of which therefore cannot be adduced as an argument against our view of the time of punishment as a temporary suspension of the covenant.

But if this was the reason for the omission of circumcision,

(Note: This reason was admitted even by Calvin , and has been well supported by Hengstenberg (Diss. ii. pp. 13ff.). The arguments adduced by Kurtz in opposition to this view are altogether unfounded. We have already observed that the reason for the suspension is not given in Jos 5:7; and the further remark, that in Jos 5:5 ("all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised") the book of Joshua dates the suspension not from the sentence of rejection, but expressly and undoubtedly (?) from the departure from Egypt, has no force whatever, unless we so press the word all ("all the people that were born in the desert") as not to allow of the slightest exception. But this is decidedly precluded by the fact, that we cannot imagine it possible for God to have established His covenant with the people at a time when they had neglected the fundamental law of the covenant, the transgression of which was threatened with destruction (Gen 17:14), by neglecting to circumcise all the children who had been born between the departure from Egypt and the conclusion of the covenant at Sinai. We are also prevented from pressing the little word "all"in this manner by the evident meaning of the words before us. In Jos 5:4 and Jos 5:5 the Israelites are divided into two classes: (1) All the people that came out of Egypt and were circumcised; and (2) All the people that were born in the desert and were uncircumcised. The first of these died in the wilderness, the second came to Canaan and were circumcised by Joshua at Gilgal. But if we should press the word "all"in these clauses, it would follow that all the male children who were under twenty years of age at the time of the exodus, either died in the desert or were circumcised a second time at Gilgal. Lastly, it does not follow from Jos 5:6 that the circumcision was suspended for exactly forty years; for the forty years during which Israel journeyed in the desert until the murmuring generation was consumed, are to be interpreted by Num 14:33-34, and amounted, chronologically considered, to no more than thirty-eight years and a few months. On the other hand, the other very general view which Kurtz adopts - namely, that the circumcision was omitted during the journey through the desert on account of the hardships connected with travelling, and because it was impossible to have regard to particular families who might wish for longer rest on account of their children who had just been circumcised, and were suffering from the wound, just at the time when they had to decamp and journey onward, and they could not well be left behind - throws but little light upon the subject, as the assumption that the people were constantly wandering about for forty years is altogether an unfounded one. The Israelites were not always wandering about: not only did they stay at Sinai for eleven whole months, but even after that they halted for weeks and months at the different places of encampment, when they might have circumcised their children without the slightest danger of their suffering from the wound.)

it did not commence till the second year of their journey, viz., at the time when the murmuring nation was rejected at Kadesh (Num 14); so that by "all the people that were born in the wilderness"we are to understand those who were born after that time, and during the last thirty-eight years of their wanderings, just as "all the people that came out of Egypt"are to be understood as signifying only those men who were twenty years old and upwards when they came out. Consequently circumcision was suspended as long as the nation was under the ban of the divine sentence pronounced upon it at Kadesh. This sentence was exhausted when they crossed the brook Zared and entered the country of the Amorites (compare Deu 2:14 with Num 21:12-13). Why, then, was not the circumcision performed during the encampment in the steppes of Moab either before or after the numbering, since all those who had been sentenced to die in the wilderness were already dead (Num 26:65)? The different answers which have been given to this question are some of them wrong, and others incomplete. For example, the opinion held by some, that the actual reason was that the forty years had not yet expired, is incorrect (see Deu 2:14). And the uncertainty how long they would remain in the steppes of Moab cannot be adduced as an explanation, as there were no circumstances existing that were likely to occasion a sudden and unexpected departure from Shittim. The reason why Moses did not renew the circumcision before the end of his own life, is to be sought for in the simple fact that he would not undertake an act of such importance without an express command from the Lord, especially as he was himself under sentence to die without entering the promised land. But the Lord did not enjoin the renewal of the covenant sign before Israel had been conducted into the promised land, because He saw fit first of all to incline the hearts of the people to carry out His commandment through this magnificent proof of His grace. It is the rule of divine grace first to give and then to ask. As the Lord did not enjoin circumcision as a covenant duty upon Abraham himself till He had given him a practical proof of His grace by leading him to Canaan, and by repeated promises of a numerous posterity, and of the eventual possession of the land; and just as He did not give the law to the children of Israel at Sinai till He had redeemed them with a mighty arm from the bondage of Egypt, and borne them on eagles' wings, and brought them to Himself, and had thereby made them willing to promise gladly to fulfil all that He should say to them as His covenant nation; so now He did not require the renewal of circumcision, which involved as the covenant sign the observance of the whole law, till He had given His people practical proofs, through the help afforded in the defeat of Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and in the miraculous division of the waters of Jordan, that He was able to remove all the obstacles that might lie in the way of the fulfilment of His promises, and give them the promised land for their inheritance, as He had sworn to their fathers.

Jos 5:8

When the rite of circumcision had been performed upon them all, the people remained quietly in the camp till those who were circumcised had recovered. "They abode in their places, "i.e., sat still as they were, without attempting anything. חיה , to revive (Gen 45:27; Job 14:14), or recover (2Ki 1:2; 2Ki 8:8, etc.). The circumcision of the people could not be performed earlier than the day after the crossing of the Jordan, i.e., according to Jos 4:19, not earlier than the 11th day of the first month. Now, as the passover was to be kept, and actually was kept, on the 14th (Jos 5:10), the two accounts are said to be irreconcilable, and the account of the circumcision has been set down as a later and unhistorical legend. But the objections made to the historical credibility of this account - viz., that the suffering consequent upon circumcision made a person ill for several days, and according to Gen 34:25 was worst on the third day, so that the people could not have kept the passover on that day, and also that the people could not possibly have been all circumcised on one day - are founded upon false assumptions. In the latter, for example, the number of persons to be circumcised is estimated, most absurdly, at a million; whereas, according to the general laws of population, the whole of the male population of Israel, which contained only 601,730 of twenty years of age and upwards, besides 23,000 Levites of a month old and upwards, when the census was taken a short time before in the steppes of Moab, could not amount to more than a million in all, and of these between 280,000 and 330,000 were thirty-eight years old, and therefore, having been born before the sentence was pronounced upon the nation at Kadesh, and for the most part before the exodus from Egypt, had been already circumcised, so that there were only 670,000, or at the most 720,000, to be circumcised now. Consequently the proportion between the circumcised and uncircumcised was one to three or three and a half; and the operation could therefore be completed without any difficulty in the course of a single day. As regards the consequences of this operation, Gen 34:25 by no means proves that the pain was most acute on the third day; and even it this really were the case, it would not prevent the keeping of the passover, as the lambs could have been killed and prepared by the 280,000 or 330,000 circumcised men; and even those who were still unwell could join in the meal, since it was only Levitical uncleanness, and not disease or pain, which formed a legal impediment to this (Num 9:10.).

(Note: For the basis upon which this computation rests, see Keil's Commentary on Joshua, p. 139 (Eng. trans. 1857).)

But if there were about 300,000 men of the age of forty and upwards who could not only perform the rite of circumcision upon their sons or younger brother, but, if necessary, were able at any moment to draw the sword, there was no reason whatever for their being afraid of an attack on the part of the Canaanites, even if the latter had not been paralyzed by the miraculous crossing of the Jordan.

Jos 5:9

When the circumcision was completed, the Lord said to Joshua, " This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." "The reproach of Egypt"is the reproach proceeding from Egypt, as "the reproach of Moab,"in Zep 2:8, is the reproach heaped upon Israel by Moab (cf. Isa 51:7; Eze 16:57). We are not to understand by this the Egyptian bondage, or the misery which still cleaved to the Israelites from Egypt, and the still further misery which they had suffered during their journey, on account of the displeasure of Jehovah ( Knobel ), but the reproach involved in the thoughts and sayings of the Egyptians, that Jehovah had brought the Israelites out of Egypt to destroy them in the desert (Exo 32:12; Num 14:13-16; Deu 9:28), which rested upon Israel as long as it was condemned to wander restlessly about and to die in the wilderness. This reproach was rolled away from Israel with the circumcision of the people at Gilgal, inasmuch as this act was a practical declaration of the perfect restoration of the covenant, and a pledge that the Lord would now give them the land of Canaan for their inheritance. From this occurrence the place where the Israelites were encamped received the name of Gilgal , viz., "rolling away,"from גּלל , to roll. This explanation and derivation of the name is not to be pronounced incorrect and unhistorical, simply because it merely preserves the subordinate idea of rolling, instead of the fuller idea of the rolling away of reproach. For the intention was not to form a word which should comprehend the whole affair with exhaustive minuteness, but simply to invent a striking name which should recall the occurrence, like the name Tomi , of which Ovid gives the following explanation: Inde Tomos dictus locus est quia fertur in illo membra soror fratris consecuisse sui ( Trist . iii. 9, 33). Knobel is wrong in maintaining that the name should be explained in a different way, and that this Gilgal is the same as Geliloth (circles) in Jos 18:17 (see the explanation given at Jos 15:7). The word gilgal , formed from גלל , to roll, signifies primarily rolling, then a wheel (Isa 28:28); and if by possibility it signifies orbis also, like גּליל , this is neither the original nor the only meaning of the word. According to Josephus (Ant. Jos 18:1, Jos 18:4), Israel encamped fifty stadia, i.e., two hours and a half, from the Jordan, and ten stadia, or half an hour, from Jericho-that is to say, in the plain or steppe between Jericho and the Jordan, in an uninhabited and uncultivated spot, which received the name of Gilgal for the first time, as the place where the Israelites were encamped. No town or village ever existed there, either at the period in question or at any later time. The only other places in which this Gilgal can be shown to be evidently referred to, are Mic 6:5 and 2Sa 19:6, 2Sa 19:41; and the statement made by Eusebius in the Onom. s. v. Galgala, < , which Jerome paraphrases thus, "Even to the present day a deserted place is pointed out at the second mile from Jericho, which is held in amazing reverence by the inhabitants of that region,"by no means proves the existence of a town or village there in the time of the Israelites. Consequently it is not to be wondered at, that in spite of repeated search, Robinson has not been able to discover any remains of Gilgal to the east of Jericho, or to meet with any Arab who could tell him of such a name in this locality (see Rob . Pal. ii. pp. 287-8 and 278). On the situation of the Gilgal mentioned in Jos 9:6; Jos 10:6, etc., see at Jos 8:35.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 5:10-12

