The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
The Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal
Joshua 5:1–12 — The Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
1Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and their spirits failed for fear of the Israelites.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·hî kāl- hā·’ĕ·mō·rî mal·ḵê ’ă·šer bə·‘ê·ḇer yām·māh hay·yar·dên wə·ḵāl hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî ’ă·šer mal·ḵê ‘al- hay·yām ’êṯ ḵiš·mō·a‘ ’ă·šer- Yah·weh ’eṯ- hō·w·ḇîš mê hay·yar·dên mip·pə·nê ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl ‘aḏ- ʿå̄·ḇə·rå̄·nū lə·ḇā·ḇām way·yim·mas rū·aḥ wə·lō- hā·yāh ḇām ‘ō·wḏ mip·pə·nê bə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-came-to-pass, when all the-kings-of the-Amorite who were across the-Jordan seaward, and all the-kings-of the-Canaanite who were upon the-sea, heard how Yahweh had-dried-up the-waters-of the-Jordan from-before the-sons-of Israel until we had-crossed-over — that their-heart-melted, and there-was no longer spirit in-them, from-before the-sons-of Israel.
Where the English smooths the original
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.Keil names the providence the chapter hinges on: the enemies' terror is exactly what frees Israel to undergo the disabling rite.
The terror which, as Rahab had told the spies, had already seized them was greatly increased by the news of the marvellous passage of the Jordan. Wyclif renders it, “the herte of hem is discomfortid, and abood not in hem spiryte of hem.”Cambridge links the kings' melted hearts straight back to Rahab's report (Joshua 2:11) and preserves Wyclif's Middle-English rendering.
the word "we" shows that the writer of this history was one that passed over Jordan, and who can be supposed but Joshua himself? this circumstance, I think, strongly corroborates that opinion.Gill takes the first-person "we" as evidence of Joshua's own authorship — a reading the Pulpit Commentary will dispute.
They had probably reckoned on the swollen river interposing for a time a sure barrier of defense. But seeing it had been completely dried up, they were completely paralyzed by so incontestable a proof that God was on the side of the invaders.
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!Henry turns the kings' paralysis into a sermon: the melted heart of the Canaanite is a picture of the wicked under advancing wrath — and a summons to "flee for refuge" to the gospel hope while there is time.
2At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ha·hî bā·‘êṯ Yah·weh ’ā·mar ’el- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ‘ă·śêh lə·ḵā ṣu·rîm ḥar·ḇō·wṯ mōl ’eṯ- bə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl wə·šūḇ šê·nîṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
At the-time the-that, Yahweh-said unto Joshua: Make for-yourself knives-of flints, and return, circumcise the-sons-of Israel a-second-time.
Where the English smooths the original
Thus here the word is used of the bringing back the children of Israel to their former state, that of a people who were in the enjoyment of a visible sign and seal ( Romans 4:11 ) of their being God's covenant people. The meaning therefore would seem to be, "Restore the children of Israel a second time to the position they formerly held, as visibly bound to me, and placed under my protection, by the rite of circumcision."The Pulpit Commentary resolves the famous "second time" crux: not a second cutting but a restoration of covenant standing.
Knives of flint or stone were in fact used for circumcision, and retained for that and other sacred purposes, even after iron had become in common use. The rendering of the margin is adopted by almost all ancient versions, by most commentators, and by the fathers generally, who naturally regarded circumcision performed by Joshua and by means of knives of stone or rock, as symbolic of the true circumcision performed by Christ, who is more than once spoken of as the RockBarnes records the patristic reading: stone knives wielded by Joshua (Jesus) prefigure "the true circumcision performed by Christ... the Rock."
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 Joshua 5:5 ; but during their journey through the wilderness circumcision had been neglected, so that now the nation was no longer circumcised
The word tsûr does not seem anywhere to be connected with the material of the tool, but rather with the edge of it. Knives of keen edge is, therefore, the better translation. At the same time they may have been stone knives in this instance.Ellicott represents the minority view — that ṣur denotes the keen edge rather than the stone — and so balances the dominant "flint" reading.
3So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·ya·‘aś- lōw ṣu·rîm ḥar·ḇō·wṯ way·yā·māl ’eṯ- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl ’el- giḇ·‘aṯ hā·‘ă·rā·lō·wṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-made for-himself Joshua knives-of flints, and-he-circumcised the-sons-of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth (the-hill-of the-foreskins).
Where the English smooths the original
The hill of the foreskins - i. e. the hill where the foreskins, the emblem of all worldly and carnal affections, were buried.Barnes reads the buried foreskins morally — "the emblem of all worldly and carnal affections" — and cross-references Colossians 2-3.
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 names the type explicitly: Joshua's knife prefigures "the spiritual circumcision without hands" of those who believe in Jesus, Joshua's antitype.
