Darby Bible
Joshua 5:4
4And this is the cause why Joshua circumcised [them]: all the people that had come out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt.
Joshua 5:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.
- New International Version (NIV)Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt.
Context of Joshua 5:4
2At that time Jehovah said to Joshua, Make thee stone-knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3And Joshua made him stone-knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of Araloth. And this is the cause why Joshua circumcised [them]: all the people that had come out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt. 5For all the people that came out were circumcised; but all the people that were born in the wilderness on the way, after they came out of Egypt, [them] had they not circumcised. 6For the children of Israel had walked forty years in the wilderness, till the whole nation of men of war had perished who had come out of Egypt, who had not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah; to whom Jehovah had sworn that he would not show them the land which Jehovah had sworn unto their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Read all of Joshua 5Joshua 5:4 word by word
וְזֶ֥ה הַדָּבָ֖ר אֲשֶׁר־מָ֣ל יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ כָּל־הָעָ֣ם הַיֹּצֵא֩ מִמִּצְרַ֨יִם הַזְּכָרִ֜ים כֹּ֣ל׀ אַנְשֵׁ֣י הַמִּלְחָמָ֗ה מֵ֤תוּ בַמִּדְבָּר֙ בַּדֶּ֔רֶךְ בְּצֵאתָ֖ם מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
- Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
- circumcisedמוּלmûl · to circumciseH4135
- peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- comeיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
- malesזָכָרzâkâr · maleH2145
- menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- warמִלְחָמָהmilchâmâh · battleH4421
- diedמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
- wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
- wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
Cross-references for Joshua 5:4
- Numbers 14:22for all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice,
- Numbers 26:64But among these there was not a man numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.
- Deuteronomy 2:16And it came to pass when all the men of war were consumed, having died off from among the people,
- 1 Corinthians 10:5yet God was not pleased with the most of them, for they were strewed in the desert.
- Hebrews 3:17And with whom was he wroth forty years? [Was it] not with those who had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
Commentaries on Joshua 5:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4This is the cause why Joshua did circumcise - The text here explains itself. Before the Israelites left Egypt all the males were circumcised; and some learned men think that all those who were born during their encampment at Sinai were circumcised also, because there they celebrated the passover; but after that time, during the whole of their stay in the wilderness, there were none circumcised till they entered into the promised land. Owing to their…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-7Verses 4-7 Of the whole nation those only were already circumcised at the time of the passage of the Jordan who had been under twenty years of age at the time of the complaining and consequent rejection at Kadesh (compare the marginal reference). These would have been circumcised before they left Egypt, and there would still survive of them more than a quarter of a million of thirty-eight years old and upward. The statements of these verses are of a…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-7This unexpected change in the story reminds us of Israel's earlier refusal to believe that God would safely bring them into Canaan (Numbers 14). This summary of God's judgment against their ancestors was a reminder to the current generation. They still needed to trust God in order to occupy the land their ancestors lost. Additionally, it marked the end of God's judgment on the previous generation.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-74-7. this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise--The omission to circumcise the children born in the wilderness might have been owing to the incessant movements of the people; but it is most generally thought that the true cause was a temporary suspension of the covenant with the unbelieving race who, being rejected of the Lord, were doomed to perish in the wilderness, and whose children had to bear the iniquity of their fathers (Nu 14:33), though, as…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 5:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Joshua 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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