The Passover at Gilgal. - When the whole nation had been received again into covenant with the Lord by circumcision, they kept the passover, which had no doubt been suspended from the time that they left Sinai (Num 9:1.), on the 14th of the month (Nisan), in the evening (according to the law in Exo 12:6, Exo 12:18; Lev 23:5; Num 28:16; Deu 16:6). The next day, i.e., on the 16th, or the day after the first feast-day, they ate unleavened loaves and parched corn ("roasted grains,"see at Lev 2:14) of the produce of the land ( עבוּר ,

(Note: Rendered "old corn"in the Eng. version.)

which only occurs in Jos 5:11 and Jos 5:12, is synonymous with תּבוּאה

(Note: Rendered fruit in our version.)

in Jos 5:12), i.e., corn that had grown in the land of Canaan, as the manna entirely ceased from this day forwards. "The morrow after the passover" is used in Num 33:3 for the 15th Nisan; but here it must be understood as signifying the 16th, as the produce of the land, of which they ate not only on that day, but, according to Jos 5:12, throughout that year, cannot mean the corn of the previous year, but the produce of this same year, i.e., the new corn, and they were not allowed to eat any of that till it had been sanctified to the Lord by the presentation of the wave sheaf on the second day of the passover (Lev 23:11). According to Lev 23:11, the presentation was to take place on the day after the Sabbath, i.e., the first day of the feast of Mazzoth, which was kept as a Sabbath, or the 16th of Nisan, as the seven days' feast of Mazzoth commenced on the 15th (Lev 23:6; Num 28:17). "On the morrow after the passover"is the same as "on the morrow after the Sabbath"in Lev 23:11, the term passover being used here not in its original and more restricted sense, in which it applies exclusively to the observance of the paschal meal, which took place on the evening of the 14th, and is expressly distinguished from the seven days' feast of Mazzoth (Exo 12:23, Exo 12:27; Lev 23:5; Num 28:16), but in the broader sense, which we have already met with in Deu 16:2, in which the name was gradually extended to the whole of the seven days' feast. The writer assumed that the facts themselves were already well known from the Mosaic law, and therefore did not think it necessary to give any fuller explanation. Moreover, the words, "they did eat of the fruit of the land,"etc., are not to be understood as signifying that they began to eat unleavened bread for the first time on the 16th Nisan (they had already eaten is as an accompaniment to the paschal lamb); but unleavened bread of the produce of the land, the green corn of that year, was what they ate for the first time on that day. Especial prominence is given to this by the words, "in the self-same day,"because not only did the eating of the new corn commence on that day, but from that day forward "the children of Israel had manna no more." This statement is evidently related to Exo 16:35, and must be understood, according to that passage, as merely signifying, that on that day the gift of the manna entirely ceased (see Pentateuch, pp. 366ff.).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 5:13-15

Appearance and Message of the Angel of the Lord. - Jos 5:13-15. When Joshua was by Jericho, בּיריחו , lit., in Jericho ( בּ expressing immediate proximity, the entrance as it were into some other object, vid., Ewald , §217), - that is to say, inside it in thought, meditating upon the conquest of it-he saw, on lifting up his eyes, a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand; and on going up to him, and asking, "Dost thou belong to us or to our enemies?" he received this reply: " Nay ( לא is not to be altered into לו , which is the reading adopted in the Sept. , Syr., and a few MSS), but I am the prince of the army of Jehovah; now I am come." The person who had appeared neither belonged to the Israelites nor to their enemies, but was the prince of the army of Jehovah, i.e., of the angels. "The Lord's host" does not mean "the people of Israel, who were just at the commencement of their warlike enterprise,"as v . Hofmann supposes; for although the host of Israel who came out of Egypt are called "the hosts of the Lord"in Exo 12:41, 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"(1Ki 22:19), and signifies the angels, as in Psa 148:2 and Psa 103:21. With the words "now I am come," the prince of the angels is about to enter upon an explanation of the object of his coming; but he is interrupted in his address by Joshua, who falls down before him, and says, "What saith my lord to his servant?" so that now he first of all commands Joshua to take off his shoes, as the place on which he stands is holy. It by no means follows that because Joshua fell down upon the ground and ישׁתּחוּ ( Eng . Ver. "did worship" ), he must have recognised him at once as the angel of the Lord who was equal with God; for the word השׁתּחוה , which is connected with the falling down, does not always mean divine worship, but very frequently means nothing more than the deep Oriental 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, אדני , but simply as אדני , "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. (On the meaning of the command to take off the shoes, see the exposition of Exo 3:5.) The object of the divine appearance was indicated by the drawn sword in the hand (cf. Num 22:31), by which he manifested himself as a heavenly warrior, or, as he describes himself to Joshua, as prince of the army of Jehovah. The drawn sword contained in itself this practical explanation: "I am now come with my heavenly army, to make war upon the Canaanites, and to assist thee and thy people" (Seb . Schmidt) . It was not in a vision that this appearance took place, but it was an actual occurrence belonging to the external world; for Joshua saw the man with the drawn sword at a certain distance from himself, and went up to him to address him, - a fact which would be perfectly incompatible with an inward vision.

Constable: Jos 5:1-12

2. Circumcision and celebration of the Passover 5:1-12

"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 Blood: Anticipation of deliverance (5:10) . . . The Token of Fruit: Appropriation of the blessing (5:11-12) . . . The Token of a Sword: Revelation of a holy war (5:13-15)."⁶¹

God guaranteed Joshua's success only as he kept the Mosaic Law (1:7). It was necessary therefore that all the males who had been born in the wilderness and had not undergone circumcision should do so. Circumcision included the individual male in the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 17). It was a prerequisite for partaking in the Passover that God required of all Israelites yearly (Exod. 12). As the stones just set up, circumcision was also a memorial.

5:1 This verse at first might seem more appropriate as a conclusion to the previous chapter. However it explains how the Israelites were able to take several days to perform an operation that rendered them very vulnerable to their enemies militarily. Israel's foes feared them greatly as a result of the miracle of the Jordan crossing, and they did not attack.

This reference to the Amorites and Canaanites groups all the native tribes together. The people who possessed the South and the mountains of the land were mainly Amorites. Many of them had lived in Transjordan and were the mightiest of the warriors among the tribes. Those who lived in the North, in the lowlands by the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Valley of Jezreel, were mainly Canaanites. The Canaanites were traders rather than warriors. The writer sometimes put all the native people in one or the other of these two groups. This depended on the area in which they lived (South or North, highlands or lowlands) or the general characteristic of the people that occupied most of that area (warlike or peaceful).⁶²

"From the human standpoint, if ever there was a time to strike at the Canaanites it was right after the Israelites had gained entrance to the land. Fear had taken hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. But divine plans are not made according to human strategy."⁶³

5:2-9 "The book of Joshua continues as a dialogue between the divine and human commander."⁶⁴

Flint knives (v. 2) were sharp flint rocks (obsidian). The first mass circumcision of the Israelites evidently took place in Egypt before the first Passover and the Exodus.

"The sentence upon the fathers, that their bodies should fall in the desert, was unquestionably a rejection of them on the part of God, an abrogation of the covenant with them. This punishment was also to be borne by their sons; and hence the reason why those who were born in the desert by the way were not circumcised."⁶⁵

Another explanation is that most of the older generation simply neglected to circumcise their sons out of forgetfulness, discouragement, or for some other reason.

Why did God wait to command the circumcision of the new generation until now rather than on the plains of Moab? Perhaps He did so because He wanted to bring the people into the land before enforcing this aspect of the law. This is consistent with God's dealings with humankind. He first gives and then asks (cf. Rom. 12:1).

