יהושע 5

1 ויהי כשמע כל מלכי האמרי אשר בעבר הירדן ימה וכל מלכי הכנעני אשר על הים את אשר הוביש יהוה את מי הירדן מפני בני ישראל עד עברנו (עברם) וימס לבבם ולא היה בם עוד רוח מפני בני ישראל

All the kings of the people-groups to the west of the Jordan River and all the kings of the groups who were descendants of Canaan and who lived close to the [Mediterranean] Sea heard about how Yahweh had dried up the water of the Jordan [River] until all we Israeli people had crossed over. So they became very dismayed. They no longer were courageous enough to fight us.

2 בעת ההיא אמר יהוה אל יהושע עשה לך חרבות צרים ושוב מל את בני ישראל שנית

While [they were camped at Gilgal], Yahweh said to Joshua, “[The Israeli males who lived in Egypt were circumcised before they left there. Now] make knives from flint stones and circumcise all the Israeli males [who have been born since then].”

3 ויעש לו יהושע חרבות צרים וימל את בני ישראל אל גבעת הערלות

So Joshua [made knives and] circumcised the Israeli males at a place that is now called ‘Circumcision Hill’.

4 וזה הדבר אשר מל יהושע כל העם היצא ממצרים הזכרים כל אנשי המלחמה מתו במדבר בדרך בצאתם ממצרים

[The reason they did that is that all the men who left Egypt], those who were old enough to be soldiers, died in the desert after they left Egypt.

5 כי מלים היו כל העם היצאים וכל העם הילדים במדבר בדרך בצאתם ממצרים--לא מלו

They had been circumcised in Egypt, but the baby boys who had been born while their parents were camping in the desert after they left Egypt had not been circumcised.

6 כי ארבעים שנה הלכו בני ישראל במדבר עד תם כל הגוי אנשי המלחמה היצאים ממצרים אשר לא שמעו בקול יהוה אשר נשבע יהוה להם לבלתי הראותם את הארץ אשר נשבע יהוה לאבותם לתת לנו ארץ זבת חלב ודבש

Our Israeli ancestors traveled around in the desert for 40 years, and all the men who were old enough to be soldiers had died. [The women had also died]. They had not obeyed Yahweh, so Yahweh said that they would not arrive at the land that he had promised to our ancestors that he would give to us, a land that was very fertile [MTY].

7 ואת בניהם הקים תחתם אתם מל יהושע כי ערלים היו כי לא מלו אותם בדרך

The sons of those who had disobeyed Yahweh were the ones whom Joshua circumcised at Gilgal. They were circumcised because they had not been circumcised [while they were traveling in the desert].

8 ויהי כאשר תמו כל הגוי להמול וישבו תחתם במחנה עד חיותם

After all the Israeli males had been circumcised, they remained in the camp and rested until their wounds were healed.

9 ויאמר יהוה אל יהושע היום גלותי את חרפת מצרים מעליכם ויקרא שם המקום ההוא גלגל עד היום הזה

Then Yahweh said to Joshua, “[Because your forefathers were slaves in Egypt], the Egyptians felt a revulsion toward you. But today I have removed the revulsion the Egyptians have had toward you.” Because of that, the people called the place ‘Gilgal’, [which sounds like the Hebrew word ‘removed’, ] and it still has that name.

10 ויחנו בני ישראל בגלגל ויעשו את הפסח בארבעה עשר יום לחדש בערב--בערבות יריחו

In the evening of the fourteenth day of that month, while the Israeli people were camped at Gilgal, on the plain near Jericho [city], they celebrated the Passover [Festival].

11 ויאכלו מעבור הארץ ממחרת הפסח--מצות וקלוי בעצם היום הזה

The next day, they found some barley grain in the fields in that area. So they took that and roasted it and ate it with bread that was made without yeast.

12 וישבת המן ממחרת באכלם מעבור הארץ ולא היה עוד לבני ישראל מן ויאכלו מתבואת ארץ כנען בשנה ההיא

The next day, [God] stopped [sending] manna for the Israeli people to eat. After that, they ate food that was grown in Canaan.

13 ויהי בהיות יהושע ביריחו וישא עיניו וירא והנה איש עמד לנגדו וחרבו שלופה בידו וילך יהושע אליו ויאמר לו הלנו אתה אם לצרינו

One day when Joshua came near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him. The man was holding a sword in his hand. Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you [going to fight] for us or against us?”

14 ויאמר לא כי אני שר צבא יהוה--עתה באתי ויפל יהושע אל פניו ארצה וישתחו ויאמר לו מה אדני מדבר אל עבדו

The man replied, “I am not [planning to fight with you] or [against you]. Instead, I am the commander of Yahweh’s army [in heaven], and I have come [down from there to assure you that Yahweh will help you].” Then Joshua bowed down with his face on the ground (to show his respect for/to worship) the man, and said to him, “Tell me what [you want me to do].”

15 ויאמר שר צבא יהוה אל יהושע של נעלך מעל רגלך כי המקום אשר אתה עמד עליו קדש הוא ויעש יהושע כן

The commander of Yahweh’s army replied, “Take off your sandals! [I am Yahweh, and] the ground on which you are standing is holy because I am here.” So Joshua took off his sandals.