Joshua 5:15
in Joshua 5The Commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the prince of Jehovah’s host said unto Joshua, Put off thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
KJV
And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
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This verse in Joshua 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verseNow, grasp the mystical meaning of Holy Writ. As long as we are walking through the wilderness, it is necessary that we wear sandals to cover and protect our feet, but when we shall have entered the Land of Promise, we shall hear with Jesus [Joshua], the son of Nave [Nun]: "Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place upon which you are standing is holy."
This site's exposition
Take off your sandals
The words are Exodus 3:5 said again to a second man, and the reason given is the same, that the ground is holy. Joshua gets no battle plan in this chapter, and the instruction he receives before Jericho is to take off his shoes.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
And in what manner is Jericho holy ground since it is retained by the enemies? This indicates, and not by accident, that the chief of the army of the power of the Lord sanctifies every place to which he comes, for Jericho itself was not a holy place. But because the chief of the army of God came there, the place is said to be holy. I also dare something more and say that even the place where Moses stood was not holy through Moses himself but because the Lord stood with him. The presence of the Lord had sanctified the place; and on that account, it is said to him, "Loosen the latchet of your sandal; for the place on which you stand is holy ground."
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
5 ), he here gives to Joshua, for the confirming of his faith in the promise he had lately given him, that as he had been with Moses so he would be with him, ch. i. Had Moses such a presence of God with him as, when it became sensible, sanctified the ground?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
From thy foot - In token of reverence and subjection. Holy - Consecrated by my presence. The very same orders which God gave to Moses at the bush, when he was sending him to bring Israel out of Egypt, he here gives to Joshua, for the confirming his faith, that as he had been with Moses, so he would be with him.
And the Captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua,....
Who can count the dust of Jacob? That which had long been the church in the wilderness has now come up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved, and looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners. How terrible she was in the eyes of her enemies we are here told,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, etc. - These were the same words which the angel, on Mount Sinai, spoke to Moses; (see Exo 3:5-8); and from this it seems likely that it was the same person that appeared in both places: in the first, to encourage Moses to deliver the oppressed Israelites, and bring them to the promised land; in the second, to encourage Joshua in his arduous labor in expelling the ancient inhabitants, and establishing the people in the inheritance promised to their fathers.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
The officer of Adonoy’s host. This refers to Bnei Yisroel, who are Adonoy’s host. The officer mentioned here is the Angel, Michoeil, as it is said, ‘Michoeil, your officer.’ 16 Daniel:21.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
I have now come. —“to help you, for it is impossible for man to battle against it [Yericho] and capture it, to knock down the wall.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שַׂר־ | sar- | [the] commander of | H8269 → | |
| צְבָ֨א | tzeva' | [the] army of | H6635 → | 485 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| שַׁל־ | shal- | take off | H5394 → | |
| נַֽעַלְךָ֙ | naalkha | sandal your | H5275 → | 22 times |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רַגְלֶ֔ךָ | raglekha | foot your | H7272 → | 247 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הַמָּק֗וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתָּ֛ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| עֹמֵ֥ד | ʾomed | [are] standing | H5975 → | 521 times |
| עָלָ֖יו | ʾalav | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| קֹ֣דֶשׁ | kodesh | [is] a holy place | H6944 → | |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| כֵּֽן׃ | ken | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
שַׂר־[the] commander of
sar-H8269 →
צְבָ֨א[the] army of
tzeva'H6635 →485 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֗עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
שַׁל־take off
shal-H5394 →
נַֽעַלְךָ֙sandal your
naalkhaH5275 →22 times
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
רַגְלֶ֔ךָfoot your
raglekhaH7272 →247 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
הַמָּק֗וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתָּ֛הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
עֹמֵ֥ד[are] standing
ʾomedH5975 →521 times
עָלָ֖יוon it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
קֹ֣דֶשׁ[is] a holy place
kodeshH6944 →
ה֑וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
כֵּֽן׃thus
kenH3651 →771 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 3:5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
it leads to
- Genesis 28:16–17
When Jacob woke up, he thought, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was unaware of it.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 7:33
Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
- Exodus 19:12
And you are to set up a boundary for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful not to go up on the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain…
- Ecclesiastes 5:1
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- Hebrews 12:20
For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”
- Genesis 28:16–17
Through
2 Peter 1:18And we ourselves heard this voice from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
it leads to
- Matthew 17:6
When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.
- Exodus 3:5
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
- Isaiah 11:9
They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is full of water.
- Matthew 17:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies11
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, HOMILY ON THE EXODUS 91; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 6.3.