"Had Joshua acted on the principles common to all other generals, when invading an enemy's country, he would either have prosecuted his advantages instantly, while his enemies were filled with terror, and crushed them before they had time to prepare for their defence [sic]; or he would have fortified his own camp to prevent surprise, and to be in constant readiness for any emergency that might arise. But instead of adopting any military plans whatever, the very day after he had invaded the country, without waiting to know what effect the invasion would have, he appoints nearly every male in the congregation to be circumcised! Thus by one act disabling the greater part of his whole army from even standing in their own defence [sic]! What but a principle of the most triumphant faith could have brought them to submit to such an injunction as this?"⁶⁶

The reproach of Egypt (v. 9) was the charge that originated with the Egyptians that Yahweh had led the Israelites out of Egypt only to destroy them in the wilderness (cf. Exod. 32:12; Num. 14:13-16; Deut. 9:28). Now that He had brought them into the land He had promised them, He had negated or "rolled away" this criticism. Gilgal means "rolling" as well as "circle." The Israelites seem to have regarded the rolling away of the foreskins in the circumcision operation as having a double symbolic meaning. It represented God's removal of their reproach as well as their renunciation of the flesh (cf. Gen. 17).

"Flint knives [cf. Exod. 4:25] are sharpened by chipping away at the edge of the stone, so that clean, sterile stone is exposed, since bacteria and viruses cannot grow in rock. Circumcision was thus performed with an instrument possessing comparable sterility to today's surgical scalpels. In view of the likelihood of infection following this operation with a contaminated instrument, use of the flint knife was enormously beneficial and therefore commanded by the Ultimate Healer (or in this case the preventer).⁶⁷

God specified knives of flint even though this was the bronze age, and bronze implements were common.

5:10-12 The Law prescribed that only members of the covenant community could eat the Passover. It was a memorial to God's redemption of Israel out of Egyptian slavery in the Exodus. It symbolized God's deliverance of His people from the tyranny of sin (cf. Exod. 12:43-51).

In the Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed the Passover the people were able to use the grain of the land to make bread (v. 11). God now provided for His people's need for daily bread by giving them the produce of the land rather than manna, which now ceased (cf. Exod. 16:35).

"We are prone to look upon our common mercies as matters of course, and God sometimes withdraws them to teach us our dependence more effectually."⁶⁸

Sometimes obeying God makes us vulnerable to the attacks of our spiritual enemies. Notwithstanding God will protect those who trust and obey Him in these situations.

Constable: Jos 5:13--13:1

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

Before Israel entered the land of Canaan, God had been preparing for His people to take possession of it by sovereignly directing the political affairs of Egypt. Egypt had maintained control over Canaan for many years. However with the ascension of Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1417--1379 B.C.) to the throne, Egyptian interest in Canaanite affairs began to decline. Consequently some of the Canaanite kings asserted their independence from Egyptian control and began to increase their influence and to dominate their neighbors. In addition, foreigners besides the Israelites invaded portions of Canaan. Some of the victims of oppression wrote letters to Pharaoh asking for Egyptian assistance. They sent these letters to Amarna, the capital of Egypt at this time, and they are known today as the Amarna Letters. They wrote these documents in cuneiform script. Archaeologists discovered them at Amarna in A.D. 1887. They provide much valuable information on the political and military climate in Canaan during the period of Israel's conquests.⁶⁹

"While Akhenaten [Amenhotep III, 1379-1361 B.C., the son and successor of Amenhotep II] spent his life preoccupied with religious reform, Egyptian prestige in Asia sank to a low ebb. As the Amarna Letters abundantly show, no effort was made by the court to answer the frantic appeals for help made by some princes who still professed loyalty to Egypt. The most common complaint in these letters is that unless Egypt would send troops urgently the land would fall into the hands of the Khapiru. Some historians are inclined to see in these Khapiru the Hebrews of the Bible who at this time were overrunning Palestine."⁷⁰

When the Israelites began their conquest, the Canaanite city-states did not have the protection of Egypt or any other strong world power that they had enjoyed in the past.

Constable: Jos 5:13--7:1

1. The conquest of Jericho 5:13-6:27

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. There was also the question of armaments. Israel's army had no siege engines, no battering rams, no catapults, and no moving towers. Their only weapons were slings, arrows, and spears--which were like straws against the walls of Jericho."⁷¹

As Joshua contemplated attacking Jericho, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and assured him of victory.⁷²

"The Canaanite spectre had hatched in Noah's tent (Gen. 9:20-27), had evolved for generations, and now in Joshua's day would be tolerated by God no longer."⁷³

Evidently Joshua was reconnoitering near Jericho only about two miles from Gilgal. He was planning his strategy when he met the Man who identified Himself as the Captain (Prince) of the Lord's host (angelic army; cf. 1 Kings 22:19; 2 Kings 6:8-17; Ps. 148:2; Matt. 26:53; Heb. 1:14). It is obvious that Joshua perceived this Man as a mighty warrior standing before him with sword drawn ready for battle (cf. Num. 22:23; 1 Chron. 21:16). As soon as the Stranger identified Himself, Joshua bowed before Him acknowledging His superiority.

"The stranger's response put everything in proper perspective. God is sovereign. It is never a question whether God is on our side but whether we are on God's side. . . . The purpose of this encounter was not to impart commands but to inspire Joshua with humility and reverence and to instill in him the confidence that God was with him and was in control (cf. 1:9)."⁷⁴

The command to remove his sandals (v. 15) would have convinced Joshua that this was the same God who appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Exod. 3:5).

"As Moses went to investigate the bush (Exod 3:3), so Joshua goes to investigate the mysterious figure confronting him (5:13b)."⁷⁵

"The strange confrontation of 5:13-15 resembles that between Jacob and the man of God at Peniel (Gn. 32:22-32) and that between Moses and the burning bush (Ex. 3:1-4:17). In each case, the human protagonist encounters a divine messenger before facing a life-and-death conflict . . ."⁷⁶

Joshua would hardly have submitted as he did if he had not believed that this Man was the Angel of the Lord (cf. Exod. 3:5; Num. 22:31).

"The scene thus pictures Joshua as the totally obedient servant doing precisely what the divine messenger requires."⁷⁷

God not only instructed Joshua concerning what he should do in the battle ahead, but this theophany assured Joshua that Yahweh would also personally lead His people in battle. We need not conclude, however, that this divine Leader continued to be visible after this. There is no reference to Him in the record of the battle that follows. His appearance on this occasion simply impressed Joshua with the fact that God would be leading Israel.

"The whole sequence--circumcision, Passover, and theophany--emphatically declared that the Israel of conquest was the Israel of exodus. The God who had saved his people out of Egypt would now save them in Canaan."⁷⁸

6:1-5 The parenthetic comment about Jericho that opens this chapter (v. 1) emphasizes the fact that the city had strong fortifications.

As in the previous section, the writer recorded the command of God first (vv. 2-5; cf. Ps. 108:12-13) and then Joshua's execution of the command (vv. 6-21; cf. 3:7-8; 4:1-3, 15-16). Unlike Moses, who at the burning bush argued at length with the Lord about His plan (Exod. 3:11-4:17), Joshua obeyed without question.

6:6-14 The terms "Lord" and "ark" occur interchangeably here (v. 8). The Lord was over the ark, and the ark represented the Lord's presence.

Evidently the whole Israelite nation did not march around the walls of Jericho. Only warriors and priests circled the city (vv. 3, 4, 6, 9, et al.). The "people" referred to in the context (v. 7, 16, et al.) were these people, not all the Israelites. Probably representatives of the tribes participated in this march rather than all the soldiers of Israel. The line of march was as follows: soldiers, priests, the ark, and more soldiers (vv. 6-9, 13).

Jericho was not a large city. Archaeological excavations have revealed that its walls enclosed only about eight and one-half acres. The main part of the Dallas Seminary campus covers about 12 acres.

The trumpets the priests blew (vv. 4, 9, et al.) were not the long silver trumpets but rams horns (shophars). The blowing of trumpets in Israel reminded the people of God's activity for them. The priests used them to call the people to follow God who was going before them in the wilderness. Both functions were applicable on this occasion. The trumpet blasts signaled judgment to the Canaanites but victory to the Israelites (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51; 1 Thess. 4:10-17).