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.Poole explains the Hebrew idiom: Joshua "made" and "circumcised" by ordering it — "many hands" did the actual work under time pressure.
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.
4Now this is why Joshua circumcised them: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of war—had died on the journey in the wilderness after they had left Egypt.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·zeh had·dā·ḇār ’ă·šer- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ māl kāl- hā·‘ām hay·yō·ṣê mim·miṣ·ra·yim haz·zə·ḵā·rîm kōl ’an·šê ham·mil·ḥā·māh mê·ṯū bad·de·reḵ ḇam·miḏ·bār bə·ṣê·ṯām mim·miṣ·rā·yim
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-this is-the-word for-which Joshua circumcised: all the-people the-ones-coming-out from-Egypt, the-males, all the-men-of the-war, died in-the-wilderness on-the-way, in-their-coming-out from-Egypt.
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The people had “turned back in their hearts to Egypt” ( Acts 7:39 ; Numbers 14:4 ), and were bearing the reproach of their apostasy all those years, “the reproach of Egypt.” Suffering under the “breach of promise” of Jehovah ( Numbers 14:34 ), they appear to have omitted the sign of the covenant, as though they were no longer the people of God.Ellicott reads the lapsed circumcision as the visible mark of a generation under judgment — "as though they were no longer the people of God."
The reason why circumcision was omitted in the wilderness, was that the sentence of Numbers 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.Barnes states the dominant theological reading: the suspended rite was "a consequence and a token" of the ban pronounced at Kadesh.
This is to be restrained to such as were then above twenty years old, and such as were guilty of the rebellion mentioned Numbers 14., as it is expressed Joshua 5:6 .Benson restricts the sweeping "all" to the over-twenties condemned at Numbers 14 — a guard against pressing the Hebrew totalizing idiom too far.
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.
5Though all who had come out were circumcised, none of those born in the wilderness on the journey from Egypt had been circumcised.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kî- kāl- hā·‘ām hay·yō·ṣə·’îm hā·yū mu·lîm wə·ḵāl lō- hā·‘ām hay·yil·lō·ḏîm bam·miḏ·bār bad·de·reḵ bə·ṣê·ṯām mim·miṣ·ra·yim mā·lū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
For circumcised were all the-people the-ones-coming-out; but all the-people the-ones-born in-the-wilderness on-the-way in-their-coming-out from-Egypt — not had-they-circumcised-them.
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The Hebrew of this passage (which runs literally thus - "Now circumcised had they been, all the people who were going forth") is sufficient to refute the idea that there was a great circumcision of the people under Moses, on account of the neglect of the rite in Egypt.The Pulpit Commentary works straight from the Hebrew word-order and verb-state to dismiss the theory of a mass circumcision under Moses.
But whatsoever the reason was, it seems this great ordinance was intermitted in Israel for almost forty years together; a plain indication that it was not of absolute necessity to men’s eternal salvation, nor to be of perpetual obligation, but should, in the fulness of time, be abolished, as now it was for a long time suspended.Benson draws a striking inference: forty years' lawful suspension of circumcision shows it was "not of absolute necessity" and would one day be abolished — an Old-Covenant rite reading toward its own end.
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, Genesis 17:14 , would not have left so gross a fault unpunished; but by Divine permission and indulgencePoole argues the omission cannot have been mere negligence — Genesis 17:14 would have demanded punishment — so it must have been "Divine permission and indulgence."
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
6For the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness forty years, until all the nation’s men of war who had come out of Egypt had died, since they did not obey the LORD. So the LORD vowed never to let them see the land He had sworn to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kî ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl hā·lə·ḵū bam·miḏ·bār ’ar·bā·‘îm šā·nāh ‘aḏ- kāl- hag·gō·w ’an·šê ham·mil·ḥā·māh hay·yō·ṣə·’îm mim·miṣ·ra·yim tōm ’ă·šer lō- šā·mə·‘ū bə·qō·wl Yah·weh ’ă·šer Yah·weh lā·hem niš·ba‘ lə·ḇil·tî har·’ō·w·ṯām ’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer Yah·weh niš·ba‘ la·’ă·ḇō·w·ṯām lā·ṯeṯ lā·nū ’e·reṣ zā·ḇaṯ ḥā·lāḇ ū·ḏə·ḇāš
Literal — word-for-word from the original
For forty year(s) walked the-sons-of Israel in-the-wilderness, until perished all the-nation, the-men-of the-war the-ones-coming-out from-Egypt, who hearkened-not to the-voice-of Yahweh — to-whom Yahweh swore not to-let-them-see the-land which Yahweh swore to-their-fathers to-give to-us, a-land flowing milk and-honey.
