The big picture
The western kings have lost heart, yet Israel's first acts in the land are not attacks. The wilderness-born generation is circumcised and waits in camp to recover, placing covenant identity ahead of immediate military advantage. Israel then keeps Passover on the plains of Jericho and eats the produce of Canaan. Manna ceases without crisis because the people are no longer wandering through a place where daily wilderness provision is needed. The chapter ends by changing Joshua's own perspective before Jericho is confronted. An armed figure identifies himself as captain of the LORD's host, and Joshua's question about sides gives way to his own posture as a servant receiving orders on holy ground. The sequence is deliberate. Before siege comes covenant renewal, before continued provision comes ordinary food from the land, and before Joshua commands the next battle he must recognize a command higher than his own.
Central truth
Joshua 5 marks Israel’s transition into life in the land through circumcision, Passover, the end of manna, and Joshua’s encounter with the captain of the LORD’s host, who redirects the coming campaign around the LORD’s holiness rather than Joshua’s side.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
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…”
Slow down at the turning point
Joshua 5:8: “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.”
Keep this word trail visible
Joshua, children, LORD, Israel, circumcised, Egypt
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Joshua 5:1
Enemies melting, Israel stopping
Start with the kings who hear about the Jordan: "their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more". The way would seem open for an immediate attack. Instead, Israel stops. Teach this verse first so the class feels the strangeness of what follows: at the moment of greatest military advantage, the LORD commands a covenant act that leaves the fighting men unable to fight for days. The Book of Joshua wants the reader to see that Israel's readiness is not measured by the enemy's fear but by its own standing before God.
Joshua 5:2-9
A second circumcision and a rolled-away reproach
Explain circumcision as the sign of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17, which every male of Israel was to receive. Read verses 4 to 7 carefully, because the Book of Joshua explains itself: the wilderness generation had not done it. Mention "the hill of the foreskins" plainly and without humour. Then show the wordplay in verse 9, where Gilgal echoes the Hebrew for rolling. Explain "the reproach of Egypt" as the shame of slavery and of the wilderness. This step comes here because Israel must belong before it can fight.
Joshua 5:10-12
The first Passover in the land
Read the date in verse 10, the fourteenth day of the month. Connect it to 4:19 and to Exodus 12. Israel remembers its rescue from Egypt on the plains of Jericho, in sight of the city. Then read verses 11 and 12 as a quiet turning point: old grain, unleavened cakes, parched grain, and the next day no manna. Explain parched corn as roasted grain. Teach this after the circumcision because Exodus 12:48 forbade the uncircumcised to eat the Passover; the order of chapter 5 follows the law exactly.
Joshua 5:13-14
Whose side is the question
Now move to Joshua alone near Jericho. Describe the man with a drawn sword and read Joshua's question exactly. Pause on "Nay". Explain "captain of the host of the LORD" as commander of the LORD's army, the heavenly forces. Traditions differ on who he is: many Christian readers have seen a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son, others an exalted angel. Present that range without choosing for the class, and notice that he accepts Joshua's worship. The point the text makes clear is that the LORD is not recruited to Israel's side; Israel is called to his.
Joshua 5:15
Holy ground before the battle
End with the shoe. Read Exodus 3:5 alongside it so the class hears the echo. Joshua's commission is now complete in the way Moses' was: a word in chapter 1, a crossing that magnifies him in chapters 3 and 4, and now an encounter with the holy. Notice that the conversation breaks off and the instructions for Jericho follow in 6:2. Teach this last because it frames everything about Jericho: the campaign begins on holy ground, with a barefoot servant waiting to be told what his lord says.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"The angel told Joshua that God was against Israel."
Joshua asks "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" and the answer is "Nay" to both (5:13-14). The captain does not oppose Israel; in 6:2 the LORD gives Jericho into Joshua's hand. What he refuses is to be placed on a human side. He comes as commander of the LORD's host, so the real question is whether Joshua and Israel are on the LORD's. Joshua's response, falling to worship and asking for orders, shows he understood it that way.
"Circumcising soldiers before a war was a terrible military decision."
From a military point of view it was, and the Book of Joshua knows it: the men "abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole" (5:8). That is the point. The text explains that the wilderness generation had not been circumcised (5:5-7) and that this act rolls away a reproach (5:9). Israel's strength is not in its readiness but in its covenant with the LORD. The kings had already lost heart (5:1); Israel needed to be the LORD's people before it was an army.
"The manna stopped because God stopped providing for Israel."
The manna ceased "on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land" (5:12). It stopped because there was now food in the land, not because God withdrew. Exodus 16:35 had said the manna would last until they came to a land inhabited. The same God who fed them in the wilderness now feeds them through harvest. Teachers can help learners see that provision often changes form rather than disappearing.