"The first time that we read of a trumpet-blast is at Sinai, where the Lord announced His descent upon the mount to the people assembled at the foot to receive Him, not only by other fearful phenomena, but also by a loud and long-continued trumpet-blast (Ex. xix. 16, 19, xx. 14 (18). After this we find the blowing of trumpets prescribed as part of the Israelitish worship in connection with the observance of the seventh new moon's day (Lev. xxiii. 24), and at the proclamation of the great year of jubilee (Lev. xxv. 9). Just as the trumpet-blast heard by the people when the covenant was made at Sinai was as it were a herald's call, announcing to the tribes of Israel the arrival of the Lord their God to complete His covenant and establish His kingdom upon earth; so the blowing of trumpets in connection with the round of feasts was intended partly to bring the people into remembrance before the Lord year by year at the commencement of the sabbatical month, that He might come to them and grant them the Sabbath rest of His kingdom, and partly at the end of every seven times seven years to announce on the great day of atonement the coming of the great year of grace and freedom, which was to bring to the people of God deliverance from bondage, return to their own possessions, and deliverance from the bitter labours of this earth, and to give them a foretaste of the blessed and glorious liberty to which the children of God would attain at the return of the Lord to perfect His kingdom (vid. Pentateuch, vol. ii, p. 466-7). But when the Lord comes to found, to build up, and to perfect His kingdom upon earth, He also comes to overthrow and destroy the worldly power which opposes His kingdom. The revelation of the grace and mercy of God to His children, goes ever side by side with the revelation of justice and judgment towards the ungodly who are His foes. If therefore the blast of trumpets was the signal to the congregation of Israel of the gracious arrival of the Lord its God to enter into fellowship with it, no less did it proclaim the advent of judgment to an ungodly world."⁷⁹

6:15-21 The warriors and priests were to remain silent as they circled the city each time except the last. God evidently used this strategy to impress on the people of Jericho, as well as the Israelites, that the deliverance was not by human might or power. It was by the Spirit of the Lord (cf. Zech. 4:6). He commanded the final shout on the seventh day to announce His destruction of the wall. It was a shout of joy for the Israelites.

"To emphasize the divine intervention, no secondary causes for the collapse of the wall are mentioned. It would be no less a miracle were we to find that God used an earthquake to bring the walls down."⁸⁰

The writer did not explain the reasons for Israel circling Jericho once a day for six days and then seven times the seventh day. This strategy did give the king of Jericho an opportunity to surrender. The uniqueness of this approach undoubtedly impressed everyone with the supernatural character of the victory. It involved almost incredible faith for the Israelites (Heb. 11:30). There was probably also some significance to the number seven. This may have impressed the Israelites further that the victory was a complete work of God following the pattern of the seven days of creation.

"The emphasis on the number seven (fourteen times in this chapter [cf. Exod. 24:16; 2 Kings 3:9; Job 2:11-13; Ezek. 3:15]), the use of ceremonial trumpets (made from ram's horns), the presence of priests, and the prominence of the ark all indicate that the conquest of Jericho was more than a military campaign; it was a religious event. Israel must always remember that the land was God's gift to them."⁸¹

"The significance of this repeated marching round the town culminates unquestionably in the ark of the covenant and the trumpet-blast of the priests who went before the ark. In the account before us the ark is constantly called the ark of the Lord, to show that the Lord, who was enthroned upon the cherubim of the ark, was going round the hostile town in the midst of His people; whilst in ver. 8 Jehovah himself is mentioned in the place of the ark of Jehovah."⁸²

Excavations at Jericho by John Garstang between 1930 and 1936, and more recently by Kathleen Kenyon between 1952 and 1958, have confirmed the collapse of the wall under itself as recorded. They also reveal that the invaders burned the city (v. 24) though there was some disagreement between Garstang and Kenyon concerning when this took place. Garstang held that the collapse of the wall and the burning of the city took place at approximately the same time, as the text records. However, Kenyon believed the city burned at a much earlier date and fell at a much later date.⁸³

After discussing the views of Garstang and Kenyon, Waltke concluded as follows.

"Although meager, yet the textual and the archaeological evidence regarding Jericho in Late Bronze IIA and B [1400-1200 B.C.] remarkably coincide, and once again the archaeological evidence suggests a conquest during the first quarter of the fourteenth century. Even more conclusive, however, is the evidence that the city was not occupied during the mid-thirteenth century B.C., thereby precluding the option of the commonly accepted late date for the Exodus [ca. 1280 B.C.]."⁸⁴

"On the basis of the scarabs and pottery found in the cemetery associated with City IV in Jericho, it is impossible to date the fall of that city subsequent to 1400 B.C., despite all of the negative findings of Kathleen Kenyon (as we have previously shown). On the other hand, there are absolutely insurmountable objections to the Late Date Theory [ca. 1280 B.C.] on the basis of archaeological discovery."⁸⁵

There are some things about Jericho that archaeology has not revealed.

"Jericho is a classic example of incompleteness in the archaeological record caused by the depredations of man and nature combined where--as at Dibon--the literary record (here, the Old Testament) retains phases of history lost to the excavator."⁸⁶

"Archaeological research thus leaves confusion and unanswered questions for the present generation. This does not lead us to abandon archaeological research. It reminds us of the great difficulties which stand in our way when we seek to utilize discoveries for historical reconstruction. Archaeology can rarely name sites. Seldom, if ever, can it determine precisely who destroyed a site. It often cannot tell who occupied a site; it can place only relative dates on sites. Only rarely can it excavate an entire site and secure all the evidence."⁸⁷

6:22-25 God commanded the Israelites to consecrate all the spoils of this battle to Him since He had given Jericho into their hands as the firstfruits of the land. Rahab and her possessions were exceptions because she had aided the spies. The Israelites were to burn cities under the "ban" (Heb. herem, v. 17; cf. Deut. 20:16-18) and to kill their inhabitants including the cattle (Lev. 27:29). The only objects they were to spare were metal, gold, silver, and vessels of brass and iron. These they were to place in the treasury of the tabernacle (v. 19; Num. 31:54). The Israelites completely destroyed only three Canaanite cities west of the Jordan along with their populations, namely, Jericho, Ai, and Hazor. They captured many others and slew some of their inhabitants.⁸⁸ Earlier they had devoted Hormah (Num. 21:3), Heshbon (Deut. 3:1-2), and Og's towns (Deut. 3:3) to complete destruction.

"Joshua is perhaps best known as a book of war. Israel was at war with the Canaanites, but behind these human soldiers God was waging war against sin. Earlier in Israel's history God was compared to a warrior (Ex. 14:14; 15:3; Deut. 1:30, 3:22; 20:4). But now Israel experienced His leadership in war as never before. God is constantly at war with sin because it is an affront to His holiness and because it destroys people whom He loves and desires to bless (cf. Rom. 6:23)."⁸⁹

6:26-27 The curse on the person tempted to rebuild Jericho (v. 26) would have discouraged anyone from fortifying again this city that was a symbol of military power. God wanted His people to trust in Him for their security and not to rely on physical defenses primarily (cf. 11:6). We could interpret building the city as building the fortifications of the city rather than as building houses on the site. The Israelites may have rebuilt and inhabited Jericho again during the period of the judges (18:21; Judg. 1:16; 3:13; 2 Sam. 10:5), but they may not have fortified it until much later. God executed Joshua's curse on Hiel when he rebuilt Jericho's fortifications during the reign of King Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 16:34). A better explanation may be that Canaanites rebuilt Jericho, but Hiel was the first Israelite to do so.

The miraculous victory over Jericho brought great honor to Joshua as Israel's leader (v. 27).

"Nothing can more raise a man's reputation, nor make him appear more truly great, than to have the evidences of God's presence with him."⁹⁰

Keil and Delitzsch explained the reason for the miraculous defeat of Jericho as follows.

". . . Jericho was not only the first, but the strongest town of Canaan, and as such was the key to the conquest of the whole land, the possession of which would open the way to the whole, and give the whole, as it were, into their hands. The Lord would give His people the first and strongest town of Canaan, as the first-fruits of the land, without any effort on their part, as a sign that He was about to give them the whole land for a possession, according to His promise; in order that they might not regard the conquest of it as their own work, or the fruit of their own exertions, and look upon the land as a well-merited possession which they could do as they pleased with, but that they might ever use it as a gracious gift from the Lord, which he had merely conferred upon them as a trust, and which He could take away again, whenever they might fall from Him, and render themselves unworthy of His grace. This design on the part of God would of necessity become very obvious in the case of so strongly fortified a town as Jericho, whose walls would appear impregnable to a people that had grown up in the desert and was so utterly without experience in the art of besieging or storming fortified places, and in fact would necessarily remain impregnable, at all events for a long time, without the interposition of God."⁹¹

All the aspects of the battle at Jericho strengthened Israel's faith in Yahweh. God's people learned His strength and ability to overcome all their obstacles by personal experience here. They acted in faith obeying His Word and trusting in the outcome He had promised. This day Israel reached a high water mark in her spiritual history. We should learn the same things from this record as well as from the supernatural victories God has given each of us. She also became a nation among nations in the ancient Near East.⁹²

Guzik: Jos 5:1-15

Joshua 5 - Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal

A. The second work at Gilgal: A radical obedience.

1. (1) The fear of Israel's enemies at the faith and obedience of Israel.

So it was, 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 the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.

a. Their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel: Melting hearts are a great thing, if they melt unto repentance. But sometimes hearts melt before God, and then solidify again into an even harder state.

b. When our spiritual enemies see that we are trusting in God, and are willing to step out in obedient faith - even when it seems crazy - they instantly lose confidence in their battle against us.

c. We may forget, but our spiritual enemies always remember that If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) They know that when we are really trusting in God, their defeat is assured.

2. (2-8) The circumcision of Israel at Gilgal.

