Joshua 5:14-15

5:14 He answered, ¹  “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. ²  Now I have arrived!” ³  Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground ⁴  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.

Joshua 5:1

5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they ⁵  crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. ⁶ 

Joshua 9:16

9:16 Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. ⁷ 

Joshua 10:1-2

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition

10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, ⁸  heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho ⁹  and its king. ¹⁰  He also heard how ¹¹  the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. 10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified ¹²  because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors.

Joshua 5:2

A New Generation is Circumcised

5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” ¹³ 

Joshua 5:2

A New Generation is Circumcised

5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” ¹⁴ 

Joshua 13:12

13:12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) ¹⁵  Moses defeated them and took their lands. ¹⁶ 

Hebrews 2:10

2:10 For it was fitting for him, for whom and through whom all things exist, ¹⁷  in bringing many sons to glory, to make the pioneer ¹⁸  of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

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.”

⁵ tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”

⁶ tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breathe because of the sons of Israel.”

⁷ tn Heb “At the end of three days, after they made the treaty with them, they heard that they were neighbors to them and in their midst they were living.”

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

¹⁰ tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”

¹¹ tn Heb “and how.”

¹² tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.

¹³ tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.

¹⁴ tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.

¹⁵ tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”

¹⁶ tn Or “dispossessed them.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “for whom are all things and through whom are all things.”

¹⁸ sn The Greek word translated pioneer is used of a “prince” or leader, the representative head of a family. It also carries nuances of “trailblazer,” one who breaks through to new ground for those who follow him. It is used some thirty-five times in the Greek OT and four times in the NT, always of Christ (Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb 2:10; 12:2).