"This proves the captain was Jesus."
Many Christian interpreters have read him as the Son before the incarnation, pointing to his accepting worship (5:14) and the holy ground (5:15). Others take him as a high angel, as in Daniel 10. The text calls him only "captain of the host of the LORD" and does not name him further. A teacher can present both readings, show the evidence each uses, and leave the class with what the chapter makes certain: Joshua is before the holy presence of God, and he worships and obeys.
Learning objectives
- Explain why circumcision is performed on the wilderness-born generation before the Jericho campaign.
- Identify the wordplay and meaning attached to Gilgal in Joshua 5:9, where the reproach of Egypt is said to be rolled away.
- Place the Passover and the first eating of Canaan’s produce in the correct sequence.
- Explain what the ceasing of manna in verse 12 signals about Israel’s changed circumstances.
- Describe Joshua’s question to the armed figure in verse 13 and the unexpected answer “Nay.”
- Connect the command to remove Joshua’s shoe in verse 15 with the holiness language of Moses at the burning bush without collapsing the two scenes into one event.
Teacher preparation
- Read Exodus 12 and Exodus 3:1–6 before class.
- Review Genesis 17 and the wilderness-generation explanation in Joshua 5:4–7 so circumcision is treated as covenant identification rather than a random prebattle procedure.
- Mark the chronology in verses 10–12: Passover on the fourteenth day, eating old corn and parched corn after Passover, then manna ceasing after they eat the land’s produce.
- Be ready to explain “corn” in the KJV as grain, not specifically modern American maize.
- Do not prepare the captain of the LORD’s host as a simple “angel on Israel’s team” illustration.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Joshua 5:5–7 explicitly says the wilderness-born males had not been circumcised, and verse 8 says the nation remained in camp until they were whole.
Scripture-supported
The Passover in verse 10 rests on the institution of Exodus 12, and the command to remove the shoe in verse 15 closely parallels Exodus 3:5, where Moses is told that the place is holy ground.
Strong inference
The end of manna after Israel eats the land’s produce marks a major transition from wilderness provision to settled provision in Canaan.
Possible or traditional reading
The captain of the LORD’s host has been variously identified as an angelic commander or as a visible manifestation of the LORD.
Limit
Joshua 5 does not describe the exact appearance of the commander beyond a man standing with a drawn sword, and it does not explain every theological meaning of “the reproach of Egypt” beyond the statement that it is rolled away.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. Why does Joshua circumcise the sons of Israel in verses 4–7 instead of treating the Jordan crossing as sufficient preparation?
What a good answer contains
Because the men born in the wilderness had never received the sign of the covenant. Verses 4 to 7 explain it twice: the men of war who left Egypt were circumcised but died "because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD", and of those born on the journey, "them they had not circumcised." A good answer sees that the crossing showed what God would do, and circumcision now marks who Israel is before a single battle. A weak answer treats it as a ritual delay and misses Genesis 17 behind it.
Show teacher guidance
Use the passage’s explanation: the generation born in the wilderness had not been circumcised.
2. What does the LORD say has been “rolled away” in verse 9, and what place-name is linked to that statement?
What a good answer contains
"This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you" (5:9), and "the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day." Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word for rolling. The reproach of Egypt is best taken as the shame of slavery and of the wilderness years, when Egypt could say the LORD had brought them out only to let them die (Exodus 32:12, Numbers 14:13-16). A good answer links the name and the act. A weak answer guesses at the phrase without reading verses 4 to 7, which explain it.
Show teacher guidance
The text names “the reproach of Egypt” and says the place is called Gilgal.
3. What food replaces manna in verses 11–12?
What a good answer contains
They eat "the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day" (5:11). The next day "the manna ceased", and "they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year" (5:12). Explain corn as grain. A good answer sees that the food that kept them alive for forty years stops exactly when the land can feed them; God's provision changes form rather than ending. A weak answer misses that this is the first Passover in the land and the first harvest eaten from it.
Show teacher guidance
Point to the old corn of the land and parched corn, then the fruit of Canaan.
4. What question does Joshua ask the armed man in verse 13, and why is “Nay” a striking answer?
What a good answer contains
"Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" (5:13). It is the natural question for a general to ask an armed stranger, and the answer refuses both options: "Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come" (5:14). The striking thing is that the figure does not join Israel's side; he comes as commander of the LORD's armies, and Joshua must decide whether he is on the LORD's side. A good answer names that reversal. A weak answer reads "Nay" as "I am against you".
Show teacher guidance
Joshua asks whether he is for Israel or for their adversaries.
5. What does Joshua do after the captain identifies himself?
What a good answer contains
"Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?" (5:14). He drops the general's posture entirely. Then he obeys the command to take off his shoe: "And Joshua did so" (5:15). The good answer sees three movements, falling, worshipping, asking for orders, and notices that the leader of Israel calls himself a servant. A weak answer reduces it to fear and misses that Joshua's question is a request to be commanded.
