5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they 1 crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. 2
5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” 3 5:3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins. 4 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. 5 5:5 Now 6 all the men 7 who left were circumcised, but all the sons 8 born on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt were uncircumcised. 5:6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. 9 For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, 10 a land rich in 11 milk and honey. 5:7 He replaced them with their sons, 12 whom Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way. 5:8 When all the men 13 had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they had healed. 5:9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away 14 the disgrace 15 of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal 16 even to this day.
5:10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho. 17 5:11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover, including unleavened bread and roasted grain. 18 5:12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate 19 some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again. 20
5:13 When Joshua was near 21 Jericho, 22 he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. 23 Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” 24 5:14 He answered, 25 “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. 26 Now I have arrived!” 27 Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground 28 and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?” 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
6:1 Now Jericho 29 was shut tightly 30 because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. 31 6:2 The Lord told Joshua, “See, I am about to defeat Jericho for you, 32 along with its king and its warriors. 6:3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time; 33 do this for six days. 6:4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns 34 in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 6:5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn, 35 have the whole army give a loud battle cry. 36 Then the city wall will collapse 37 and the warriors should charge straight ahead.” 38
1 tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”
2 tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breathe because of the sons of Israel.”
3 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.
4 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.
5 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.”
6 tn Or “indeed.”
7 tn Heb “people.”
8 tn Heb “all the people.”
9 tn Heb “all the nation, the men of war who went out from Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of the
10 tn Some Hebrew
11 tn Heb “flowing with.”
sn The word picture a land rich in milk and honey depicts the land as containing many grazing areas (which would produce milk) and flowering plants (which would support the bees that produced honey).
12 tn Heb “their sons he raised up in their place.”
13 tn Heb “nation.”
14 tn Heb “rolled away.”
15 sn One might take the disgrace of Egypt as a reference to their uncircumcised condition (see Gen 34:14), but the generation that left Egypt was circumcised (see v. 5). It more likely refers to the disgrace they experienced in Egyptian slavery. When this new generation reached the promised land and renewed their covenantal commitment to the Lord by submitting to the rite of circumcision, the
16 sn The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew verb “roll away” (גַּלַל, galal).
17 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
18 tn The Hebrew text adds, “on this same day.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
19 tn Heb “the day after, when they ate.” The present translation assumes this means the day after the Passover, though it is possible it refers to the day after they began eating the land’s produce.
20 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel had no more manna.”
21 tn Heb “in.”
22 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
23 tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).
24 tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
25 tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew
26 sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.
27 sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the
28 tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”
29 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
30 tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”
31 tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”
32 tn Heb “I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, “I have given”) is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action. The Hebrew pronominal suffix “your” is singular, being addressed to Joshua as the leader and representative of the nation. To convey to the modern reader what is about to happen and who is doing it, the translation “I am about to defeat Jericho for you” has been used.
33 tn Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vÿsabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.
34 tn Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”
35 tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram's horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.
36 tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
37 tn Heb “fall in its place.”
38 tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”