Joshua 5:2

Modern

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.”

Traditional

At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

Literal

At that time said YHWH to Joshua, “Make for yourself flint knives, and turn back and circumcise the sons of Israel the second time.”

Latin

Eo tempore ait Dominus ad Josue: Fac tibi cultros lapideos, et circumcide secundo filios Israël.

Hebrew

English

At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.”

Before the Israelites turned their attention to Jericho, God directed Joshua to perform the covenant renewal ceremony of circumcising all the males born in the forty years since the exodus from Egypt. Because the land was part of the covenant promise, Israel’s men needed to demonstrate their personal participation in the covenant through circumcision in order to enter into the land.
Flint occurs in nature without human shaping. For this reason, people used flint knives for circumcision as a symbol of purity and holiness.

Theme notes and profiles

Deuteronomy 30:6
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
Exodus 4:25
But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched it to Moses’ feet. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said.
Colossians 2:11
In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
Romans 4:11
And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
Genesis 17:10–14
This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised.
Romans 2:29
No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God.

Israel: Patriarch, son of Isaac, father of twelve tribes Joshua: Moses' assistant who led Israel into Canaan