The people are circumcised: they keep the pasch. The manna ceaseth. An angel appeareth to Josue.
The kinges of Chanaan are sore, frighted with the newes of Israels passage ouer Iordan. 2. Circumcision is againe commanded, and obserued, which had bene ommitted in the desert fourtie yeares. 10 They make their Pasch. 12. Manna ceaseth. 13. And an Angel appeareth to Iosue.
1Now when all the kings of the Amorrhites, who dwelt beyond the Jordan, westward, and all the kings of Chanaan, who possessed the places near the great sea, had heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel, till they passed over, their heart failed them, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the coming in of the children of Israel.Quando adunque tutti i re degli Amorrhei abitanti di là dal Giordano verso occidente, e tutti i re di Canaan, che eran signori de' luoghi vicini al mar grande, ebbero udito, come il Signore avea asciugata la corrente del Giordano dinanzi a' figliuoli d'Israele, finchè fosser passati, si sbigottiron di cuore, e non rimase in essi vigore pella paura dell'arrivo de' figliuoli d'Israele.THERFORE after that al the kinges of the Ammorrheites, which dwelt beyond Iordan at the west side, and al the kinges of Chanaan, which possessed the places nigh to the great sea, had heard that our Lord had dried the streames of Iordan before the children of Israel, til they passed ouer, their hart failed, and there remained no spirit in them, fearing the entring of the children of Israel.Postquam ergo audierunt omnes reges Amorrhæorum, qui habitabant trans Jordanem ad occidentalem plagam, et cuncti reges Chanaan, qui propinqua possidebant magni maris loca, quod siccasset Dominus fluenta Jordanis coram filiis Israël donec transirent, dissolutum est cor eorum, et non remansit in eis spiritus, timentium introitum filiorum Israël. 2At that time the Lord said to Josue: Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel.Allora il Signore disse a Giosuè: Fatti de' coltelli di pietra, e di nuovo circoncidi i figliuoli d'Israele.At that time our Lord said to Iosue: Make thee kniues of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel.Eo tempore ait Dominus ad Josue: Fac tibi cultros lapideos, et circumcide secundo filios Israël. 3He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the children of Israel in the hill of the foreskins.Fece egli il comando del Signore, e circoncise i figliuoli d'Israele sul colle della circoncisione.He did that which our Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the children of Israel in the hil of the prepuces.Fecit quod jusserat Dominus, et circumcidit filios Israël in colle præputiorum. 4Now this is the cause of the second circumcision: All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the men fit for war, died in the desert, during the time of the long going about in the way:Or ecco il motivo della seconda circoncisione: Tutto il popolo di sesso mascolino che uscì dall'Egitto, tutti gli uomini atti alle armi perirono nel deserto nel giro lunghissimo de' loro viaggi;And this is the cause of the second circumcision: Al the people, that came out of Aegypt of the malekinde, al the fighting men, died in the desert by the long circuites of the way,Hæc autem causa est secundæ circumcisionis: omnis populus, qui egressus est de Ægypto generis masculini, universi bellatores viri, mortui sunt in deserto per longissimos viæ circuitus,
5Now these were all circumcised. But the people that were born in the desert,E questi erano tutti circoncisi. Ma il popolo nato nel desertowho were al circumcised. But the people that was borne in the desert,qui omnes circumcisi erant. Populus autem qui natus est in deserto, 6During the forty years of the journey in the wide wilderness, were uncircumcised: till all they were consumed that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he had sworn before, that he would not shew them the land flowing with milk and honey.Ne' quarant'anni di viaggio per quella vastissima solitudine rimase incirconciso, per sino a tanto che fossero consunti coloro che non avevano ascoltato le voci del Signore, e a' quali avea prima giurato di non far loro vedere la terra, che scorreva latte e miele.during the fourtie yeares of the iourney in the wide wildernes was incircumcised: til they were consumed that had not heard the voice of our Lord, and to whom he had sworne before, that he would not shew them a land flowing with milke and honie.per quadraginta annos itineris latissimæ solitudinis incircumcisus fuit: donec consumerentur qui non audierant vocem Domini, et quibus ante juraverat ut non ostenderet eis terram lacte et melle manantem. 7The children of these succeeded in the place of their fathers, and were circumcised by Josue: for they were uncircumcised even as they were born, and no one had circumcised them in the way.Succedettero i figliuoli di questi nel luogo de' padri loro, e furono circoncisi da Giosuè: perocché erano incirconcisi, quali eran nati, e nissuno gli avea circoncisi nel viaggio.The children of these succeded in the place of the fathers, and were circumcised of Iosue: for they were in the prepuce euen as they were borne, neither had any circumcised them in the way.Horum filii in locum successerunt patrum, et circumcisi sunt a Josue: quia sicut nati fuerant, in præputio erant, nec eos in via aliquis circumciderat. 8Now after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp, until they were healed.E circoncisi che furon tutti, restarono cogli alloggiamenti nel medesimo luogo, fino a tanto che fosser guariti.And after that they were al circumcised, they abode in the same place of the campe, vntil they were whole.Postquam autem omnes circumcisi sunt, manserunt in eodem castrorum loco, donec sanarentur. 9And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt. And the name of that place was called Galgal, until this present day.E il Signore disse a Giosuè: Oggi io ho levato da voi l'obbrobrio d'Egitto. E fu dato a quel luogo il nome di Galgala, come anche in oggi si appella.And our Lord said to Iosue: This day haue I taken away the reproch of Aegypt from you. And the name of that place was called Galgal, vntil this present day.Dixitque Dominus ad Josue: Hodie abstuli opprobrium Ægypti a vobis. Vocatumque est nomen loci illius Galgala, usque in præsentem diem.
