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The Circumcision of the People
v. 1. And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of the Jordan westward, the mighty heathen nations which occupied chiefly the mountainous section of Canaan, for among these the Amorites were the strongest, and all the kings of the Canaanites which were by the sea, the heathen nations occupying the lowlands in the neighborhood of the Mediterranean Sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, for it is an eye-witness who is relating this story, that their heart melted, dissolved in apprehension and terror, neither was there spirit in them any more, they lost the last vestige of courage, because of the children of Israel. It was the terror of the Lord which fallen upon them, causing all life and energy to be taken from them.
v. 2. At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, literally, knives of stone, made with a very sharp cutting edge, used extensively at that time, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. As the people that came out of Egypt had been circumcised, so now there was to be a circumcision of the new generation, by which the solemn rite was solemnly reintroduced.
v. 3. And Joshua made him sharp knives and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins, for the place was later known as Gibeah-haaraloth, because the foreskins were buried there.
v. 4. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise, why the Lord's order went forth to Joshua, and the latter had the order executed: All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, in the course of the desert journey, after they came out of Egypt, Num_14:29; Deu_2:16.
v. 5. Now, all the people that came out were circumcised, the rite having been observed with all strictness in Egypt; but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, the entire journey in the wilderness being included under this heading, them they had not circumcised.
v. 6. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, mustered as being able to bear arms in battle, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; unto whom the Lord sware that He would not show them the land which the Lord sware unto their fathers that He would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey, Num_14:23. The extraordinary fertility of the country is here once more emphasized, as so often in the Old Testament, Exo_3:8-17; Exo_13:5; Exo_16:14; Lev_20:24; Num_13:27; Deu_1:3. The meadow-lands of Canaan, with their rich carpet of grasses and flowers, were well suited for the raising of herds and flocks, while the bees found the abundance of fragrant flowers with their rich nectar eminently satisfactory for the production of honey.
v. 7. And their children, whom He raised up in their stead, the Lord had them take the place of those who were fallen in the wilderness, them Joshua circumcised, their circumcision he ordered; for they were uncircumcised, because they, the several fathers of the families, had not circumcised them by the way. It was necessary that the present race of young men should receive the sign of the Lord's covenant before they dared undertake the conquest of Canaan.
v. 8. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp till they were whole, had recovered from the. effects of the operation. During this time there were at least some three hundred thousand men to take care of the necessary preparations for the celebration of the Passover and to guard against an eventual attack on the part of the heathen armies.
v. 9. And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you, namely, that resulting from the report that God had led His people out of Egypt merely for the purpose of striking them down in the wilderness, Exo_32:12; Num_14:13-16; Deu_9:28. The act of circumcision at Gilgal was God's proclamation of the full restoration of the covenant, as first made with Abraham and at Sinai. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal (rolling away) unto this day. The sacred covenant rite had now been resumed, and all reproach had been removed. Israel was consecrated for the possession of the Holy Land, for it is an obedient, consecrated people whom the Lord desires for His own.