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time." So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey." Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.

a. Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time: Apparently, all during the forty years of waiting in the wilderness, none of the sons born during that time had been circumcised. Now God commanded that this be done.

i. Joshua makes clear the reason why there was a new generation born in the wilderness: because the old generation did not obey the voice of the LORD, and take the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey by faith.

ii. This new generation was raised up in . . . place of the generation of unbelief. God's work would go on, but the people of God who had unbelief would not share in it.

b. Then Joshua circumcised their sons: Circumcision was always a powerful act of consecration to God. In it, an Israelite said "I'm not like the other nations. I listen to God and do what He says I should do." It was stepping out in faithful obedience and identifying yourself as one of the LORD's people. It was renouncing the flesh and the world. It was dying to self and living to God.

c. They stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed: Obviously, this was suicidal from a military standpoint. All the men of fighting age were made completely vulnerable and unable to fight for a period of several days, till they were healed.

i. Genesis 34:24-25 describes how Simeon and Levi killed all the men in a city after tricking them into having them all circumcised. While the men were unable to fight properly, they were slaughtered in retaliation, because the prince of that city had raped Dinah, the sister of Simeon and Levi. This could have been the fate of Israel here in Joshua 5.

d. So, not only did Israel cross over the Jordan at a militarily undesirable place (right in front of Jericho, the strongest military outpost of the Canaanites), they also incapacitated their army for several days. They did this because they trusted God, and His directions, instead of their own wisdom.

i. They were put in the place where they could trust in nothing but God alone - a hard place, but a good place.

ii. God only asked this of them after He showed His greatness by the Jordan River crossing. When we remember all the things the power of God has done in our lives, we are willing to trust Him with a radical obedience.

3. (9) The effect: God rolls away their reproach.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.

a. This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you: What reproach? What dishonor? Their shame from Egypt, the shame of their degrading slavery.

b. God called Israel to a place where they saw themselves as they were in Him. By faith, they could see themselves as an obedient, trusting people, and to stop seeing themselves as they were in their slavery and bondage.

i. Of course, this is the same work God wants to do in us, taking away the dishonor and shame of our previous sin and rebellion, and seeing ourselves as who we are in Jesus.

c. How was the reproach rolled away? By their radical trust and obedience to God, by taking the specific action He told them to.

B. The third work at Gilgal: A redemption remembered.

1. (10-11) The Passover is celebrated: looking back to their redemption from Egypt.

Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.

a. And kept the Passover: The original Passover itself could never be repeated, but there was power in its remembrance. They were to always live remembering that they were a people delivered, and remembering God's work of deliverance.

b. In the same way, we are to be in constant remembrance of our redemption at Calvary, and live our lives in the shadow of the cross.

2. (12) A new source of provision: God stops the manna.

Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.

a. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land: When the people were able to provide for themselves from the rich produce of Canaan, God stopped the manna. He didn't want them to get lazy, but to enter into a new partnership of trust with Him.

i. You had to trust God to bring the manna every day; but you also had to trust Him to provide for you through other means.

b. They ate the food of the land of Canaan that year: God always provides; but He is perfectly free to change the source of His provision from time to time. We need to trust in Him, not in His manner of provision, or we will stumble when that changes.

c. The city of Gilgal became a beachhead and camp for Israel in their conquest of Canaan. They returned there after battle and remembered, finding strength in the remembrance of the memorial, their obedience, and their redemption.

i. It is good to have a place like Gilgal in our life. This is a place where we first come into God's promises, a place of memorial, a place of obedience and redemption.

3. (13-15) Joshua meets with the Commander of the army of the LORD.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so.

a. Behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand: Joshua boldly approaches this mysterious Man with a drawn sword. As a shepherd over God's people, he has a responsibility to see if this man is a friend or a foe.

b. Joshua puts a logical question to this impressive Man: Are you for us or for our adversaries? The response of the Man is curious, almost elusive. "No" was not a proper answer for Joshua's question.

i. In a sense, the Man refuses to answer Joshua's question because it is not the right question, and it is not the most important question to be asked at the time.

ii. The question really wasn't if the LORD was on Joshua's side. The proper question was if Joshua was on the LORD's side.

c. The Man announces who He is: Commander of the army of the LORD. This is God Himself pulling rank on Joshua, who himself was a great military leader - but he was not Commander in Chief.

i. We know that this Being, standing before Joshua, was God. Though the title Commander of the army of the LORD could perhaps apply to an angel (such as Michael, based on a passage like Revelation 12:7), Joshua's falling down and worshipping is inconsistent with angels, who never receive worship (Revelation 22:8).

ii. Army of the LORD here is used in a way that implies that the armies commanded are angelic armies. This is a Being who commands angels.

iii. As well, Joshua refers to the angel as my LORD; but most of all, the command to remove his sandals (a picture of our humanity and contact with a "dirty" world), was to Joshua (who read and knew Exodus 3:4-6 because he was in God's word) clear proof that the Man standing before him was the voice from the burning bush.

iv. The idea of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, appearing as a man before Bethlehem is provocative, but logical. We know that He existed before Bethlehem (Micah 5:2); why should He not, on isolated but important occasions, appear in bodily form? This idea is also evident in passages like Genesis 18:16-33, 32:24-30, and Judges 13:1-23.

c. And Joshua did so: Joshua's total submission to Jesus Christ shows that he knows who is really in charge. It also is a virtual guarantee of victory for Israel. When we follow after the Commander of the army of the LORD, how can we lose?

d. Why did Jesus come to Israel at this strategic time?

i. He had come to instruct Joshua in the plan to capture Jericho. Joshua will carry out a plan in the following chapter that is so improbable it could only have been initiated at the direct command of God.

ii. Most of all, He had come to conquer Israel - before Israel could conquer anything else in the promised land, they had to be conquered by God - and Joshua's total submission shows that they are conquered by Him. This is the missing element in a life of victory for many Christians; they have not been, and are not continually being, conquered by God.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Joshua (Book Introduction)

JOSHUA. The title of this book is derived from the pious and valiant leader whose achievements it relates and who is commonly supposed to have been its author. The objections to this idea are founded chiefly on the clause, "unto this day," which occurs several times (Jos 4:9; Jos 6:25; Jos 8:28). But this, at least in the case of Rahab, is no valid reason for rejecting the idea of his authorship; for assuming what is most probable, that this book was composed toward the close of Joshua's long career, or compiled from written documents left by him, Rahab might have been still alive. A more simple and satisfactory way of accounting for the frequent insertion of the clause, "unto this day," is the opinion that it was a comment introduced by Ezra, when revising the sacred canon; and this difficulty being removed, the direct proofs of the book having been produced by a witness of the transactions related in it, the strong and vivid descriptions of the passing scenes, and the use of the words "we" and "us," (Jos 5:1-6), viewed in connection with the fact, that, after his farewell address to the people, Joshua "wrote these words in the book of the law of God" [Jos 24:26] --all afford strong presumptive proof that the entire book was the work of that eminent individual. Its inspiration and canonical authority are fully established by the repeated testimonies of other Scripture writers (compare Jos 6:26 with 1Ki 16:34; compare Jos 10:13 with Hab 3:11; Jos 3:14 with Act 7:45; Jos 6:17-23 with Heb 11:30; Jos. 2:1-24 with Jam 2:25; Psa 44:2; Psa 68:12-14; Psa 78:54-55). As a narrative of God's faithfulness in giving the Israelites possession of the promised land, this history is most valuable, and bears the same character as a sequel to the Pentateuch, that the Acts of the Apostles do to the Gospels.

JFB: Joshua (Outline)

