Joshua 5
1 It happened, when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard how Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had passed over, that their heart melted. There was no spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
2 At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.” 3 Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. 4 This is the reason Joshua circumcised them: all the people who came out of Egypt, who were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5 For all the people who came out were circumcised; but all the people who were born in the wilderness by the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, even the men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they didn’t listen to Yahweh’s voice; to whom Yahweh swore that he would not let them see the land which Yahweh swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 Their children, whom he raised up in their place, Joshua circumcised; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
8 It happened, when they were done circumcising all the nation, that they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed. 9 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal to this day.
10 The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal; and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. 11 They ate of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, in the same day. 12 The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
13 It happened, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him, and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; but I have come now as prince of Yahweh’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, worshiped, and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” 15 The prince of Yahweh’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals; for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
Joshua 5 Commentary
Overview
Joshua 5 pauses the movement toward Jericho to show that Israel’s greatest need is not an immediate military advantage but restored covenant faithfulness. The kings west of the Jordan have already lost courage after hearing how Yahweh stopped the river, yet Israel does not exploit that fear with a quick attack. At Gilgal, God commands the new generation to receive circumcision, the covenant sign first given to Abraham. The people become physically vulnerable in enemy territory, but obedience to God takes priority over human strategy.
After the men recover, Israel celebrates Passover in the land for the first time. The feast connects this generation with the exodus, while the produce of Canaan marks the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring His people into a good land. The manna then ceases. Its ending is not a withdrawal of care; the extraordinary provision of the wilderness gives way to ordinary provision from the land God has supplied.
The chapter ends with Joshua near Jericho, confronted by a mysterious warrior with a drawn sword. Joshua asks whether the man supports Israel or its enemies, but the commander of Yahweh’s army refuses Joshua’s categories. The decisive question is not whether God will join Joshua’s side, but whether Joshua will submit to God’s command. Like Moses at the burning bush, Joshua removes his sandals on holy ground. Before the battle described in Joshua 6, Israel’s leader must recognize that Yahweh Himself directs the campaign.
Key Themes
1. Covenant faithfulness comes before conquest. Israel stands inside Canaan with frightened enemies nearby, but God first addresses the nation’s neglected covenant sign. The chapter deliberately slows the story to show that outward success cannot replace inward obedience. Israel must belong to Yahweh faithfully before attempting to possess the land He promised.
2. God prepares His people through trust, not merely tactics. Circumcision left the fighting men unable to act for a period of recovery. From a military perspective, the timing appears dangerous. Spiritually, it teaches dependence: the God who opened the Jordan can protect an obedient people even when obedience seems to reduce their immediate control.
3. A new generation is joined to the covenant story. The wilderness-born men had not received circumcision, but they were now entering the inheritance promised to Abraham’s descendants. By restoring the sign connected with Genesis 17, God identifies them as the covenant generation that will continue Israel’s calling after the unbelieving generation died in the wilderness.
4. Passover interprets Israel’s entrance into Canaan. The nation does not celebrate its own strength after crossing the Jordan. It keeps the feast that remembers deliverance from Egypt. The land is received as the next stage of God’s saving faithfulness, not as proof that Israel rescued or established itself.
5. God’s provision may change form without ending. Manna sustained Israel where ordinary agriculture could not. Once the people eat Canaan’s produce, the manna stops. The change teaches that miraculous and ordinary means both come from God. Mature faith gives thanks for His provision without demanding that He always provide in the same way.
6. God is not a tribal weapon under human control. Joshua asks the armed figure, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” The answer, “No,” challenges the assumption that God can simply be recruited to a human agenda. Yahweh’s commander has come with divine authority; Joshua must receive orders rather than seek automatic endorsement.
7. Holy war in Joshua belongs to God’s unique judgment and promise. The drawn sword and coming conquest are presented within Israel’s specific covenant commission in Canaan. The chapter does not authorize believers, nations, or political movements to label their own conflicts holy and claim God’s approval. Its immediate call is submission to God’s revealed command, not religious justification for human aggression.
8. Joshua’s leadership remains under higher authority. Joshua commands Israel, but before Jericho he falls facedown and calls himself a servant. The scene prevents readers from treating him as the ultimate hero. The human leader succeeds only by listening to the true commander of Yahweh’s army.
9. The presence of God makes ordinary ground holy. The soil near Jericho is not sacred because of geography alone. It becomes holy because God’s authoritative presence is revealed there. The echo of Moses in Exodus 3 confirms continuity: the God who commissioned Moses now directs Joshua.
Important Verses Explained
Joshua 5:1 — Why did the Canaanite kings lose heart? Reports of the Jordan drying up confirmed that Israel’s God controlled barriers no army could overcome. Their fear also fulfills what Rahab reported in Joshua 2. Israel’s arrival was not a surprise; knowledge of Yahweh’s acts had already spread through the land.
Joshua 5:2 — What does “circumcise again … the second time” mean? The command does not require already circumcised men to undergo the procedure again. It means Joshua must restore circumcision to the nation by circumcising the wilderness-born generation. A first circumcised generation had left Egypt; now a second generation receives the sign before continuing into Canaan.