10And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, and they kept the phase, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the plains of Jericho:E si fermarono i figliuoli d'Israele in Galgala, e vi fecer la Pasqua a' quattordici del mese alla sera nelle pianure di Gerico:And the children of Israel abode in Galgal, & they made the Phase the fourtenth day of the moneth at euen in the champion of Iericho:Manseruntque filii Israël in Galgalis, et fecerunt Phase quartadecima die mensis ad vesperum in campestribus Jericho: 11And they ate on the next day unleavened bread of the corn of the land, and frumenty of the same year.E il dì seguente mangiarono i pani azzimi fatti di frumento del paese, e la farina dello stesso anno.and they did eate of the corne of the Land the next day, azyme loaues and polēt of the same yeare.et comederunt de frugibus terræ die altero, azymos panes, et polentam ejusdem anni. 12And the manna ceased after they ate of the corn of the land, neither did the children of Israel use that food any more, but they ate of the corn of the present year of the land of Chanaan.E mancò la manna dopoché ebber mangiato de' frutti della terra, e non usaron più di tal cibo i figliuoli d'Israele; ma si cibarono delle biade della terra di Canaan nate lo stesso anno.And Manna failed after they did eate of the corne of the Land, neither did the children of Israel vse that meate any more, but they did eate of the corne of the present Land of Chanaan.Defecitque manna postquam comederunt de frugibus terræ, nec usi sunt ultra cibo illo filii Israël, sed comederunt de frugibus præsentis anni terræ Chanaan. 13And when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him, holding a drawn sword, and he went to him, and said: Art thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?Or trovandosi Giosuè ne' contorni della città di Gerico, alzò gli occhi, e vide dirimpetto a sé un uomo in piedi colla spada sguainata, e andò verso di lui, e gli disse: Se' tu de' nostri, o de' nemici?And when Iosue was in the field of the citie of Iericho, he lifted vp his eies, and saw a man standing against him, holding a drawen sword, and he went to him, and said: Art thou ours, or our aduersaries?Cum autem esset Josue in agro urbis Jericho, levavit oculos, et vidit virum stantem contra se, evaginatum tenentem gladium: perrexitque ad eum, et ait: Noster es, an adversariorum ? 14And he answered: No: but I am prince of the host of the Lord, and now I am come.E quegli rispose: No, ma io sono il principe dell'esercito del Signore, e ora io vengo…Who answered: No: but I am a prince of the host of our Lord, and now I come.Qui respondit: Nequaquam: sed sum princeps exercitus Domini, et nunc venio.
15Josue fell on his face to the ground. And worshipping, said: What saith my lord to his servant?Cadde Giosuè boccone per terra, e adorandolo disse: Che è quello che il mio Signore dice al suo servo?Iosue fel flatte on the ground. And adoring he said: What speaketh my Lord to his seruant?Cecidit Josue pronus in terram, et adorans ait: Quid dominus meus loquitur ad servum suum ? 16Loose, saith he, thy shoes from off thy feet: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Josue did as was commanded him.Sciogli (diss'egli) i tuoi calzari da' tuoi piedi: perocché il luogo, dove tu stai, è santo. E Giosuè fece come gli era ordinato.Loose, sayth he, thy shoe from thy feete: for the place wherein thou dost stand, is holie. And Iosue did as it was commanded him.Solve, inquit, calceamentum tuum de pedibus tuis: locus enim, in quo stas, sanctus est. Fecitque Josue ut sibi fuerat imperatum.