• THE LORD APPOINTS JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES. (Jos. 1:1-18)
• RAHAB RECEIVES AND CONCEALS THE TWO SPIES. (Jos 2:1-7)
• THE COVENANT BETWEEN HER AND THEM. (Jos 2:8-21)
• JOSHUA COMES TO JORDAN. (Jos 3:1-6)
• THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
• JOSHUA ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE. (Jos 3:9-13)
• THE WATERS OF JORDAN ARE DIVIDED. (Jos 3:14-17)
• TWELVE STONES TAKEN FOR A MEMORIAL OUT OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:1-8)
• TWELVE STONES SET UP IN THE MIDST OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:9)
• THE PEOPLE PASS OVER. (Jos 4:10-13)
• GOD MAGNIFIES JOSHUA. (Jos 4:14-24)
• THE CANAANITES AFRAID. (Jos 5:1)
• CIRCUMCISION IS RENEWED. (Jos 5:2-12)
• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSHUA. (Jos 5:13-15)
• JERICHO SHUT UP. (Jos 6:1-7)
• THE CITY COMPASSED SIX DAYS. (Jos 6:8-19)
• THE WALLS FALL DOWN. (Jos 6:20-21)
• RAHAB IS SAVED. (Jos 6:22-25)
• THE REBUILDER OF JERICHO CURSED. (Jos 6:26-27)
• ACHAN'S TRESPASS. (Jos 7:1)
• THE ISRAELITES SMITTEN AT AI. (Jos. 7:2-26)
• GOD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos. 8:1-28)
• THE KING HANGED. (Jos 8:29)
• JOSHUA BUILDS AN ALTAR. (Jos 8:30-31)
• THE KINGS COMBINE AGAINST ISRAEL. (Jos. 9:1-27)
• FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON. (Jos 10:1-5)
• JOSHUA RESCUES IT. (Jos 10:6-9)
• GOD FIGHTS AGAINST THEM WITH HAILSTONES. (Jos 10:10-11)
• THE SUN AND MOON STAND STILL AT THE WORD OF JOSHUA. (Jos 10:12-15)
• DIVERS KINGS OVERCOME AT THE WATERS OF MEROM. (Jos 11:1-9)
• THE TWO KINGS WHOSE COUNTRIES MOSES TOOK AND DISPOSED OF. (Jos 12:1-6)
• THE ONE AND THIRTY KINGS ON THE WEST SIDE OF JORDAN, WHICH JOSHUA SMOTE. (Jos. 12:7-24)
• BOUNDS OF THE LAND NOT YET CONQUERED. (Jos. 13:1-33)
• THE NINE TRIBES AND A HALF TO HAVE THEIR INHERITANCE BY LOT. (Jos 14:1-5)
• CALEB BY PRIVILEGE REQUESTS AND OBTAINS HEBRON. (Jos 14:6-15)
• BORDERS OF THE LOT OF JUDAH. (Jos 15:1-12)
• CALEB'S PORTION AND CONQUEST. (Jos 15:13-15)
• OTHNIEL, FOR HIS VALOR, HAS ACHSAH TO WIFE. (Jos 15:16-20)
• THE GENERAL BORDERS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH. (Jos 16:1-4)
• THE BORDERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM. (Jos 16:5-9)
• LOT OF MANASSEH. (Jos 17:1-6)
• THIS COAST. (Jos 17:7-11)
• CANAANITES NOT DRIVEN OUT. (Jos 17:12-13)
• THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH ASK FOR ANOTHER LOT. (Jos 17:14-18)
• THE TABERNACLE SET UP AT SHILOH. (Jos 18:1)
• THE REMAINDER OF THE LAND DESCRIBED. (Jos 18:2-9)
• DIVIDED BY LOT. (Jos 18:10)
• THE LOT OF SIMEON. (Jos 19:1-9)
• OF ZEBULUN. (Jos 19:10-16)
• OF ISSACHAR. (Jos 19:17-23)
• OF ASHER. (Jos 19:24-31)
• OF NAPHTALI. (Jos 19:32-39)
• OF DAN. (Jos 19:40-48)
• THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GIVE AN INHERITANCE TO JOSHUA. (Jos 19:49-51)
• THE LORD COMMANDS THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:1-6)
• THE ISRAELITES APPOINT BY NAME THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:7-9)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN BY LOT OUT OF THE OTHER TRIBES UNTO THE LEVITES. (Jos 21:1-8)
• GOD GAVE THEM REST. (Jos 21:43-45)
• JOSHUA DISMISSES THE TWO TRIBES AND A HALF, WITH A BLESSING. (Jos 22:1-9)
• THEY BUILD THE ALTAR OF TESTIMONY ON THEIR JOURNEY. (Jos 22:10)
• THE DEPUTIES SATISFIED. (Jos 22:30-34)
• JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2)
• BY FORMER BENEFITS. (Jos 23:3)
• BY PROMISES. (Jos 23:5-11)
• BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
• JOSHUA ASSEMBLING THE TRIBES. (Jos 24:1)
• RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13)
• HIS AGE AND DEATH. (Jos 24:29-30)

TSK: Joshua (Book Introduction)

The Book of Joshua is one of the most important documents in the Old Testament. The rapid conquest of the Promised Land, and the actual settlement of the Israelites in it, afford a striking accomplishment of the Divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs; and at the same time bear the most unequivocal and ample testimony to the authenticity of this sacred book. Several of the transactions related in it are confirmed in a very extraordinary manner, by the traditions current among heathen nations, and preserved by ancient profane historians of undoubted character. Thus there are monuments still in existence, which prove that the Carthaginians were a colony of Syrians who escaped from Joshua; as also that the inhabitants of Leptis, in Africa, came originally from the Sidonians, who abandoned their country on account of the calamities with which it was overwhelmed. Procopius relates that the Phoenicians fled before the Hebrews into Africa, and spread themselves abroad as far as the pillars of Hercules; and adds, " In Numidia, where now stands the city Tigisis (Tangiers), they have erected two columns, on which, in Phoenician characters, is the following inscription: " We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue" (Nun).

TSK: Joshua 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jos 5:1, The Canaanites are afraid; Jos 5:2, Joshua renews circumcision; Jos 5:10, The passover is kept at Gilgal Jos 5:12, They eat the corn of the land and the manna ceases; Jos 5:13, An angel appears to Joshua.

Poole: Joshua (Book Introduction)

BOOK OF JOSHUA

THE ARGUMENT

IT is not material to know who was the penman of this book, whether Joshua, as seems most probable from Jos 24:26 , or some other holy prophet. It is sufficient that this book was a part of the Holy Scriptures, or oracles of God, committed to and carefully kept by the Jews, and by them faithfully delivered to us, as appears by the concurring testimony of Christ and his apostles, who owned and approved of the same Holy Scriptures which the church of the Jews did. But this is certain, that divers passages in this book were put into it after Joshua’ s death, as Jos 10:13 , compared with 2Sa 1:18 Jos 19:47 , compared with Jud 18:1 ; and Jos 24:29,30 . And such like insertions have been observed in the five books of Moses.

Poole: Joshua 5 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 5

The Amorites and Canaanites hear of this, and are afraid, Jos 5:1 . The males born in the wilderness are circumcised, Jos 5:2-9 . The passover is celebrated, Jos 5:10 . They eat of the corn of the land, and the manna ceaseth, Jos 5:11,12 . Christ appeareth to Joshua in form of a man of war; he worships him; the place of his presence holy ground, Jos 5:13-15 .

MHCC: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Here is the history of Israel's passing into the land of Canaan, conquering and dividing it, under the command of Joshua, and their history until his death. The power and truth of God in fulfilling his promises to Israel, and in executing his justly threatened vengeance on the Canaanites, are wonderfully displayed. This should teach us to regard the tremendous curses denounced in the word of God against impenitent sinners, and to seek refuge in Christ Jesus.

MHCC: Joshua 5 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jos 5:1-9) The Canaanites are afraid, Circumcision renewed.

(Jos 5:10-12) The passover at Gilgal The manna ceases.

(Jos 5:13-15) The Captain of the Lord's host appears to Joshua.

Matthew Henry: Joshua (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Joshua

I. We have now before us the history of the Jewish nation in this book and those that follow it to the end of the book of Esther. These books, to he end of the books of the Kings, the Jewish writers call the first book of the prophets, to bring them within the distribution of the books of the Old Testament, into the Law, the Prophets, and the Chetubim, or Hagiographa, Luk 24:44. The rest they make part of the Hagiographa. For, though history is their subject, it is justly supposed that prophets were their penmen. To those books that are purely and properly prophetical the name of the prophet is prefixed, because the credibility of the prophecies depended much upon the character of the prophets; but these historical books, it is probable, were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets (and the Jewish church was for many ages more or less continually blessed with such) were divinely directed and helped to put together for the service of the church to the end of the world; as their other officers, so their historiographers, had their authority from heaven. - It should seem that though the substance of the several histories was written when the events were fresh in memory, and written under a divine direction, yet, under the same direction, they were put into the form in which we now have them by some other hand, long afterwards, probably all by the same hand, or about the same time. The grounds of the conjecture are, 1. Because former writings are so often referred to, as the Book of Jasher (Jos 10:13, and 2Sa 1:18), the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the books of Gad, Nathan, and Iddo. 2. Because the days when the things were done are spoken of sometimes as days long since passed; as 1Sa 9:9, He that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. And, 3. Because we so often read of things remaining unto this day; as stones (Jos 4:9; Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29; Jos 10:27; 1Sa 6:18), names of places (Jos 5:9; Jos 7:26; Jdg 1:26; Jdg 15:19; Jdg 18:12; 2Ki 14:7), rights and possessions (Jdg 1:21; 1Sa 27:6), customs and usages (1Sa 5:5; 2Ki 17:41), which clauses have been since added to the history by the inspired collectors for the confirmation and illustration of it to those of their own age. And, if one may offer a mere conjecture, it is not unlikely that the historical books, to the end of the Kings, were put together by Jeremiah the prophet, a little before the captivity; for it is said of Ziklag (1Sa 27:6) that it pertains to the kings of Judah (which style began after Solomon and ended in the captivity) unto this day. And it is still more probable that those which follow were put together by Ezra the scribe, some time after the captivity. However, though we are in the dark concerning their authors, we are in no doubt concerning their authority; they were a part of the oracles of God, which were committed to the Jews, and were so received and referred to by our Saviour and the apostles.

