Joshua 5 Explanation

Joshua 5 explains a turning point in Israel’s story: the generation that left Egypt has died off, the new generation is brought into covenant with God, and the people celebrate their first Passover in the land of Canaan. Readers come to this chapter because it is short, a little strange to modern ears, and full of quiet meaning about identity, preparation and God’s presence. Once you see the flow of the chapter, the odd details about flint knives and manna fall into place.

Joshua 5 Summary

The chapter opens with the surrounding Canaanite kings hearing that the Lord had dried up the Jordan River for Israel, and their courage collapses. Then God tells Joshua to circumcise the people again, and Joshua performs the rite at a place afterward called Gilgal. The text explains why this is needed: the adult males who left Egypt had died in the wilderness, and their sons had grown up uncircumcised.

Once healing is complete, the people keep the Passover at Gilgal, eat the produce of the land, and find that the manna stops. The chapter ends with Joshua near Jericho, where a commander of the Lord’s army appears to him, and Joshua is told to remove his sandals because the ground is holy. The movement runs from fear among the enemies, to renewed commitment in Israel, to worship in the presence of God.

Background and Setting

The book of Joshua takes its name from its main character, Joshua son of Nun, who succeeded Moses as Israel’s leader. Jewish and Christian tradition has long attributed the book to Joshua himself, though scholars note that its final form likely came later and that some passages, such as the account of his death, may have been added by another hand. The events it describes are traditionally dated to the late second millennium BC, the period when Israel entered and began to settle Canaan.

The book was written for a people who had recently come into the promised land and needed to understand their history, their covenant with God, and their responsibilities in the new territory. Chapter 5 sits at the hinge between the crossing of the Jordan in chapters 3 and 4 and the military campaigns that begin at Jericho in chapter 6. It is a chapter of preparation, reminding the reader that the people belong to God before they fight for the land.

Joshua 5 Section by Section

Verses 1-9: The Reproach Rolled Away

1 When 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. 2 At that time, the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives, and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.”

Joshua 5:1-2 (WEB)

The first section begins with fear falling over the Canaanite kings, who had heard about the drying of the Jordan. Into that moment of vulnerability, the Lord gives Joshua an unexpected instruction: make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel again. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant made with Abraham, and the people had not practiced it during the wilderness years, which left the nation in a state that needed correction before they could move forward.

The explanation that follows is sober. The men who had come out of Egypt had died because they did not trust God’s promise, and their children had grown up without the sign. God’s words in verse 9, that he has rolled away the reproach of Egypt, suggest that the shame of the past generation’s unbelief is lifted, and the name Gilgal, a sound linked to “rolling,” marks the moment for future memory.

The 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.

Joshua 5:9 (WEB)

Verses 10-12: Passover in the Land

10 The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. 11 They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day. 12 The 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.

Joshua 5:10-12 (WEB)

Once the people have healed, they keep the Passover at Gilgal, the feast that remembered their deliverance from Egypt. This is the first Passover recorded after entering Canaan, and it marks a new stage of life, because they now eat the produce of the land rather than depending on the daily provision of manna. The text notes that the manna stopped the day after they ate from the land’s harvest.

The shift is quiet but important. God’s provision did not vanish; it changed form. The people who had been fed each morning by a gift from heaven now plant, harvest and eat from the ground that God promised them, and their celebration of Passover ties their new life in Canaan to the faithfulness that carried them out of slavery.

Verses 13-15: Holy Ground Near Jericho

13 When 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?” 14 He 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?” 15 The prince of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your shoes; for the place on which you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.

Joshua 5:13-15 (WEB)

The final section shifts scene to Jericho, where Joshua looks up and sees a man standing with a drawn sword. Joshua asks whether he is for Israel or for its enemies, and the answer is striking: he has come as commander of the Lord’s army. Joshua falls face down in worship, a response that signals he recognizes something far greater than an ordinary soldier.

The command to remove his sandals echoes the scene at the burning bush in Exodus 3, where Moses was told to take off his shoes because the ground was holy. The chapter closes by teaching that holiness is not a feature of a building or a place on a map, but of God’s presence, and that approaching that presence requires humility and reverence.

Key Themes in Joshua 5

• Covenant renewal: The circumcision of the new generation restores the sign of God’s promise to a people who had gone without it.
• Remembrance: Names like Gilgal and the Passover celebration help Israel remember what God has done for them.
• Transition from wilderness to land: The ending of manna and the eating of the land’s produce show that the people are moving into a settled life of dependence on God in a new way.
• Holiness and worship: The encounter at Jericho reminds the reader that God’s presence sanctifies the ground and calls for humble reverence.

Lessons From Joshua 5 for Today

Many people feel that they must prove themselves before God will accept them, but Joshua 5 begins with God restoring a sign of belonging before any battle is fought. A person returning to church after years away, or someone who has drifted from prayer, can take courage from the fact that renewal starts with God’s initiative rather than with a flawless record.

The chapter also speaks to seasons of change. When a job ends, a family moves, or a long-running hardship finally lifts, the old way of getting by may stop working, as the manna did. The Israelites learned to receive God’s provision through new means, and believers today can ask God to help them adjust to new ways of trusting him rather than clinging to what once worked.

Questions for Reflection

• What signs of God’s covenant with you have you neglected, and how might you return to them?
• Where in your life do you need to remember a past act of God, the way Israel remembered the Passover?
• What “manna” season have you outgrown, and what new way of depending on God is opening up?
• When have you sensed that a particular place or moment was holy, and how did you respond?

A Prayer From Joshua 5

Lord, you are faithful to renew the people you love, and I thank you that your grace comes before my readiness. Where I have carried shame or drifted from the signs of your promise, roll it away and restore what has been lost. Teach me to remember what you have done, and give me courage to live in the new season you have placed me in. Help me to draw near to you with reverence, knowing that wherever you are present, the ground is holy. Amen.

Frequently Asked Questions