Show teacher guidance
Verse 14 says Joshua falls on his face, worships, and asks what his lord says to his servant.
6. What earlier biblical scene does “loose thy shoe from off thy foot” recall?
What a good answer contains
The burning bush, where the LORD tells Moses, "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). The echo tells the reader that Joshua stands where Moses stood, before the holy presence of God, at the start of his great task. A good answer notices that Joshua 1:5 promised "as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee", and here that promise is acted out. A weak answer names the scene but does not connect it to Joshua's commission.
Show teacher guidance
Expect Exodus 3:5 and Moses at the burning bush.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Observe how chapter 5 interrupts military momentum with covenant obedience and worship.
Relationships and community
Consider the nation waiting in camp while the circumcised men recover.
Whose side is the question
Examine Joshua’s “for us, or for our adversaries” question and the answer “Nay.” Use the exchange to test the habit of assuming that divine authority exists merely to validate a human side.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Melting kings
Read 5:1. Ask what a general would do next, then read 5:2.
Covenant before conquest
Read 5:2-9. Take questions one and two, and use the second confusion to show why the timing is the point.
Passover and the end of manna
Read 5:10-12. Take question three and the third confusion together.
The man with the sword
Read 5:13-15. Take questions four, five and six. Work through the first confusion from verse 14.
On whose side
Use the whose side application: ask the class to name a way people try to recruit God to their own side.
Close
Hand out the sheet, read the key verse, and pray Joshua's question together.
90 minutes
Whose side are you on
Ask the class when they have assumed God must agree with them. Do not ask for personal accounts; collect general answers.
A sign in the flesh
Read Genesis 17:9-14 and then Joshua 5:2-9. Take questions one and two and the second confusion.
The first Passover in the land
Read Exodus 12:48 and Joshua 5:10-12. Take question three and the third confusion.
The captain of the host
Read 5:13-15 aloud twice. Take questions four and five. Work through the first confusion.
Holy ground
Read Exodus 3:1-6 and take question six. Then present the fourth confusion, giving both readings fairly.
The order of chapter five
Write on the board: crossing, covenant, Passover, harvest, worship, Jericho. Ask why the Book of Joshua puts them in this order.
Application
In pairs, complete the whose side application and one of the other two from the plan.
Handout and prayer
Read the key verse together, discuss the take-home line, and pray "What saith my lord unto his servant?"
Adapting the lesson
Children
Do not describe circumcision to young children; say that God gave Israel a special sign that they belonged to him, and that the boys born in the desert had not received it yet. Spend the time on the Passover meal and the end of manna: show a basket of bread, then a basket of fruit. Act out Joshua meeting the soldier, falling down, and taking off his shoe, and let the children take their shoes off too.
Youth
Teenagers are often asked whose side they are on, by friends, causes and teams. Read 5:13-14 and let the "Nay" land. Ask how the conversation changes if God is not a supporter of anyone's team but the commander everyone must follow. Explain circumcision briefly and respectfully as a covenant sign. Keep the focus on Joshua's question, "What saith my lord unto his servant?", as the kind of prayer that gets someone ready for what comes next.
Adults
Adults will notice the military absurdity of verse 8; let them name it, then show that the chapter is built to put covenant before conquest. Read Exodus 12 and Exodus 3 alongside. On the captain's identity, present the readings honestly and allow the group to disagree. Press the application: churches and nations alike are tempted to treat God as an ally of their cause, and this passage turns that around.
One to one
Read 5:13-15 and ask the person which question they find themselves asking God more often: are you for me, or what do you want me to do. Do not press for an answer. If they are about to face something hard, notice that Joshua's preparation is worship and listening, not strategy. Suggest they pray Joshua's words each morning this week.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Joshua 5:1–15
The passage in brief
After crossing the Jordan, Israel camps at Gilgal. Before any battle, the LORD tells Joshua to circumcise the men born in the wilderness, giving them the sign of God's covenant. Israel then keeps the Passover in the land for the first time, eats grain grown there, and the manna stops. Near Jericho, Joshua meets a man with a drawn sword who says he is the commander of the LORD's army. Joshua falls down, worships, and takes off his shoes on holy ground.
A verse to keep
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
Joshua 5:14 · King James Version
Questions to take home
Why did the men born in the wilderness need to be circumcised (5:4-7)?
What changed about Israel's food after the Passover in Gilgal (5:11-12)?
What did Joshua ask the commander, and what did he do after the answer (5:13-15)?
This week
Before a hard task this week, stop and pray Joshua's question: what does my Lord say to his servant?
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