In the five books of Moses we had a very full account of the rise, advance, and constitution, of the Old Testament church, the family out of which it was raised, the promise, that great charter by which it was incorporated, the miracles by which it was built up, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed, from which one would conceive and expectation of its character and state very different from what we find in this history. A nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy; and a nation what had promises so rich should have been very happy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a melancholy representation of their sins and miseries; for the law made nothing perfect, but this was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope. And yet, if we compare the history of the Christian church with its constitution, we shall find the same cause for wonder, so many have been its errors and corruptions; for neither does the gospel make any thing perfect in this world, but leaves us still in expectation of a better hope in the future state.

II. We have next before us the book of Joshua, so called, perhaps, not because it was written by him, for that is uncertain. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Phinehas wrote it. Bishop Patrick is clear that Joshua wrote it himself. However that be, it is written concerning him, and, if any other wrote it, it was collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command and government of Joshua, how he presided as general of their armies, 1. In their entrance into Canaan, ch. 1-5. 2. In their conquest of Canaan, ch. 6-12. 3. In the distribution of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, ch. 22-24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety, to all that are in places of public trust. But this is not all the use that is to be made of this history. We may see in it, 1. Much of God and his providence - his power in the kingdom of nature, his justice in punishing the Canaanites when the measure of their iniquity was full, his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs, and his kindness to his people Israel, notwithstanding their provocations. We may see him as the Lord of Hosts determining the issues of war, and as the director of the lot, determining the bounds of men's habitations. 2. Much of Christ and his grace. Though Joshua is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament as a type of Christ, yet all agree that he was a very eminent one. He bore our Saviour's name, as did also another type of him, Joshua the high priest, Zec 6:11, Zec 6:12. The Septuagint, giving the name of Joshua a Greek termination, call him all along Iesous Jesus, and so he is called Act 7:45, and Heb 4:8. Justin Martyr, one of the first writers of the Christian church ( Dialog. cum Tryph. p. mihi 300), makes that promise in Exo 23:20, My angel shall bring thee into the place I have prepared, to point at Joshua; and these words, My name is in him, to refer to this, that his names should be the same with that of the Messiah. It signifies, He shall save. Joshua saves God's people from the Canaanites; our Lord Jesus saves them from their sins. Christ, as Joshua, is the captain of our salvation, a leader and commander of the people, to tread Satan under their feet, to put them in possession of the heavenly Canaan, and to give them rest, which (it is said, Heb 4:8) Joshua did not.

Matthew Henry: Joshua 5 (Chapter Introduction)

Israel have now got over Jordan, and the waters which had opened before them, to favour their march forward, are closed again behind them, to forbid their retreat backward. They have now got footing in Canaan, and must apply themselves to the conquest of it, in order to which this chapter tells us, I. How their enemies were dispirited (Jos 5:1). II. What was done at their first landing to assist and encourage them. 1. The covenant of circumcision was renewed (Jos 5:2-9). 2. The feast of the passover was celebrated (Jos 5:10). 3. Their camp was victualled with the corn of the land, whereupon the manna ceased (Jos 5:11, Jos 5:12). 4. The captain of the Lord's host himself appeared to Joshua to animate and direct him (Jos 5:13-15).

Constable: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The name of this book in Hebrew, Greek, and English comes from the principle character in it rather than from the writer. Joshua may or may not have been the writer of this book.

The title is appropriate because "Joshua" means, "Yahweh saves." Joshua is the Hebrew name that translates into Aramaic as Jesus. What Jesus is to God's people in a larger sense Joshua was to the Israelites in a smaller sense. Joshua brought God's people into the realization of many of God's plans and purposes for them. This book is a record of God's deliverance of the Israelites into what He had promised them.

In the English Bible, Joshua is one of the historical books (Genesis through Esther). In the Hebrew Bible, it is in the second of the three main divisions of the Old Testament, namely, the Prophets. The Law and the Writings are the first and third divisions. Joshua is the first book in the first half of the Prophets, the Former Prophets. The Former Prophets section contains four books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) as does the second division, the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve [minor prophets]). The fact that the Hebrews included mainly historical books such as Joshua in the Prophets section reveals a basic attitude of God's people. They viewed what God revealed here not primarily as a historical record as much as an authoritative record of selected historical events designed to teach important spiritual lessons. We should recognize Joshua, therefore, not simply as a record of history but as a selective history intended to reveal God's will. In the Prophets section of the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through historical events as well as through the oracles of individual prophets.

"The Book of Joshua, like all other books of the Bible, is primarily a book of theology. Through it God has revealed himself and continues to do so."¹

Date and Writer

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. For example, the phrase "to this day" (4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28, 29; 9:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10) refers to a time considerably after the events referred to happened. How much later is hard to say. These references point to a time of composition many years later than the actual occurrence of the events recorded.²

However the writer claims to have crossed the Jordan River when Israel entered the land (5:1 [marginal reading], 6). Therefore he must have written the book not too long after the conquest. This conclusion finds support in the general impression the reader receives that an eyewitness of the events recorded wrote the book. An editor may or may not have added the account of Joshua's death (24:29-33) to the book later (cf. Deut. 34:10-12). This depends on whether the writer wrote it before or after Joshua died.

According to Jewish tradition Joshua himself wrote the book.³ Many modern conservative Old Testament scholars believe that he did.⁴ However other good, conservative scholars believe the writer was not Joshua but a contemporary of his, possibly one of the elders of Israel.⁵ Many more scholars are unsure.⁶ I prefer the traditional view that Joshua wrote the book because I find the arguments of those who believe the writer could not have been Joshua unconvincing.

Scope

As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).⁷ Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land about 1406 B.C. The Book of Joshua therefore begins with events in or very close to the year 1406 B.C.

Josephus said the conquest of the land took five years.⁸ However when Caleb received his town of Hebron he said God had promised that he would enter Canaan 45 years earlier (14:10; cf. Num. 14:24). Since God gave that promise 38 years before Israel crossed the Jordan the conquest seems to have taken closer to seven years (ca. 1406-1399 B.C.). The record of this conquest occupies the first half of the Book of Joshua.

When Caleb said these words he was 85 years old (14:10). Joshua appears to have been about the same age as Caleb, perhaps a little younger. Joshua died when he was 110 (24:29). Assuming Joshua was 75 when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the amount of time the Book of Joshua spans may be about 35 years.⁹

The first half of the book (chs. 1-12) covers about seven years. Most of this material, specifically, chapters 1-9, deals with events that probably happened in less than one full year.

Message¹⁰

Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Israelites more than the vindication of His holiness.

The writer of this book portrayed Yahweh as a God of war. This side of God's character has created problems for many people. How could God be loving and yet deal so severely with the Canaanites? In view of Jesus Christ's commands to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44) and be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9) how can we justify God's dealings with the Canaanites that this book records?

The righteous side of God's character is, of course, a consistent emphasis throughout Scripture. In the Pentateuch God dealt severely with all those who oppressed the patriarchs and their descendents (cf. Exod. 15:3). In the historical books we find the same thing. The psalmist referred to Yahweh as "mighty in battle" against the forces opposed to His will (e.g., Ps. 24:8; 45:3). The prophets, especially Jeremiah, warned that God will judge sin. In the Gospels we hear and see the wrath of God manifested in Jesus' words and works against the Pharisees for their sins. In the Book of Revelation, especially chapters 6-19, John pictured the wrath of God being poured out in judgment on the whole world. In Joshua, too, we see God commanding and leading the Israelites in violent mortal conflict with sinners.

The reason God wages war against sin and sinners is that He loves people and wants to save them from destruction by sin and its consequences (cf. Rom. 6:23). If God is not a God of war, then He cannot be a God of love.

We can see God's hatred of sin in His dealings with the Canaanites and in His dealings with the Israelites in Joshua.

In the Pentateuch we discovered many statements and warnings about the Canaanites. Their wickedness was great even in Abraham's day. The Sodomites were Canaanites (Gen. 19), but the measure of their iniquity was not yet full (Gen. 15:16; cf. Lev. 18:24-28). The Ras Shamra Tablets have shed much light on Canaanite religion and culture. Archaeologists discovered these written records in northwest Syria at the site of an ancient city, Ugarit. They date from the fourteenth century B.C., the time of the conquest by Joshua.

The Canaanites wrote them in the Ugaritic language in cuneiform script. These records reveal that Canaanite culture was extremely immoral and inhumane. The Canaanites practiced prostitution of both sexes, many kinds of sexual perversion, and human sacrifice widely. They were religious practices.

As Israel anticipated entering the land occupied by these people it was a case of destroy or be destroyed. In commanding the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites God was performing surgery to remove a cancer from human society. He was not murdering an innocent primitive people as the liberal critics of the Bible used to say. God had been extremely patient with the Canaanite tribes. They had had hundreds of years to repent after the witness of Melchizedek, Abraham, and many other God-fearing people who had lived among them. Because they did not repent, God used Israel as a broom to sweep away their filth and purify the land. He did not drive the Canaanites out simply to make room for Israel. He did so also to remove this cancerous society and its malignant influence. Israel exercised considerable restraint in dealing with the Canaanites compared with the way some other ancient Near Eastern countries dealt with people they defeated. The Assyrians, for example, were very brutal.

