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Joshua 5

Israel’s entrance into Canaan brings renewed covenant obedience, food from the promised land, and Joshua’s submission to YHWH’s commander.

Israel has crossed the Jordan, and the surrounding kings lose heart when they hear how YHWH stopped its waters. At Gilgal, God commands Joshua to circumcise the generation born in the wilderness, and the people remain in camp until they heal. They celebrate Passover and begin eating Canaan’s produce; the manna stops. Near Jericho, Joshua meets a figure with a drawn sword who identifies himself as commander of YHWH’s army and tells Joshua that the ground is holy.

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1When 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 the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them, because of the children of Israel.
2At that time, the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.”
3Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
4This 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 along the way, after they came out of Egypt.
5For all the people who came out were circumcised; but all the people who were born in the wilderness along the way as they came out of Egypt had not been circumcised.
6For 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 the LORD’s voice. The LORD swore to them that he wouldn’t let them see the land which the LORD swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
9The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of that place was called Gilgal to this day.
10The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.
11They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day.
12The manna ceased on the next day, after they had eaten of the produce of the land. The children of Israel didn’t have manna any more, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
13When Joshua was by Jericho, 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 enemies?”
14He said, “No; but I have come now as commander of the LORD’s army.” Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and asked him, “What does my lord say to his servant?”
15The prince of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals, for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
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Key verses
Joshua 5:1The kings’ fear establishes that YHWH’s act at the Jordan has shaken Canaan before Israel begins fighting.
Joshua 5:13The drawn sword introduces a commander whose authority Joshua must recognize as he stands near Jericho.
Joshua 5:15Joshua’s removal of his sandals makes his obedience to divine holiness the chapter’s closing act.
Where this chapter reaches

Genesis supplies the covenant background for circumcision and the promise of land, while Numbers and Deuteronomy recount the wilderness generation’s disobedience and exclusion from that land. Exodus shares the Passover and manna events, along with the command to remove sandals on holy ground.

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After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about Israel stopping for circumcision and Passover with Jericho still ahead?

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How does Joshua’s response change between seeing the drawn sword and hearing the commander speak?

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Questions people ask about Joshua 5

Why did Joshua circumcise the Israelites a second time?

The command concerns a new generation. Verses 4–7 explain that the males who left Egypt had been circumcised, while those born during the wilderness years had not. Joshua circumcises these sons after the older generation has died. The passage describes renewal of the practice among Israel, rather than repeating it on the same men.

Who is the commander of YHWH’s army in Joshua 5?

The figure appears as a man with a drawn sword and identifies himself as commander of YHWH’s army. Joshua worships and obeys his command to remove his sandals. Some Christian interpreters understand him as Christ appearing before the incarnation; the passage itself does not state that identity.

Why did the manna stop in Joshua 5?

The manna stops after Israel begins eating produce from Canaan. The account connects its end with the people’s arrival in the land and access to its food. It marks the close of their wilderness food supply; the text presents no complaint or punishment associated with its ending.

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What the Bible says about fear →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).