5:1
Calmet
Chanaan. These occupied the countries situated on the Mediterranean sea, as far as Egypt: the Amorrhites dwelt nearer to the lake of Sodom. The whole country is divided between these two nations, including that territory which the Philistines had seized, and which belonged also to Israel. Almost every city had its respective king, according to the ancient custom in the east, intra suam cuique patriam regna finiebantur. (Justin. I.) Strabo (XVI.) says this was particularly verified in the cities of Phoenicia. (Calmet)
Haydock
Till they. Hebrew, "we...their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel." They fainted as it were through fear, and could not take their breath, or according to the Septuagint adopt any thing rational; "they had no prudence," phronesis. (Haydock)
5:2
Time. While the enemy was rendered incapable of attacking the Israelites by excessive fear (Calmet) and consternation, Josue was commanded to renew the sign of the covenant, by which they were to take possession of the land, and it is supposed that he complied the day after he arrived at Galgal; (Haydock) so that the wound would be healing, when the feast of the Passover commenced four days later. On the third day it is most painful. (Genesis 34:25.)
Calmet
Of stone. Hebrew tsurim, which some translate, "sharp;" but the Septuagint and the best interpreters agree, that the word indicates a stone. Such a knife was used by Sephora. (Exodus 4:25.) It was supposed that sharp stones would cause less inflammation or danger. Samia testa....amputabant, nec aliter citra perniciem. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 25:12.) Herodotus (II. 86,) observes, that the Egyptian embalmers opened the body of the deceased with a "sharp Ethiopian stone." The people of Africa, and of America, have frequently used stone to cut wood, etc. Some of the Fathers assert, that Christ was circumcised with a knife of stone. But any other sharp instrument might be used for the purpose. Any person might perform the operation. Izates, king of the Adiabenians, received circumcision from the hand of a surgeon. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] 20:2.) (Calmet)
Challoner
Time. Not that such as had been circumcised before were to be circumcised again: but that they were now to renew, and take up again the practice of circumcision; which had been omitted during their 40 years' sojourning in the wilderness; by reason of their being always uncertain when they should be obliged to march. (Challoner)
Calmet
St. Augustine (q. 6,) seems to think that the Israelites despised this ceremony in the desert. Theodoret (q. 2,) supposes it was disused because it was not then necessary, to distinguish the Israelites from other nations. Masius is of opinion that God would not allow them to employ it, after their revolt at Cades-barne, when they would not take possession of the land of Chanaan; and hence they could not resume that privilege, till God had authorized them again, ver 7., and Numbers 14:33. The covenant with God, of which circumcision was the seal, had been, in the mean time, suspended. But as the Israelites are no where blamed, in Scripture, on account of this omission, it seems that God dispensed with them during the 38 years after they left Sinai, that the children might not be exposed to the evident danger of perishing, as the people knew not how soon the cloud would give notice for an immediate departure. (Calmet)
Haydock
Since they were now in the midst of the nations of Chanaan, this distinctive mark (Menochius) was to be henceforth diligently observed. (Haydock)
5:3
Calmet
Hill, at Galgal. Josue took care to have this ceremony performed. (Calmet)
Menochius
Perhaps he circumcised some himself, as Abraham did those of his own house, Genesis 17:23. (Menochius)
5:4
Second. Hebrew, "this is the thing, (the cause why) Josue gave circumcision."
5:5
Calmet
Desert. After the departure from Sinai, where the Passover was celebrated, and where, of course, the people must have been circumcised. (Calmet)
5:6
Calmet
Forty. Some copies of the Septuagint add, "two," as if the 40 years' wandering in the desert, were to be dated from the time that the spies discouraged the people, in the second year of their departure from Egypt. But the Hebrew and the best chronologers allow only 40 years in the whole. (Calmet)
Haydock
Hebrew, "For the children of Israel walked 40 years in the wilderness, till all the men fit for war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord, unto whom the Lord swore that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord swore unto their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey; (7) and their children he raised up in their stead, them Josue circumcised." (Haydock)
The Septuagint is also rather fuller than the Vulgate but gives the same sense. These children who receive, what their rebellious fathers had been refused, are a sensible figure of the Christian Church; as that second circumcision under Josue, represents the spiritual cleansing of the heart, which Jesus Christ has enjoined, Romans 2:28., and 1 Corinthians 7:19.