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not the usual word for people, but that usually applied to the Gentiles (equivalent to ἔθνος , by which word it is usually rendered in the LXX.).The Pulpit Commentary flags the loaded word-choice: the rebel generation is named with the word "usually applied to the Gentiles," not the covenant word for 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.Poole reads the demotion morally: by calling them gôy, the narrator marks them "unworthy of the name and privileges of Israelites."
The first person is used here as in Joshua 4:23 ; Joshua 5:7 . The whole passage from Joshua 4:22 to Joshua 5:6 seems intended to be the reply of the fathers to the children.Ellicott offers an elegant account of the intrusive "us": the section is a fathers'-to-children recitation of God's deeds.
“Milk and honey are productions of a land rich in grass and flowers. Both articles were abundantly produced in Canaan, even in a state of devastation.Cambridge (citing Keil) grounds the formulaic "milk and honey" in real agronomy — a phrase repeated across the Pentateuch for Canaan's fertility.
7And He raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’eṯ- hê·qîm bə·nê·hem taḥ·tām ’ō·ṯām yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ māl hā·yū kî ‘ă·rê·lîm kî- lō- mā·lū ’ō·w·ṯām bad·dā·reḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the-sons-of-them he-raised-up in-their-place — them Joshua circumcised; for uncircumcised were-they, because not had-they-circumcised them on-the-way.
Where the English smooths the original
This God now required to be done, 1st, As a testimony of his reconciliation to the people, and that he would not further impute their parents’ rebellion to them, but now permit them to enter into his rest.Benson opens his six-fold list of reasons for the circumcision with reconciliation: God "would not further impute their parents' rebellion to them."
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.Poole (whom Benson follows) frames circumcision as the visible sign "of God's reconciliation to the people" — the lifting of the fathers' guilt from the sons.
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.Keil presses the agency of v. 7: Jehovah "set up their sons," and Joshua circumcised those whom God had raised to replace the fallen.
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
8And after all the nation had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they were healed.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·hî ka·’ă·šer- tam·mū ḵāl hag·gō·w lə·him·mō·wl way·yê·šə·ḇū ṯaḥ·tām bam·ma·ḥă·neh ‘aḏ ḥă·yō·w·ṯām
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-it-came-to-pass, when had-finished all the-nation to-be-circumcised, that-they-stayed in-their-place in-the-camp until their-reviving.
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It was certainly 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.Benson names the daring of the moment: a newly-circumcised army, disabled, "hemmed in by Jordan and their enemies" — obedience as risk.
Literally, till they revived , as in Genesis 20:7 ; 2 Kings 1:2 ; 2 Kings 8:8 .The Pulpit Commentary recovers the force of ḥâyâh: not merely "healed" but "till they revived" — a return to life after the rite.
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 upwardsKeil dismantles the rationalist objection that one day could not suffice, working from the census figures of Numbers.
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.
9Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
Yah·weh way·yō·mer ’el- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ hay·yō·wm gal·lō·w·ṯî ’eṯ- ḥer·paṯ miṣ·ra·yim mê·‘ă·lê·ḵem ha·hū ham·mā·qō·wm way·yiq·rā šêm gil·gāl ‘aḏ haz·zeh hay·yō·wm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-said Yahweh unto Joshua: Today I-have-rolled-away the-reproach-of Egypt from-upon-you. And-he-called the-name-of the-place-the-that Gilgal (Rolling) unto the-day the-this.
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"The reproach of Egypt" is the reproach proceeding from Egypt, as "the reproach of Moab," in Zephaniah 2:8 , is the reproach heaped upon Israel by MoabKeil settles on "the reproach proceeding from Egypt" — the Egyptians' taunt that Yahweh brought Israel out only to destroy them — parsing the genitive by analogy with Zephaniah 2:8.
This day have I rolled away. . . .— Compare Isaiah 25:8 , “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke (or reproach ) of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it “;Ellicott reads the rolled-away reproach forward to Isaiah 25:8 and Colossians 2:11 — the disgrace lifted at Gilgal anticipates the reproach of death swallowed up in Christ.
When we enter into fellowship with Christ, the reproach of Egypt is rolled away, and we enjoy "the glorious liberty of the children of God"The Pulpit Commentary, drawing Origen and Theodoret, reads Gilgal spiritually: in Christ "the reproach of Egypt is rolled away" and the believer enters "the glorious liberty of the children of God."
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 CanaanBarnes makes the genitive concrete: "the reproach of Egypt" is the taunt the Egyptians actually flung at Israel — that Yahweh had led them out only to leave them wandering and homeless (cf. Exodus 32:12; Numbers 14:13-16).
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.The Geneva note preserves the third reading of the ambiguous genitive: the "reproach of Egypt" is uncircumcision itself — the foreskin "by which you were like the Egyptians" — now removed at Gilgal.
Gilgal—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).
