King James Version
Joshua 5:1
1And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.
Joshua 5:1 in other versions
- New International Version (NIV)Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.
- English Standard Version (ESV)As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
- New Living Translation (NLT)When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
Context of Joshua 5:1
And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel. 2At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. 3And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
Read all of Joshua 5Joshua 5:1 word by word
וַיְהִ֣י כִשְׁמֹ֣עַ כָּל־מַלְכֵ֣י הָאֱמֹרִ֡י אֲשֶׁר֩ בְּעֵ֨בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֜ן יָ֗מָּה וְכָל־מַלְכֵ֤י הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הַיָּ֔ם אֵ֠ת אֲשֶׁר־הוֹבִ֨ישׁ יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־מֵ֧י הַיַּרְדֵּ֛ן מִפְּנֵ֥י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַד־עָבְרָ֑ם וַיִּמַּ֣ס לְבָבָ֗ם וְלֹא־הָ֨יָה בָ֥ם עוֹד֙ ר֔וּחַ מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
- And it came to pass, when all the kingsמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of the Amoritesאֱמֹרִי'ĕmôrîy · AmoriteH567
- on the sideעֵ֫בֶר‛êber · side: beyondH5676
- of Jordanיַרְדֵּןyardên · JordanH3383
- westwardיָםyâm · sea: westH3220
- of the Canaanitesכְּנַעֲנִיkena‛anîy · CanaaniteH3669
- by the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
- heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
- that the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- had dried upיָבֵשׁyâbêsh · to witherH3001
- the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- until we were passed overעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
- that their heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- meltedמָסַסmâsas · to meltH4549
- neither was there spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
- in them any more, becauseפָּנֶהpânîym · face: becauseH6440
Cross-references for Joshua 5:1
- Joshua 12:9The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Beth–el, one;
- Joshua 24:15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
- Genesis 10:15And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
- Genesis 15:18In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
- Genesis 48:22Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.
- Jeremiah 11:23And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
- 2 Samuel 21:2And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)
- Ezekiel 16:3And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
- Amos 2:9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
- Joshua 17:12Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
- Genesis 12:6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.
- Exodus 23:28And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
- Judges 1:1Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
- Judges 4:2And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
- Ezra 9:1Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
- Psalms 135:11Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:
Commentaries on Joshua 5:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1The Amorites which were on the side of Jordan westward - It has already been remarked that the term Amorite is applied sometimes to signify all the nations or tribes of Canaan. It appears from this verse that there were people thus denominated that dwelt on both sides of the Jordan. Those on the east side had already been destroyed in the war which the Israelites had with Sihon and Og; with those on the west side Joshua had not yet waged war. It is…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1The Amorites were the principal of those nations which occupied the hill country of Judaea (Genesis 10:16 note); the Canaanites of those that dwelt on the coast and low lands. These words are therefore equivalent to “all the kings of the highlanders, and all the kings of the lowlanders:” i. e. the kings of all the tribes of the country. Until we were passed over - The use of the first person has been noted here, and in Joshua 5:6 (compare Acts 16:10), as…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The Canaanites are afraid, Circumcision renewed. (1-9) The passover at Gilgal, The manna ceases. (10-12) The Captain of the Lord's host appears to Joshua. (13-15) Verses 1-9 How dreadful is their case, who see the wrath of God advancing towards them, without being able to turn it aside, or escape it! Such will be the horrible situation of the wicked; nor can words express the anguish of their feelings, or the greatness of their terror. Oh that they would…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1After hearing that Israel crossed the Jordan River, all of southern Canaan was in a state of alert, expecting an invasion. The Canaanites became completely terrified by Israel's amazing crossing of the Jordan River. They realized they were going to encounter a people whose God was more powerful than any false gods they worshiped.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11. the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, which were by the sea--Under the former designation were included the people who inhabited the mountainous region, and under the latter those who were on the seacoast of Palestine. heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan ... that their heart melted--They had probably reckoned on the swollen river interposing for a time a sure barrier…Read the comment
Topics related to Joshua 5:1
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
King James Version — Public Domain except in the United Kingdom (Crown rights)
Commentaries