Joshua 5

Translator Notes

1. Vayyimmas l'vavam ('their hearts melted') — the same verb (masas) and the same psychological collapse that Rahab described in 2:11. Her testimony is now confirmed on a national scale: all the Canaanite and Amorite kings have lost their nerve. The Jordan miracle has accomplished exactly what Joshua predicted in 3:10 — it serves as proof of the living God's presence.
2. The two groups — Amorite kings 'west of the Jordan' (inland highlands) and Canaanite kings 'along the sea' (coastal plain) — represent the full geography of opposition. No region of Canaan is unaffected. The timing is narratively important: at the very moment Israel is most vulnerable (about to undergo mass circumcision, v. 2-8), their enemies are paralyzed with fear.

Translator Notes

1. Charvot tsurim ('knives of flint') — flint blades were the traditional instrument for circumcision even in periods when metal was available (cf. Exodus 4:25, where Zipporah uses a tsur). The use of stone rather than bronze may reflect the ritual conservatism of sacred acts — the tool must match the antiquity of the practice.
2. Shuv mol et b'nei Yisrael shenit ('again circumcise the Israelites a second time') — this does not mean individual re-circumcision but a second national circumcision event. The first was under Abraham (Genesis 17); the wilderness generation was never circumcised (v. 5). The covenant sign must be renewed before the covenant land can be entered. Circumcision precedes conquest — identity before action.

Translator Notes

1. Giv'at ha-aralot ('the hill of the foreskins') — the place name is graphic and deliberately memorable. The location receives its name from the event, as is common in the Hebrew Bible. The name serves the same mnemonic function as the stones at Gilgal — it anchors the story to a place. Whether the name persisted in later usage or was coined for this narrative moment is uncertain.

Translator Notes

1. The narrator pauses to explain why a mass circumcision was necessary. The explanation spans verses 4-7 and constitutes a theological retrospective on the wilderness period. The entire exodus generation of fighting men (anshei ha-milchamah) died in the wilderness — this is the judgment of Numbers 14:29-35, where God decreed that the rebellious generation would not enter the land. The men who left Egypt circumcised died uncircumcised in their legacy — their sons bore no covenant mark.

Translator Notes

1. The contrast is stark: mulim hayu kol ha-am ha-yots'im ('all who came out were circumcised') versus lo malu ('they had not circumcised') the wilderness generation. The failure to circumcise during the forty years of wandering is not explained — the text simply states the fact. Scholars debate whether it reflects the suspended covenant status of the rebellious generation, practical difficulties of wilderness travel, or a theological withholding of the covenant sign from those under judgment. The text does not resolve this question.

Translator Notes

1. Asher lo sham'u b'qol YHWH ('who did not obey the voice of the LORD') — the cause of the forty-year wandering is stated plainly: disobedience. The Deuteronomic theology is operating: disobedience leads to exclusion from the land promise. The generation that refused to enter at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 14) was barred from seeing the fulfillment.
2. Erets zavat chalav u-d'vash ('a land flowing with milk and honey') — this stock phrase for the promised land appears over twenty times in the Pentateuch. Milk (from herds) and honey (from bees or date syrup) represent natural abundance — a land so fertile that it overflows with provision without human effort. At this moment in the narrative, Israel is finally standing on that land.
3. The pronoun shift from lahem ('to them,' the condemned generation) to lanu ('to us,' the narrator's community) is significant — the narrator counts himself among the beneficiaries of the promise, not among the excluded.

Translator Notes

1. Et b'neihem heqim tachtam ('their sons he raised up in their place') — the verb qum (hiphil: 'to raise up, to establish') echoes its use for the memorial stones (4:9, 20). God 'raised up' a replacement generation just as He 'raised up' memorial stones — both are testimonies to His faithfulness. The old generation perished under judgment; the new generation stands on the threshold of fulfillment.
2. The circumstantial explanation ki lo malu otam ba-darekh ('they had not circumcised them on the journey') implies that the parents, not God, bear responsibility for the failure. The covenant sign was neglected, not revoked — and now, before the conquest can proceed, the neglect must be corrected.

Translator Notes

1. Ad chayotam ('until they were healed,' literally 'until their living/recovery') — the entire fighting force is incapacitated during recovery. This is the moment of maximum military vulnerability: Israel's army lies wounded in an open camp on enemy soil. The narrative from verse 1 now takes on its full significance — the Canaanite kings' paralysis of fear is not a footnote but a divine provision. God's timing protects Israel: He terrified the enemy before disabling His own army.
2. The parallel to Genesis 34 (the Shechem circumcision and the Simeon-Levi attack on the third day) is often noted — circumcision renders warriors helpless, and in Genesis 34 that vulnerability was exploited. Here, no Canaanite king exploits it, because God has melted their hearts.

Translator Notes

1. Galloti et cherpat Mitsrayim me'aleikhem ('I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you') — the verb galal ('to roll') provides the folk etymology for Gilgal (gilgal, 'rolling' or 'circle'). The cherpat Mitsrayim ('disgrace of Egypt') is debated: it may refer to (1) the stigma of being slaves, (2) the uncircumcised state that marked them as covenant-outsiders during the wilderness years, or (3) Egypt's potential mockery that God brought Israel into the wilderness to die (cf. Exodus 32:12). The circumcision at Gilgal removes whatever disgrace remained — Israel is now fully covenanted, fully in the land, fully free.
2. The naming etiology (vayyiqra shem ha-maqom ha-hu Gilgal) follows the standard pattern of place-name origins in the Hebrew Bible. Whether Gilgal's name actually derives from this event or the etymology is a secondary association with a pre-existing name is uncertain, but the narrative claims this origin.

