Joshua 5:7
in Joshua 5And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them did Joshua circumcise: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
KJV
And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.
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This verse in Joshua 5
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe circumcision was given to Abraham before the law, after the blessings and after the promise, as a sign to set him and those born of him and those of his household apart from the Gentiles in whose midst he was living. And this is obvious, because, when Israel spent forty years alone by themselves in the desert without mixing with any other nation, all those who were born in the desert were not circumcised. However, when Joshua brought them across the Jordan, they were circumcised and a second law of circumcision was made.
This site's exposition
Make flint knives
on Joshua 5:2-7
The covenant sign had lapsed through the wilderness. The generation that carried the sign died in the desert, and the one that lacked it is taking the land. So the first act inside the country is to put the mark of Genesis 17 back on the people.
This site's exposition
Joshua raised up their sons in their place
Gill notes that some of these sons were close to forty. Wesley gives the reason for acting now. The sign sealed the covenant under which the land was given, and Leviticus 23:10 and Numbers 15:2 took effect once Israel entered it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To ratify the covenant between God and them, whereof circumcision was a sign and seal, to assure them that God would now make good his covenant, in giving them this land; and to oblige them to perform all the duties to which that covenant bound them, as soon as they came into Canaan, Exod. xii, 25 Lev. xxiii, 10 Num. xv, 2.
And the children whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised,.... Who were born to them in the wilderness, and succeeded them, some of which might be near forty years of age; as for those that were born before, of which there might be many now living, they had been circumcised already, but others, were not: for they were circumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way; or while journeying the forty years in the wilderness; which, as before observed, seems to be the true reason of the omission of circumcision.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵיהֶם֙ | beneihem | children their | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הֵקִ֣ים | hekim | he raised up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| תַּחְתָּ֔ם | tachtam | in place of them | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָ֣ל | mal | he circumcised | H4135 → | 37 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עֲרֵלִ֣ים | ʾarelim | uncircumcised | H6189 → | |
| הָי֔וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מָ֥לוּ | malu | people had circumcised | H4135 → | 37 times |
| אוֹתָ֖ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃ | badarekh | on the way | H1870 → | 707 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בְּנֵיהֶם֙children their
beneihemH1121 →4930 times
הֵקִ֣יםhe raised up
hekimH6965 →628 times
תַּחְתָּ֔םin place of them
tachtamH8478 →505 times
אֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
מָ֣לhe circumcised
malH4135 →37 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
עֲרֵלִ֣יםuncircumcised
ʾarelimH6189 →
הָי֔וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
כִּ֛יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מָ֥לוּpeople had circumcised
maluH4135 →37 times
אוֹתָ֖ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃on the way
badarekhH1870 →707 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
Deuteronomy 1:39And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
it leads to
- Numbers 14:3
Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 7:15–16
By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.
- Numbers 14:31
But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.
- Jonah 4:11
So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”
- Romans 9:11
Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,
- Numbers 14:3
Through
Numbers 14:31But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 1:39
And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
- Psalms 106:24
They despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His promise.
- Numbers 26:64
Among all these, however, there was not one who had been numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Wilderness of Sinai.
- Deuteronomy 1:39
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.25; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.