Joshua 5:3 records a practical act of obedience: Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelite men at a hill called Gibeath-haaraloth, “the hill of the foreskins.” God had commanded this renewal of the covenant sign before Israel could take up their position in the land. Joshua is the one who carries out the command, and the men of the new generation are the ones who receive it.
Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
Joshua 5:3 (WEB)
What Joshua 5:3 Means
The verse begins with Joshua making “flint knives” for himself. Stone blades were the tools of an older world, and the detail suggests the work was done simply and by hand, without any sense of ceremony or display. The verse does not describe the knives as holy or magical. They are simply what was at hand, and the act is about obedience rather than tools.
Next comes the phrase “circumcised the sons of Israel.” Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God had made with Abraham, marking his people as belonging to him. Because the generation that left Egypt had largely died in the wilderness, most of the men now alive had never been circumcised. The verse shows that God’s covenant sign was being restored before the nation entered the land.
The final phrase, “at the hill of the foreskins,” gives the location and a memorable name. The verse does not promise victory, prosperity or ease in the land ahead. What it shows is that God’s people are being prepared, in body and in faith, for the next stage of what he has promised.
The Context of Joshua 5:3
The book of Joshua is traditionally attributed to Joshua himself, with later editorial additions, and it tells how Israel crossed the Jordan River and began taking the land God had promised their ancestors. Its first audience was the Israelite nation at the threshold of Canaan, and later readers have received it as part of the historical books of the Old Testament. Joshua 5 sits directly after the crossing of the Jordan and before the battle of Jericho.
Verses 1 and 2 describe the fear of the Canaanite kings, whose hearts melted because of what the LORD had done at the river. Then the LORD tells Joshua to renew the circumcision. Verses 4 to 6 explain why it was needed: the older generation had died in the wilderness because they did not listen to God, and their children had not been circumcised. Reading verse 3 with this background shows that it is part of a restoration, not a new beginning from nothing.
Key Phrases in Joshua 5:3
Genesis 17:10
This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.
(WEB)
This verse records God’s command to Abraham to circumcise every male as the sign of the covenant. Reading it beside Joshua 5:3 shows that the act at Gilgal was a return to an older promise, not an invention of Joshua’s own.
Joshua 5:9
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.
(WEB)
After the circumcision, the LORD declares that the reproach of Egypt has been rolled away from Israel. This verse explains the purpose of the renewal in terms of God’s honor and his people’s restored standing before him.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 5:3
Lord, you are faithful to your promises even when we have wandered far from you. Give us the willingness to return to what you have asked of us, using whatever we have at hand. Where we have been reluctant or afraid, make us ready to take the next faithful step. Help us to trust that your covenant holds us, and that you prepare your people for what lies ahead. Amen.