Joshua 5:2–3 — Why were flint knives used? Flint could produce a very sharp cutting edge and may also preserve an ancient form associated with the covenant rite. The text emphasizes obedience to God’s command, not a medical rule requiring this material for later generations. “The hill of the foreskins” records the memorable site of the national circumcision.
Joshua 5:4–7 — Why had circumcision been neglected in the wilderness? The passage states the fact and connects the new rite with the death of the disobedient exodus generation, but it does not explicitly give every reason for the neglect. The interruption likely reflects Israel’s covenant disorder during the years of judgment after refusing to enter the land, described in Numbers 14.
Joshua 5:8 — Why remain in camp until healed? Circumcision required a genuine recovery period and left the men temporarily weakened. Israel’s exposed position heightens the element of trust. Their safety ultimately rests not in constant readiness but in the God whose actions have already demoralized the surrounding kings.
Joshua 5:9 — What was “the reproach of Egypt”? The phrase has several plausible shades of meaning: the shame connected with former slavery, the mockery that Israel would die without reaching the land, or the disgrace of a covenant people remaining uncircumcised. The main point is clear even if the exact nuance is debated: at Gilgal, God publicly marks the wilderness era as past and restores Israel’s covenant identity.
Joshua 5:9 — Why is the place called Gilgal? The name is linked by wordplay with the Hebrew verb meaning “to roll.” Yahweh says He has “rolled away” Egypt’s reproach. Gilgal therefore becomes more than a campsite; its name interprets the moment as a decisive removal of former shame.
Joshua 5:10 — Why is Passover important here? Passover recalls the night Yahweh delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage in Exodus 12. Celebrating it in the plains of Jericho joins the new generation to that redemption and shows that entry into Canaan fulfills the same covenant promise. Before Israel fights, it remembers salvation received through God’s grace.
Joshua 5:11–12 — Why did the manna cease? Manna had served its wilderness purpose. The people could now eat unleavened bread and roasted grain from the land. Its cessation is therefore a sign of arrival and fulfilled provision, not divine rejection. God is still feeding Israel, but through the produce of the inheritance rather than bread appearing each morning.
Joshua 5:13 — Was Joshua’s question reasonable? Seeing an armed stranger near Jericho, Joshua naturally asks whether he is friend or enemy. His courage is evident because he approaches rather than retreats. Yet the encounter exposes a deeper issue: Joshua cannot evaluate divine authority only by whether it appears useful to Israel’s immediate plans.
Joshua 5:14 — Who is the commander of Yahweh’s army? The figure speaks with divine authority, receives Joshua’s prostration, and declares the ground holy in the next verse. Many Christian interpreters therefore understand him as a visible manifestation of God and sometimes specifically as the preincarnate Christ; others identify him as a chief angelic commander representing Yahweh. The text does not give a personal name, so the safest conclusion is that Joshua encounters the authoritative presence of God, not an ordinary soldier.
Joshua 5:14–15 — What is the meaning of “No” and the command to remove sandals? “No” redirects Joshua from choosing sides to submitting to the Lord’s side. Removing sandals echoes Moses at the burning bush and signifies reverence before holy presence. Joshua’s response—falling down, worshiping, and asking what his Lord says—models the posture required before he receives Jericho’s unusual battle instructions.
Practical Applications
Put obedience before apparent opportunity. Israel could have rushed against discouraged enemies, but God required covenant renewal first. An open door is not permission to neglect character, worship, or clear biblical responsibility. Faithfulness may sometimes look slower than ambition, yet it prepares people to handle what comes next.
Do not confuse vulnerability with abandonment. Israel’s obedience created a period in which its soldiers could not defend themselves normally. Some faithful choices involve honest exposure, costly repentance, or surrender of control. The chapter does not promise that obedience removes all danger; it shows that God remains trustworthy when His commands require dependence.
Remember redemption before pursuing achievement. Passover came before Jericho. Believers likewise need regular remembrance that their identity begins with God’s saving grace, not with victories, influence, or productivity. Worship protects service from becoming self-congratulation.
Recognize God in ordinary provision. The end of manna could have felt like the loss of something spectacular, but the grain of Canaan was also God’s gift. Give thanks for paychecks, harvests, skills, medicine, community, and daily bread. Less dramatic provision is not less divine.
Ask whether you are aligned with God. It is easy to ask God to support decisions already made. Joshua’s encounter reverses the question. Scripture, prayer, and wise counsel should not be used merely to validate our side; they should expose where our plans, loyalties, and attitudes must submit to God.
Treat leadership as service under authority. Joshua is courageous and responsible, yet he bows before the commander and asks for instruction. Christian leadership is healthiest when leaders remain teachable, accountable to Scripture, and willing to obey rather than presenting themselves as unquestionable representatives of God.
Approach God’s holiness with reverence and readiness. The chapter closes before the commander gives the full plan. Joshua’s first task is to recognize holy ground and take the posture of a servant. Before seeking techniques for the next challenge, believers should cultivate worship, humility, and willingness to hear what God has already revealed.