10On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
bā·‘e·reḇ bə·’ar·bā·‘āh ‘ā·śār yō·wm la·ḥō·ḏeš ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl way·ya·ḥă·nū bag·gil·gāl bə·‘ar·ḇō·wṯ yə·rî·ḥōw way·ya·‘ă·śū ’eṯ- hap·pe·saḥ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-encamped the-sons-of Israel in-the-Gilgal, and-they-made the-Passover on-the-fourteenth day of-the-month, at-evening, in-the-plains-of Jericho.
Where the English smooths the original
This is the third Passover in Israel’s history. The first two were kept under Moses—(1) in Egypt, when the Lord delivered them; (2) the second at Sinai, when He had “brought them unto Himself.” (3) The third is on the other side Jordan under Joshua. Two belong to the Exodus, or going out; one to the Eisodus, or coming in.Ellicott frames the three Passovers as a redemptive arc — Egypt and Sinai for the going-out, Gilgal for the coming-in.
"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" (Matthew Henry).The Pulpit Commentary (quoting Matthew Henry) notes the order of priorities: on the eve of war, Joshua "opens the campaign with one act of devotion after another."
As the night of the first Passover was one of terror and judgment to Egypt, so now, while within view of the camp at Gilgal, Israel was keeping the first Passover on the soil of Palestine, “Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel, none went out, and none came in.”Cambridge sets the scene's irony: Israel feasts the Passover in safety while doomed Jericho, in plain view, is sealed shut in dread.
Thus the national existence was commenced by a solemn act of religious dedication.
11The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mim·mā·ḥo·raṯ hap·pe·saḥ bə·‘e·ṣem hay·yō·wm haz·zeh way·yō·ḵə·lū maṣ·ṣō·wṯ wə·qā·lui mê·‘ă·ḇūr hā·’ā·reṣ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-they-ate from the-produce-of the-land on-the-morrow-of the-Passover — unleavened-bread and-roasted-grain — on the-very day the-this.
Where the English smooths the original
The word occurs nowhere else except in Joshua 5:12 . It need not have been last year’s corn; in fact, it seems to have been the produce of this very harvest.Ellicott corrects the KJV's "old corn": the rare word ‘âbûr points not to last year's store but to "the produce of this very harvest" — the land's first fruits to Israel.
It could not have been other than the new corn just ripening at the season of the Passover ( Leviticus 23:11 ), not “the old corn,” of which no sufficient supply could have been procurable.Cambridge agrees against the older reading: only the new ripening corn fits the season and the available supply.
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.Barnes resolves the date by the law of firstfruits: the new grain could not be eaten until the wave-sheaf was presented on the 16th — fixing "the morrow after the Passover."
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.
12And the day after they had eaten from the produce of the land, the manna ceased. There was no more manna for the Israelites, so that year they began to eat the crops of the land of Canaan.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
mim·mā·ḥo·rāṯ bə·’ā·ḵə·lām mê·‘ă·ḇūr hā·’ā·reṣ ham·mān way·yiš·bōṯ hā·yāh wə·lō- ‘ō·wḏ mān liḇ·nê yiś·rā·’êl ha·hî baš·šā·nāh way·yō·ḵə·lū mit·tə·ḇū·’aṯ ’e·reṣ kə·na·‘an
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And-ceased the-manna on-the-morrow, in-their-eating from the-produce-of the-land; and-there-was no longer for-the-sons-of Israel manna; and-they-ate from the-yield-of the-land-of Canaan in-the-year the-that.
Where the English smooths the original
It is the risen Christ who takes the place of the manna; and in the discourse wherein He calls Himself “the true bread from heaven,” He points again and again to resurrection as the end of the life which He givesEllicott's striking christological reading: the manna "keeps Sabbath" and the risen Christ, "the true bread from heaven," takes its place (John 6).
Which God now withheld, to show 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.Benson reads the manna's end as evidence of its miracle: God "would not be prodigal of his favours, by working miracles where ordinary means were sufficient."
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.Henry draws the providential lesson: the manna's timing — beginning and ending exactly with the need — teaches us "not to expect supplies by miracles, when they may be had in a common way."
The people no longer needed this “angels’ food” ( Psalm 78:25 ), but “they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan.” Comp. John 6:31 ; John 6:49 ; John 6:58 ; Revelation 2:17 .
