JosuéChapitre 5

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When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the sea heard how the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted, and no courage was left in any of them because of the Israelites.

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make yourself flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again."

So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath-haaraloth.^[Gibeath-haaraloth means "the hill of the foreskins."]

This was the reason Joshua circumcised them: all the males who came out of Egypt, all the fighting men, had died in the wilderness along the way after they left Egypt.

All the people who came out had been circumcised, but none of those born in the wilderness along the way after they left Egypt had been circumcised.

The Israelites had walked forty years in the wilderness until the whole nation—the fighting men who came out of Egypt—had perished, because they had not obeyed the voice of the LORD. To them the LORD had sworn that they would never see the land he had promised on oath to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.

When the whole nation had been circumcised, they stayed where they were in the camp until they had healed.

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the disgrace of Egypt from you." So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.

While the Israelites were camped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, on the plains of Jericho.

The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.

The manna stopped the day after they ate the produce of the land. The Israelites had no more manna, but ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Now while Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied. "I am the commander of the LORD's army. Now I have come." Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in worship and said to him, "What does my lord have to say to his servant?"

The commander of the LORD's army answered, "Take off your sandal from your foot, for the place where you are standing is holy." And Joshua did so.

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Résumé2

Chapitre 5

Main Theme: Israel prepares spiritually and physically to enter Canaan through circumcision, the celebration of Passover, and a divine encounter.

Content: The kings of Canaan lose courage when they hear about Israel's miraculous crossing of the Jordan. Joshua circumcises the new generation born in the wilderness, and God declares that He has "rolled away" the shame of Egypt from the people—therefore the place is called Gilgal. The Israelites celebrate Passover and eat from the produce of the land, and the manna ceases. Joshua meets the commander of the Lord's army, who commands him to remove his sandals because the place is holy.

Key Words/Images:

Circumcision: The covenant sign marking the consecration of the new generation before entering the Promised Land.
Gilgal: The name means "to roll away"—God removed the shame of Egypt from the people.
Passover: The first Passover celebration in the Promised Land, marking a new era.
Commander of the Lord's army: A heavenly figure confirming God's presence in the coming battle.

Contexte historique

Historical and Cultural Context for Joshua 5

Places

Gilgal (גִּלְגָּל) was Israel's first campsite west of the Jordan River and served as the operational base for the conquest of Canaan. The name is explained in verse 9 through a wordplay with the verb "to roll" (גָּלַל), since God "rolled away" the disgrace of Egypt from the people. The place was located in "the plains of Jericho" (עַרְבוֹת יְרִיחוֹ), the fertile lowland west of the Jordan.

Gibeah-Haaralot (גִּבְעַת הָעֲרָלוֹת, "Hill of Foreskins") was the place where mass circumcision took place. This place name preserved the memory of this significant event.

Events and Customs

Circumcision with flint knives: God's command to use "חַרְבוֹת צֻרִים" (knives of flint/stone) reflects an ancient practice that was maintained even after metal tools became available. Flint knives were considered traditionally appropriate for sacred rituals (cf. Exodus 4:25). The Egyptians used similar stone knives for circumcision, which is confirmed both in texts and archaeological finds.

The Passover celebration (verse 10) was the first Passover celebrated in the Promised Land. The date "on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening" corresponds with the instruction in Exodus 12:6. That they were able to celebrate Passover required that the men be circumcised (Exodus 12:48), which explains the sequence of events in the chapter.

The transition from manna to the produce of the land (verses 11–12) marked the end of the wilderness period. The expression "מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ" (from the produce of the land) and "קָלוּי" (roasted grain) show that they ate from the local harvest—likely the barley harvest that ripens during this period (March–April).

Key Terms

"The disgrace of Egypt" (חֶרְפַּת מִצְרַיִם, verse 9) is an expression with several possible interpretations: it may refer to the shame of slavery in Egypt, the Egyptians' mockery of Israel's wilderness journey, or the state of being uncircumcised which associated them with pagan peoples. Through circumcision, the covenant sign was restored for the new generation.

"The commander of the Lord's army" (שַׂר־צְבָא־יְהוָה, verse 14) is a title indicating a heavenly figure of high rank. The parallel to Moses' experience at the burning bush (Exodus 3:5)—with the command to remove sandals because the place is holy—suggests that this is a theophany (divine revelation), possibly identical with "the angel of the Lord" (מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה) who appears with divine authority.

Chapter-Specific Findings

Archaeological finds of flint knives from the Bronze Age in the region confirm that stone tools continued to be used for ritual purposes. Khirbet el-Mefjer north of Jericho is one of several proposed sites for biblical Gilgal.

Personnages2

Joshua6 Jacob1

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Mots-clés6

Circumcision — A religious ceremony involving the removal of the foreskin from the penis, marking the establishment of a covenant between God and the people of Israel.
Gilgal — A place near Jericho where the Israelites camped after crossing the Jordan River. Here Joshua performed circumcision on the new generation of Israelites.
Manna — Miraculous food that God provided to the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness. The manna ceased when they reached Canaan, the promised land.
Passover Lamb — A sacrificial lamb eaten by the Israelites during the Passover celebration to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt.
Canaan — The promised land that God designated for the Israelites. This area is located in present-day Israel, Palestine, and parts of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
Joshua — The leader of the Israelites after Moses' death. He led the people into Canaan and guided them in conquering the land.