Translator Notes

1. Vayya'asu et ha-pesach be-arba'ah asar yom la-chodesh ba-erev ('they observed the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening') — this is the first Passover in the promised land, and the calendar alignment is precise. They crossed the Jordan on the tenth of Nisan (4:19), were circumcised, healed, and now on the fourteenth — exactly when the Passover lamb was to be slaughtered (Exodus 12:6) — they observe the festival. The bookend with the original Passover in Egypt (Exodus 12) is complete: the first Passover freed them from Egypt, this Passover marks their arrival in Canaan. The exodus story arc, from departure to destination, is now closed.
2. Be-arvot Yericho ('on the plains of Jericho') — the Passover is observed within sight of the first Canaanite city that will fall. The juxtaposition of worship and warfare is characteristic of Joshua: Israel worships before it fights, obeys before it conquers.

Translator Notes

1. Me-avur ha-arets ('from the produce of the land') — for the first time in forty years, Israel eats food grown in Canaan's soil. The word avur ('produce, yield, grain') refers to the existing harvest of the land, not food they planted. They eat what others sowed — the gift nature of the land could not be clearer.
2. Matstsot v'qalui ('unleavened bread and roasted grain') — the Passover diet of Exodus 12:8 (unleavened bread) combined with parched grain, a staple food. The first meal in the promised land is a Passover meal, connecting their new life to the deliverance that made it possible.
3. Be-etsem ha-yom ha-zeh ('on that very day') — the emphasis on the specific day underscores the theological precision of the timing. Everything in this chapter happens on schedule — circumcision, Passover, the first meal from the land. God's calendar is exact.

Translator Notes

1. Vayyishbot ha-man ('the manna ceased') — the verb shavat ('to cease, to stop, to rest,' the same root as Shabbat) marks the end of the miraculous daily provision that sustained Israel for forty years (Exodus 16:35). The transition is abrupt and complete: the land's own produce replaces the wilderness miracle. God does not withdraw provision — He changes the mode of provision. The manna was for the wilderness; the land's harvest is for the land.
2. Mitt'vu'at erets K'na'an ('from the yield of the land of Canaan') — t'vu'ah ('yield, produce, harvest') emphasizes agricultural abundance. Israel shifts from miraculous sustenance to covenantal agriculture — working the land God has given. The promised land is not a land of perpetual miracles but a land of blessed labor.
3. This verse closes a forty-year parenthesis. The manna began at Exodus 16:14-15 and ends here. Between those two points lies the entire wilderness experience. With the manna's cessation, the wilderness era is officially over.

Translator Notes

1. V'hinneh ish omed l'negdo v'charbo sh'lufah b'yado ('and there — a man standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand') — the scene is cinematic. Joshua encounters a solitary warrior figure, weapon ready, facing him. The identity of this figure is revealed in verse 14 but is deliberately withheld here, creating narrative tension. Joshua's first instinct is the soldier's question: friend or foe?
2. Ha-lanu attah im l'tsareinu ('are you for us or for our enemies?') — Joshua frames the encounter in binary military terms. The answer he receives (v. 14) will shatter this binary: the figure belongs to neither category because he is above both.

Translator Notes

1. Lo ('No') — the figure rejects Joshua's binary framing. He is not 'for' Israel in the sense of being their servant or ally under their command. He is the sar tseva YHWH ('commander of the LORD's army'), meaning the divine army is not at Israel's disposal — Israel is at the army's disposal. The word sar ('commander, prince, captain') designates supreme military authority. This figure outranks Joshua.
2. The identity of the sar tseva YHWH is debated. The traditional reading identifies him as a theophany (a divine appearance) or the Angel of the LORD. The response he gives — accepting Joshua's worship (vayyishtachu, 'he prostrated himself/worshiped') and commanding him to remove his sandals (v. 15) — parallels God's appearance to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5). An ordinary angel would typically refuse worship (cf. Revelation 22:8-9). The text does not resolve the question of exact identity but presents the encounter as a divine confrontation.
3. Mah adoni m'dabber el avdo ('what does my lord say to his servant?') — Joshua's response is immediate subordination. He abandons his question (friend or foe?) and assumes the posture of a servant awaiting orders. The commander of Israel has just met his own commander.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Shal na'alkha me'al raglekha ki ha-maqom asher attah omed alav qodesh hu ('remove your sandal from your foot, for the place where you stand is holy') — this is an almost verbatim repetition of Exodus 3:5 (shal ne'alekha me'al raglekha ki ha-maqom asher attah omed alav admat qodesh hu). The parallel is too precise to be accidental. Joshua's commissioning scene at the edge of the promised land mirrors Moses's commissioning at the burning bush. Both involve a divine encounter, both require the removal of sandals, both declare the ground holy, and both launch a liberation campaign. The text is claiming that the God who sent Moses now sends Joshua.
2. Na'alkha ('your sandal') is singular — one sandal, not both. Some scholars see this as a merism (one stands for the pair), while others note the ritual significance of removing a single sandal in certain ancient Near Eastern legal customs (cf. Ruth 4:7-8). The text does not explain; Joshua simply obeys.
3. Vayyya'as Yehoshua ken ('and Joshua did so') — the chapter ends abruptly with Joshua's obedience. There is no battle plan, no strategy session, no tactical briefing. The encounter at Jericho's edge ends with a command about sandals and an act of submission. The instructions for Jericho's fall will come in chapter 6 — but first, Joshua must stand barefoot on holy ground and learn who is really in command.