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The chapter opens not on Israel but on its enemies. The kings of hā·’ĕ·mō·rî (the Amorite, the mountain peoples) and the Canaanites upon the sea hear what Yahweh did to the Jordan, and "their heart melted" — way·yim·mas, the Niphal of a rare verb (mâçaç, 20 verses). Cambridge hears the echo at once: "The terror which, as Rahab had told the spies, had already seized them was greatly increased by the news of the marvellous passage of the Jordan" — the Verifier confirms the link, the same mâçaç + lêbâb + rûaḥ cluster that stood in Rahab's confession (Joshua 2:11). Jamieson, Fausset & Brown read the strategy of it: the kings "had probably reckoned on the swollen river interposing for a time a sure barrier of defense. But seeing it had been completely dried up, they were completely paralyzed." And Keil & Delitzsch name the purpose the narrator intends: the enemies' alarm "was most favourable for the performance of this covenant duty" — the melted heart of the Canaanite is what makes it safe for Israel to be wounded.
God's command is two verbs, wə·šūḇ ... mōl — "return, circumcise" — and the older expositors fight over the "second time" (šê·nîṯ). Keil takes it as emphasis on the return: circumcise the nation "again... as it was formerly circumcised," since "during their journey through the wilderness circumcision had been neglected." The Pulpit Commentary presses the word šûb to its theological point: "Restore the children of Israel a second time to the position they formerly held, as visibly bound to me... by the rite of circumcision." Why had it lapsed? Albert Barnes gives the dominant answer: the sentence of Numbers 14 "placed the whole nation for the time under a ban; and... the discontinuance of circumcision... was a consequence and a token of that ban." Charles Ellicott sees it written on the bodies of the wandering generation, who "appear to have omitted the sign of the covenant, as though they were no longer the people of God." That demotion is sealed in v. 6 by the word hag·gōy — the rebels are called Gentiles, not ‘am; Matthew Poole: "so he calls them, to note that they were unworthy of the name and privileges of Israelites." Into that void v. 7 sets a quiet mercy: God "raised up their sons in their place," and these Joshua circumcised — the new generation standing where the condemned fathers fell.
The instrument is named with care: ḥar·ḇō·wṯ ṣu·rîm, "knives of rocks / flints." Keil is firm — "not 'sharp knives,' but 'stone knives'... literally knives of rocks" — though Charles Ellicott records the minority case that ṣur names "the edge of it," not the material. On the dominant reading hangs a long typological tradition. Albert Barnes: the stone-knife rendering is "adopted by almost all ancient versions... and by the fathers generally, who naturally regarded circumcision performed by Joshua and by means of knives of stone or rock, as symbolic of the true circumcision performed by Christ, who is more than once spoken of as the Rock." John Gill states the figure plainly: the act "was typical of the spiritual circumcision without hands, which those that believe in Jesus, the antitype of Joshua, partake of." The buried foreskins give the place its name — "the hill of the foreskins" (v. 3) — which Barnes reads as "the emblem of all worldly and carnal affections." Rock, knife, and buried flesh: the older readers found the gospel pre-figured in the surgery.
The circumcised nation waits "until their reviving" (ḥă·yō·w·ṯām) — the Pulpit Commentary recovers the verb: "literally, till they revived," not merely healed. Joseph Benson marks the faith of it: "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." Then God speaks the verse the whole chapter has been building toward: "Today I have rolled away (gal·lō·w·ṯî) the reproach of Egypt from off you" — and the place is named Gilgal (gilgāl, "rolling") from the same root. What is the "reproach of Egypt"? Keil argues for "the reproach proceeding from Egypt," the taunt that Yahweh led them out only to kill them in the desert; the Pulpit Commentary catalogs three readings and leans toward their down-trodden Egyptian condition now ended. Charles Ellicott reaches further, to Isaiah 25:8 — "the reproach of His people shall He take away" — and to Colossians 2:11, hearing in the rolled-away disgrace a foreshadow of the reproach of death swallowed up in Christ.
Restored to covenant standing, Israel "makes" the Passover (way·ya·‘ă·śū, the knife-making verb of v. 3) — the first on Canaan's soil, and per Keil the first since Sinai. Charles Ellicott counts it the third in Israel's story: "Two belong to the Exodus, or going out; one to the Eisodus, or coming in." The next day they eat "of the produce of the land" — ‘âbûr, a word found only here and in v. 12 — "unleavened bread and roasted grain" (qâlui, a verb in only four verses, the firstfruits word of Leviticus 2:14). Then the chapter's last act: "the manna ceased" — way·yiš·bōṯ, from the root of Sabbath, the manna at last "resting." Joseph Benson reads its end as proof of its miracle: God withheld it to show "that manna was not an ordinary production of nature, but an extraordinary and special gift," and "would not be prodigal of his favours, by working miracles where ordinary means were sufficient." Matthew Henry draws the providence to a point: "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 wilderness bread gives way to the common harvest of "the land of Canaan that year."
