Joshua 5:1-9
5:1 a After news of Israel’s crossing of the Jordan River spread, all of southern Canaan was in a state of alert awaiting Israel’s expected invasion.• With Israel’s impossible crossing of the Jordan, the Canaanites lost heart and were paralyzed with fear. They knew they faced the people of a God more powerful than any they worshiped.
5:2 b Before the Israelites turned their attention to Jericho, God directed Joshua to perform the covenant renewal ceremony of circumcising all the males born in the forty years since the exodus from Egypt. Because the land was part of the covenant promise, Israel’s men needed to demonstrate their personal participation in the covenant through circumcision in order to enter into the land.
• Flint is found in a natural state, so flint knives were mandated for circumcision as a symbol of purity or holiness.
5:3 c The name Gibeath-haaraloth (“hill of foreskins”) suggests that the circumcision ritual took place on a hill outside Israel’s camp at Gilgal.
Summary for Josh 5:4-7: 5:4-7 d This unexpected detour in the narrative provides an important reminder of Israel’s earlier refusal to believe that God would bring them safely into the land of Canaan (Num 14 e). This summary of God’s judgment upon their fathers reminded the present generation that trusting in God was still necessary if they were to occupy the land their ancestors had forfeited. Further, it signaled the completion of God’s judgment upon the earlier generation.
5:8 f until they were healed: Recovery from circumcision, a relatively minor surgery, usually takes about three days if no complications occur.
5:9 g Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word galal (“to roll”)—this place was where God rolled away the reproach of Egypt.
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