5:8
Healed. The Passover lasted eight days: after which they proceeded to attack Jericho. Yet the people, unfit for war, remained at Galgal; where the camp continued a long time afterwards.
5:9
Egypt. The people of that country adopted circumcision only after this period, (Calmet) and it never became general among them. They were therefore held in abhorrence, like the rest of the uncircumcised nations, among the Jews, Genesis 34:14., and 1 Kings 14:6. Theodoret (q. 4,) looks upon circumcision as a symbol of the liberation from the servitude of Egypt, where, he says, history informs us, that many of the Hebrews had neglected this rite.
Haydock
Galgal is interpreted liberty, by Josephus; but moderns render it "a rolling away," (Calmet) or revolution. Hebrew, "I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you." (Haydock)
Salien
Those Israelites who remained at the other side of the river, were ordered to be circumcised at the same time with their brethren. But they could not partake in the solemnity of the Passover, as they were at a distance from the ark. (Salien)
5:10
Menochius
Phase. This was the third. The first was celebrated in Egypt, Exodus xii. The second at Sinai, Numbers ix. (Menochius)
Afterwards it was disused till the Israelites took possession of Chanaan, as it was chiefly designed for that country, Exodus 12:25.
5:11
Corn. Some pretend that the Hebrew means "old corn." But the ancient interpreters take no notice of this restriction. The offering of corn was probably omitted on this occasion, as the Israelites had not cultivated the land.
Frumenty. Septuagint, "new corn." Hebrew, "parched, on that same day." These last words are taken by the Septuagint as a part of the next sentence.
5:12
Year of the World 2553.
Calmet
Land. The Septuagint intimate on the 15th. The Hebrew seems to say the 16th, Nisan, "on the morrow after they had eaten of the (old) corn." (Calmet)
Haydock
Grabe's Septuagint agrees with the Vulgate and Hebrew, and specifies that the Israelites "eat of the corn of the country on the day after the Passover, unleavened and new. On that day, the morrow, manna ceased." All depends on the determination of the first day of the festival. If we date from the eating of the paschal lamb on the 14th, or from the solemn day, which was the 15th, manna must have been withdrawn either on the 15th or 16th of the month; though Salien thinks that it ceased as soon as the Israelites had begun to eat of the fruit of the country, on the eastern side of the Jordan. This miraculous food was withholden as soon as the Israelites entered the land of promise; and so the blessed Eucharist, of which it was a figure, and all the sacraments, will cease, when the Christian people shall have taken possession of their heavenly country. (Haydock)
5:13
Calmet
Adversaries? Dost thou bear arms for or against us? (Calmet)
5:14
Challoner
Prince of the host of the Lord, etc. St. Michael, who is called prince of the people of Israel, Daniel 10:21. (Challoner)
Calmet
Some of the Fathers explain it of the Son of God. (Origen, hom. 6.) But St. Augustine, City of God 11:13., St. Jerome in Galatians iii., and interpreters in general agree, that the person who here appeared to Josue, was the archangel Michael. He came, in the name of God, to assure Josue of success, as the angel had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, as if to denote the distress of the Hebrews, and to encourage Moses to undertake their liberation. (Calmet)
Haydock
Chaldean, "I am the angel sent by God." In that character he is called the Lord. (Haydock)
5:15
Challoner
Worshipping. Not with divine honour, but with a religious veneration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of his person. (Challoner)
Calmet
He styles the angel Adonai, which is a title frequently given to men; and hence he does not seem to have designed to give him supreme worship. (Calmet)
Exodus xx
If he did, (Haydock) it was referred to God. (Calmet) (Exodus xx.)
5:16
Worthington
Loose. The angel did not only accept of the honour done to him, but also required more, shewing that the field near Jericho was rendered holy, by his presence. (Worthington)
Calmet
Hence he ordered Josue to put off his shoes, as Moses had done at the bush, Exodus 3:5. The Turks leave their shoes at the doors of their mosques, and do not dare to tread on the bare floor. Formerly the pagans would not spit in their temples. (Arrian.) "If, says Porphyrius, in the sacrifices instituted by men, in honour of the gods, people be careful to have their shoes clean, with how much greater attention ought we to preserve our bodies, which are, as it were, the garments of the soul, free from every impurity and corruption!" (Abstin. 2.) (Calmet)
5:2
The second time.... Not that such as had been circumcised before were to be circumcised again; but that they were now to renew, and take up again the practice of circumcision; which had been omitted during their forty years’ sojourning in the wilderness; by reason of their being always uncertain when they should be obliged to march.