A fallible reading, offered to be tested (Sola Scriptura). Read on its own terms, Joshua 5 is built on a single rhythm — God acts first; Israel responds. The chapter does not begin with Israel's resolve but with the enemies' collapse (v. 1): before Israel lifts a knife, Yahweh has already "dried up" the Jordan and melted the Canaanite heart. Only then does the disabling, defenceless rite of circumcision become possible. The same order governs the whole: the covenant had lapsed under judgment (vv. 4–6), and God does not demand its renewal until He has first proven Himself by Sihon, Og, and the Jordan — Keil's "rule of divine grace... first to give and then to ask." Notice what the chapter makes central and what it makes marginal. Conquest is deferred; Jericho stands untouched in plain view (6:1). What the text foregrounds instead is worship — knife, Passover, and the ceasing of manna — as though the first business of the promised land is not war but restored communion. And notice the direction of the verbs: God rolls away the reproach (v. 9), God raised up the sons (v. 7), God gave the produce and withdrew the manna (v. 12). Israel's part is to be wounded and to wait "until they revived." If this reading is right, Joshua 5 quietly refuses the heroic register the conquest narrative seems to promise: the people enter their inheritance not by strength but by being marked, fed, and healed — recipients before they are soldiers. The manna's last act is to rest; the harvest it yields to is ordinary, and that ordinariness is itself the gift.
The first thing Israel does in the promised land is not fight but bleed, feast, and be healed — grace runs ahead of every command. (An interpretive line from the synthesis layer, not a verse of Scripture.)
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
Joshua 5:1 says the Canaanite kings' "heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them" — the exact condition Rahab had earlier confessed to the spies in Joshua 2:11 ("our hearts melted, neither did there remain any more courage in any man"). The Verifier records the shared cluster mâçaç ("melt," H4549, only 20 verses), lêbâb ("heart," H3824), and rûaḥ ("spirit," H7307). The relative rarity of mâçaç and the reproduction of all three terms make this a tight verbal-and-structural echo: what Rahab reported as already true is now narrated as fact across the whole land. Cambridge makes the connection explicit. Because there is no quotation claim — it is the narrator reusing his own earlier vocabulary — the link is tiered structural/thematic rather than 'quotation.'
Joshua 5:1 · Joshua 2:11
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes: H4549 mâçaç (rare, 20 vv), H3824 lêbâb, H7307 rûwach, H5750 ʻôwd — the narrator reproduces Rahab's report (Josh 2:11) as fact; no quotation claim, so structural not verbal
The keyword of this unit, mûwl ("to circumcise," H4135), is the same verb the Law and the Prophets turn from flesh to heart. Joshua 5:2 commands "circumcise the sons of Israel"; Deuteronomy 10:16 commands "circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart," and Jeremiah 4:4, "circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart." The Verifier confirms the shared mûwl in each pair (Jeremiah 4:4 also shares lêbâb). This is one Hebrew root carrying both the outward sign and its inward demand — the same trajectory Paul completes (Romans 2:29). Because no NT quotation is in view and the shared root is common-to-the-theme rather than rare, the link is tiered structural/thematic, not verbal.
Joshua 5:2 · Deuteronomy 10:16 · Jeremiah 4:4 · Romans 2:29
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexeme H4135 mûwl (33 vv) across Josh 5:2 / Deut 10:16 / Jer 4:4 (plus H3824 lêbâb in Jer 4:4); a shared motif of physical→heart circumcision, no quotation claim
The circumcision at Gilgal is the renewal of the sign instituted in Genesis 17. Joshua 5:3 — "the hill of the foreskins" — and Genesis 17:11/14 share both the verb mûwl ("circumcise," H4135) and the rare noun ‘orlâh ("foreskin," H6190 — found in only 16 verses). The Verifier returns this pair as verbal-grade precisely because ‘orlâh is so scarce: the very word that names this unit's hill is the word Genesis 17 uses for the flesh of the covenant. Genesis 17:14 makes the uncircumcised soul "cut off... he hath broken my covenant" — the threat Matthew Poole invokes to argue the wilderness lapse was "Divine permission," not negligence, since God would not have "left so gross a fault unpunished." This is institution-and-renewal rather than a citation, but the shared rare lexeme ‘orlâh (not a thematic generality) is what earns the verbal tier.
Joshua 5:3 · Genesis 17:11 · Genesis 17:14
basis: Verifier-computed shared RARE lexeme H6190 ʻorlâh (16 vv) plus H4135 mûwl (33 vv) between Josh 5:3 and Gen 17:11/14; the scarcity of ʻorlâh (the word naming the 'hill of the foreskins') confirms a verbal link to the founding covenant — renewal, not a contemporaneous quotation
The sequence of Joshua 5 — circumcision (vv. 2–8) then Passover (v. 10) — is dictated by Exodus 12:48: "no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof." The Verifier confirms the shared verb mûwl (H4135) between Joshua 5:2 and Exodus 12:48. Charles Ellicott draws the dependence out: "while they wandered in the wilderness, this uncircumcised generation could not keep the Passover." The renewed rite is therefore not incidental devotion but the legal precondition of the feast that follows. Because this is a law-and-fulfilment relation rather than a quotation, it is tiered structural/thematic.
