New King James Version
Joshua 5:1
1So 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.
Joshua 5:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- 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 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
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. 2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- 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 Bethel, one;
- Joshua 24:15And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
- Genesis 10:15Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth;
- Genesis 15:18On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
- Genesis 48:22Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
- Jeremiah 11:23and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.’ ”
- 2 Samuel 21:2So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
- Ezekiel 16:3and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.
- Amos 2:9“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.
- Joshua 17:12Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- Genesis 12:6Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
- Exodus 23:28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
- Judges 1:1Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?”
- Judges 4:2So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth Hagoyim.
- Ezra 9:1When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations 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, 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries