So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
- KJV And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
- NKJV So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
- NASB So Joshua made himself flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
- NLT So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua obeyed and circumcised the Israelites at the place named 'the hill of the foreskins.' Obedience to the covenant came before the work of conquest.
Overview
Joshua carried out the command, restoring the covenant sign to a whole generation. Strikingly, this left the fighting men temporarily vulnerable, requiring trust that God would protect them. The renewed sign pointed forward to the deeper circumcision of the heart that the New Testament finds fulfilled in Christ (Colossians 2:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Gen 17:23–27On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or purchased with his money—every male among the members of Abraham’s household—and he circumcised them, just as God had told him.
- Matt 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 5:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.