Joshua 5:2 · Joshua 5:10 · Exodus 12:48
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexeme H4135 mûwl (33 vv) between Josh 5:2 and Exod 12:48; the Passover law (Exod 12:48 forbids the uncircumcised) governs the chapter's order — structural, not a quotation
Joshua 5:11's "roasted grain" (qâlui) is built on the verb qâlâh (H7033, "to parch/toast"), a word that occurs in only four verses of the entire Hebrew Bible. One of those is Leviticus 2:14, the law of the firstfruits grain offering: "green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears" — ‘âbîb qâlui. The Verifier returns this as a verbal/quotation-grade link precisely because the lexeme is so rare (4 vv); the new corn Israel eats at Gilgal is described in the technical vocabulary of the offering that consecrates the harvest's firstfruits. The other occurrences (Jeremiah 29:22; cf. Psalm 38:7, a homonymous root) confirm the word's scarcity. Tiered verbal on the strength of the rare shared lexeme.
Joshua 5:11 · Leviticus 2:14
basis: Verifier-computed shared RARE lexeme H7033 qâlâh — found in only 4 verses of the Hebrew Bible; Josh 5:11 'roasted grain' uses the firstfruits-offering word of Lev 2:14, so the rarity confirms a verbal link
Joshua 5:12 closes the manna era that Exodus 16 opened, and the two verses are deliberately paired. The Verifier records the shared rare noun mân ("manna," H4478 — only 12 verses) together with ’âkal ("eat"), shâneh ("year"), and Kᵉnaʻan ("Canaan"). Exodus 16:35 had already anticipated this very moment: "the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited... unto the borders of the land of Canaan." Joshua 5:12 reports the borders reached and the bread "ceased" (way·yiš·bōṯ). The shared rare lexeme mân and the matched Canaan-terminus make this a strong verbal link closing an inclusio that spans the wilderness. Tiered verbal on the rare shared noun.
Joshua 5:12 · Exodus 16:35
basis: Verifier-computed shared RARE lexeme H4478 mân (12 vv) plus H3667 Kᵉnaʻan, H398 ʼâkal, H8141 shâneh — Josh 5:12 fulfils the manna-terminus foretold in Exod 16:35; rarity of mân confirms the verbal inclusio
God's word at Gilgal, "I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt" (5:9), uses the noun cherpâh (H2781, "reproach/disgrace"). The Verifier confirms the same noun in Isaiah 25:8 ("the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth") and Zephaniah 2:8. Charles Ellicott deliberately threads Joshua 5:9 to Isaiah 25:8, reading the disgrace lifted at Gilgal as an anticipation of the final reproach — death itself — swallowed up. Because cherpâh is a common word (72 vv) and no quotation is claimed, the link is tiered structural/thematic: a shared motif of divinely-removed reproach, not a verbal citation.
Joshua 5:9 · Isaiah 25:8 · Zephaniah 2:8
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexeme H2781 cherpâh (72 vv) across Josh 5:9 / Isa 25:8 / Zeph 2:8; a shared motif of God removing reproach. Common word, no quotation — structural, not verbal
Joshua 5:6 grounds the wilderness deaths in the oath of Numbers 14: God "swore never to let them see the land." The Verifier confirms the shared cluster shâbaʻ ("swear," H7650), ’âb ("fathers," H1), râ’âh ("see," H7200), and the negative lô’ across Joshua 5:6 and Numbers 14:23; Deuteronomy 2:14 supplies the matching "men of war" (milchâmâh, tâmam). This is the narrative explicitly citing the Kadesh sentence as the reason circumcision had lapsed. The relation is one of recorded back-reference to a sworn judgment, not a verbatim quotation; tiered structural/thematic.
Joshua 5:6 · Numbers 14:23 · Deuteronomy 2:14
basis: Verifier-computed shared lexemes H7650 shâbaʻ, H1 ʼâb, H7200 râʼâh, H3808 lôʼ (Num 14:23) and H8552 tâmam, H4421 milchâmâh (Deut 2:14); Josh 5:6 back-references the Kadesh oath — structural, not a quotation
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
The fathers read the stone knives (ḥar·ḇō·wṯ ṣu·rîm, "knives of rock") wielded by Joshua — in Greek, Iēsous, Jesus — as a figure of the gospel. Albert Barnes: the stone-knife rendering was held "by the fathers generally, who naturally regarded circumcision performed by Joshua and by means of knives of stone or rock, as symbolic of the true circumcision performed by Christ, who is more than once spoken of as the Rock" (1 Corinthians 10:4; Colossians 2:11). John Gill states it directly: the act was "typical of the spiritual circumcision without hands, which those that believe in Jesus, the antitype of Joshua, partake of." Paul's "circumcision made without hands... the circumcision of Christ" (Colossians 2:11) is the figure's New-Testament term. This is an ancient and widely-held reading; the cross-Testament link rests on figural correspondence (Joshua/Jesus, rock/Rock), not on any shared Hebrew lexeme, and is offered as typology, not proof.
