And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joshua made himself flint knives, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
- BSB So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.
- 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 17:23–27And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.
- Matt 16:24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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.