Discovery BoxJoshua 5:2-4 
Context5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” 1 5:3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins. 2 5:4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt. 3
1 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.
2 tn Or “Gibeath Haaraloth.” This name means “Hill of the Foreskins.” Many modern translations simply give the Hebrew name, although an explanatory note giving the meaning of the name is often included.
sn The name given to the place, Hill of the Foreskins was an obvious reminder of this important event.
3 tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the desert in the way when they went out from Egypt.”