Joshua 5:2 · Joshua 5:3 · Colossians 2:11 · 1 Corinthians 10:4 · Romans 2:29
"This day have I rolled away the reproach (cherpâh) of Egypt" (5:9). Charles Ellicott reads the verse straight into the New Covenant, pairing it with Isaiah 25:8 — "the reproach of His people shall He take away" — and Colossians 2:11–12 ("buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him") and 1 Corinthians 15:54 ("Death is swallowed up in victory"). The Pulpit Commentary, gathering Origen and Theodoret, applies it to the believer: "When we enter into fellowship with Christ, the reproach of Egypt is rolled away, and we enjoy 'the glorious liberty of the children of God.'" The figural reading — Gilgal's lifted disgrace anticipating the reproach of sin and death undone in Christ — is ancient and widely held among the older expositors; it is offered as typology, drawing on a shared theme (cherpâh removed), not on a cross-Testament lexeme.
Joshua 5:9 · Isaiah 25:8 · Colossians 2:11 · 1 Corinthians 15:54
The manna "ceased" (way·yiš·bōṯ — "kept sabbath") the day Israel ate the produce of the land (5:12). Charles Ellicott draws the type with unusual precision: the wilderness bread "finally ceased, kept Sabbath... on the very day afterwards marked by our Lord's resurrection," and "it is the risen Christ who takes the place of the manna; and in the discourse wherein He calls Himself 'the true bread from heaven,' He points again and again to resurrection as the end of the life which He gives" (John 6:39–54). Cambridge sets the same verse beside John 6:31–58 and Revelation 2:17 ("the hidden manna"). The reading — the ceasing wilderness manna giving way to Christ, the abiding bread — is widely held; Ellicott's resurrection-day correlation is his own more novel pressing of the calendar, flagged as such. Offered as typology resting on the figure of bread-from-heaven, not on a shared original-language word.
Joshua 5:12 · John 6:32 · John 6:49 · Revelation 2:17
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
What is sourced, and what is added. Every Hebrew parse, gloss, and Strong's number in this unit is taken from the Berean/Strong's data already attached to the verses; the ✦ commentary voices are verbatim public-domain excerpts (Ellicott, Benson, Henry, Barnes, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Poole, Gill, the Geneva notes, Cambridge, the Pulpit Commentary, and Keil & Delitzsch), each a contiguous substring of its source. The ⚙ synthesis layer — literal renderings, divergence notes, threads, and the christ/sola readings — is mine and fallible.
Two textual cruxes are left visible, not smoothed. (1) The first-person "until we were passed over" (5:1) and "to give us" (5:6): the written Hebrew (Kethib) reads "we/us"; the Masoretic Qere corrects to "they/them," and the versions divide. Gill and Keil defend the harder first-person as original (and Gill infers Joshua's authorship from it); the Pulpit Commentary warns this "must not" by itself prove eye-witness authorship. We have kept the "we/us" reading and flagged the variant rather than resolving it. (2) "Circumcise... the second time" (5:2) does not mean any individual was cut twice; Keil and the Pulpit Commentary read šûb as "restore to a former state." Our literal rendering keeps "return, circumcise... a second time" so the reader can see the grammar the commentators are arguing over.
On the cross-references. The three links tiered verbal / quotation — confirmed (roasted grain → Leviticus 2:14; manna → Exodus 16:35; "hill of the foreskins" → Genesis 17:11/14) all rest on genuinely rare shared lexemes (qâlâh, 4 verses; mân, 12 verses; ‘orlâh, 16 verses), as the Verifier computed — the rarity, not a quotation claim, is what earns the verbal tier; the Abraham link in particular is renewal-of-a-rite, not a contemporaneous citation. The melted-heart echo of Joshua 2:11 shares the borderline-rare mâçaç (20 verses) but is deliberately kept structural, since it is the narrator reusing his own vocabulary, not quoting. The christ-readings are cross-Testament (Greek ↔ Hebrew) and therefore cannot rest on a shared Strong's number; they are offered as typology — ancient and widely held among the older expositors — to be tested against Scripture, not asserted as proof. Where a commentator's correlation is his own more speculative pressing (Ellicott's resurrection-day dating of the manna's last fall), it is named as such. Note: this unit is Joshua 5:1–12 and does not contain Joshua 1:5, so the standing Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag does not apply here.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)