God also manifested His hatred of sin in His dealings with the Israelites. We have seen this already in the Pentateuch as God disciplined His chosen people when they sinned. In Joshua, when Israel lusted after the things of Canaan He dealt with her severely. Achan's sin (ch. 7) affected the whole nation. God judged Achan as He did to teach the Israelites a strong lesson concerning how serious sin is. God's dealings with His own people were even more severe than His dealings with the Canaanites.

In short, Joshua reveals that God wages war against sin wherever He finds it. He patiently waits for people to repent, but if they do not judge sin themselves, He will judge it (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Cor. 11:31). God deals more severely with His own people than with others because privilege heightens responsibility.

Not only does Joshua reveal that God wages war against sin, but it also teaches us how He does it.

God uses the forces of nature to wage war against sin. He restrained the waters of a river, shook the walls of a city, sent hail from heaven, and lengthened the hours in a day to accomplish His purposes. God rarely works in as direct ways to judge sin today. This should not lead us to conclude that He never did or never will. He will again shake the heavens and the earth to bring down His wrath on sinners (cf. Rev. 6-19). We have the privilege of living in the day of His grace when God is being patient with sinners (2 Pet. 3:9-10). Nevertheless that day will end, and He will bring judgment on our world as He did on the world of the Canaanites.

God also uses people who are loyal to Him to wage war against sin. The people God used in Joshua were men and women of faith (Heb. 11:30). God's methods are unpredictable and often seem strange to His servants. They frequently appear foolish to us. Therefore God asks that we simply trust and obey Him. Faith in Joshua means refraining from what God forbids (e.g., at Ai) as well as doing all that God directs (e.g., at Jericho). Joshua is one of the clearest illustrations in the Bible that consistent trust in and obedience to the Word of God results in overcoming, victorious, powerful, successful living. Joshua clarifies three characteristics of faith.

1. Faith involves accepting God's standard of holiness. We tend to undervalue the need for personal and corporate holiness in our day because God is not judging sin immediately as He did in Joshua's day. This is the day of His patience. Nevertheless Joshua teaches that without holiness there can be no spiritual power or consistent victory in our experience (cf. 1:8; 24:19-25).

2. Faith also means abandonment to God's will. God has revealed in His Word how His people can experience all He wants them to have. Because God's ways are not the ways we would choose from our finite carnal viewpoint we have trouble trusting God and committing ourselves wholeheartedly to His will. The Israelites succeeded at Jericho as they did because they committed themselves completely to engaging in that battle as God had commanded. They did so even though it must have looked like suicide to obey.

3. Faith also involves achievement in God's might. It is God who wins the victories. Without God His people can do nothing productive (John 15:5). However with Him all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). The Israelites learned this when they failed at Ai. Success does not really come as a result of our action as we obey God. It comes as a result of God's action working through instruments that He finds usable.

In summary, Joshua reveals that God hates sin. He is at war with it because it offends Him but also because it destroys the people He has created to have fellowship with Himself. God uses the forces of nature and people who are loyal to Him to root out sin and bring deliverance to His people. However the people He uses must accept His standard of holiness for themselves. They must abandon themselves to His way of doing things. They must also acknowledge that victories are the result of His might, not their own.

Constable: Joshua (Outline)

Outline

I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12

A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-2

1. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-9

2. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-18

3. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2

B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:12

1. Passage through the Jordan chs. 3-4

2. Circumcision and celebration of the Passover 5:1-12

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

1. The conquest of Jericho 5:13-6:27

2. Defeat at Ai ch. 7

3. Victory at Ai 8:1-29

4. Renewal of the covenant 8:30-35

5. The treaty with the Gibeonites ch. 9

6. Victory over the Amorite alliance at Gibeon 10:1-27

7. Other conquests in southern Canaan 10:28-43

8. Conquests in northern Canaan 11:1-15

9. Summary of Joshua's conquests 11:16-12:24

II. The division of the land chs. 13-21

A. The land yet to be possessed 13:1-7

B. The land east of the Jordan 13:8-33

C. The land west of the Jordan chs. 14-19

1. The rationale for the allotments 14:1-5

2. Caleb's inheritance 14:6-15

3. Judah's inheritance ch. 15

4. Joseph's inheritance chs. 16-17

5. Survey of the remaining land 18:1-10

6. The inheritance of the remaining tribes 18:11-19:51

D. The special cities 20:1-21:42

1. The cities of refuge ch. 20

2. The cities of the Levites 21:1-42

E. The faithfulness of God 21:43-45

III. Joshua's final acts and death chs. 22-24

A. The return of the two and one-half tribes to their inheritances ch. 22

B. Joshua's farewell address to the Israelites ch. 23

1. A reminder of past blessings 23:1-13

2. A warning of possible future cursing 23:14-16

C. Israel's second renewal of the covenant 24:1-28

1. Preamble 24:1

2. Historical prologue 24:2-13

3. Covenant stipulations 24:14-24

4. Provisions for the preservation of the covenant 24:25-28

D. The death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar 24:29-33

Constable: Joshua

Joshua

Bibliography

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

THE BOOK OF JOSUE.

This book is called Josue , because it contains the history of what passed under him, and, according to the common opinion, was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus; for Josue and Jesus, in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., A Saviour. And it was not without a mystery, that he who was to bring the people into the land of promise, should have his name changed from Osee (for so he was called before, Numbers xiii. 17,) to Josue , or Jesus , to give us to understand, the Moses, by his law, could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour, Jesus , was to bring us into it. (Challoner) --- The Hebrews who had been so rebellious under Moses, behaved with remarkable fidelity and respect towards his successor; who, by these means, more forcibly represented the Christian Church, (Du Hamel) which will be ever obedient to her divine head and observe his directions. Josue had been trained up a long time under the hand of Moses, and God had given him the commission to govern his people, in so public a manner, that no one offered to claim that high and arduous office. In effect, the whole conduct of Josue before and after his exaltation, shewed him to be most deserving of command. (Haydock) --- Josue, says the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 1,) was successor of Moses among the prophets , or, according to the Greek, "in prophecies." Many explain this of the obligation incumbent on him, to continue the sacred history (Calmet) and revelations where Moses had left off. The last chapter of this book informs us that he did so. Perhaps some additions, by way of farther explication, have been made by subsequent inspired writers, though most of the passages which are adduced to prove this assertion, seem to be of little force. Respecting the death of Josue, we may make the same observations as on that of Moses. It may have been written by the author of the Book of Judges. Theodoret seems to have thought that the work before us, was compiled out of the public registers, which are quoted chap. x. under the name of the book of the Lord . See Numbers xxi. 14. The Samaritans have a book or chronicle of Josue, which relates in 39 or 47 chapters, many facts of scriptural history, (Haydock) down to the reign of Adrian, intermingled with a variety of fables. It seems to be of modern date. Hottinger undertook to publish it in Latin, but was prevented by death. (Calmet) --- The true history of Josue sets before us the passage of the Jordan, the conquest of Chanaan, and the distribution of the country. After the pious general had performed all that could be expected from him, after he had twice ratified the covenant between God and his people, and exhorted the latter, with his last breath, to observe an inviolable fidelity to the only Lord, he departed this life in peace, in the 110th year of his age, and was buried at Thamnath Sare, which he had built for the place of his abode. (Haydock) --- As the five books of Moses contain the law, intermixed with history, so this first of the historical books exhibits a variety of useful precepts and predictions. The prophetical and sapiential books must be considered in the same light. (Worthington) --- They all tend to promote true wisdom and the salvation of men, provided they be perused in the same spirit with which they were written. (Haydock)

Gill: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA

The Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is,

"the book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:''

in the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds,

"the first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun, the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.''

This book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both; though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from 1Ki 16:34; and even before the times of David, as is clear from Jos 15:63, compared with 2Sa 5:6; for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psa 76:1; It is most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their Talmud ^a assert; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death, these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book, just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Heb 11:30; and the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Heb 13:5; and the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it, Jam 2:25. The subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission, exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites; his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land, notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called Jesus, a Saviour, Act 7:45, Heb 4:8; and as they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character; Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them, being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologers ^b observe, that the time of his principality we find not in the text; though they ^c say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; Eupolemus ^d, an Heathen writer, says thirty years. Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven years ^e; but an Arabic writer ^f stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which Hottinger ^g has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic exemplar into Latin.

Gill: Joshua 5 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 5

The Canaanites being dispirited on the passage of the children of Israel through Jordan, Jos 5:1; Joshua is ordered to circumcise such of the people of Israel that were uncircumcised, Jos 5:2; in order to their eating of the passover, which was now to be kept, Jos 5:10; and they being now provided with corn sufficient, the manna ceased, Jos 5:11; and there appeared to Joshua a divine Person, in an human form, to encourage and direct him what to do in the conquest of the land, and particularly Jericho, Jos 5:13.