5:14
Prince of the host of the Lord, etc.... St. Michael, who is called prince of the people of Israel, Dan. 10.21.
5:15
Worshipping.... Not with divine honour, but with a religious veneration of an inferior kind, suitable to the dignity of his person.
5:2
See annotations. annotations. c. 3. v. 8.
Circūcision had bene omitted sourtie yeares, whiles they were in the deserte, alwayes vncertaine when to march, & so it is now commanded the second time.
5:11
Fu• men•ie.
5:14
Not God, but of Gods hoste.
5:15
15. Adoring.] Iosue knowing that the person which appeared, was an Angel and not God, nor a man, neither adored him with godlie honour, for that had bene idolatrie, nor with ciuil, for that perteineth to wordlie and temporal excellencie. Religious honour due to Angels. and is not competent to sacred thinges, especialy to immortal and See Annot. Ex•. 20. glorious spirites; and therfore the honour he did to this Angel, was religious honour infinitly inferior to diuine, and yet much greater then ciuil.
5:16
16. Loose thy shoe.] The Angel did not only accept of the honour donne Holie places. vnto him, but also required more, shewing that the verie place was holie for his presence, being otherwise the common field of Iericho.
5:2
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 24
… But lest I appear now to diverge to other subjects, understand what I say: the blood of that circumcision is obsolete, and we trust in the blood of salvation; there is now another covenant, and another law has gone forth from Zion. Jesus Christ circumcises all who will—as was declared above —with knives of stone;
Tertullian † AD 220 An Answer to the Jews 9
… and this had to come about, not through Moses (that is, not through the Law’s discipline), but through Joshua (that is, through the new law’s grace), after our circumcision with “a knife of rock”
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 1.9
… “In the last days God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God.” Also in Jesus the son of Nave: “And the Lord said unto Jesus, Make thee small knives of stone, very sharp, and set about to circumcise the children of Israel for the second time.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 76.3
… Warn her against supposing that the work of virtue is perfected when she has made her exodus from Egypt. Remind her that she must pass through snares innumerable to arrive at mount Nebo and the River Jordan, that she must receive circumcision anew at Gilgal,
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.25
… And again for the second time God gave the law of Circumcision to Joshua, after the crossing of Jordan, according as it is written in the book of Joshua, the son of Nun: At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee knives of stone from the sharp rock, and assemble and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time
5:3
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.12
… Then entering Jericho she saw the city which Hiel founded in Abiram his firstborn and of which he set up the gates in his youngest son Segub. She looked upon the camp of Gilgal and the hill of the foreskins
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 21.26
… They “burnt in the fire,” that is, by the fire. “And Joshua took knives of flints, in which to circumcise,” that is, by which to circumcise, “the children of Israel.”
5:6
St John of Damascus † AD 749 An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith 4.25
… At that time the Lord said unto Joshua, Make thee knives of stone from the sharp rock, and assemble and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time ; and a little later: For the children of Israel walked forty and two
5:9
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 6.26
… Then the children of Israel, since the children of those who came out of Egypt had not received circumcision, were circumcised by Joshua with a very sharp stone; the Lord declares that He takes away the reproach of Egypt on the day of Joshua’s baptism, when Joshua purified the children of Israel. For it is written:
5:12
St Irenaeus of Lyons † AD 202 Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, XIX 1
… Then again, [it was fit] that Moses should give manna as food to the fathers, but Joshua wheat; as the first-fruits of life, a type of the body of Christ, as also the Scripture declares that the manna of the Lord ceased when the people had eaten wheat from the land.
5:13
St Justin Martyr † AD 165 Dialogue with Trypho 62
… And the Lord’s Captain says to Joshua, Loose the shoes off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And Jericho was shut up and fortified, and no one went out of it. And the Lord said to Joshua, Behold, I give into thine hand Jericho, and its king, [and] its mighty men.’ ”
Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 2.17
… “Throne” is not a species of living being, nor “dominion,” nor “principality,” nor “power”; these are names of the businesses to which those clothed with the names have been appointed; the subjects themselves are nothing but men, but the subject has come to be a throne, or a dominion, or a principality, or a power. In Joshua, the son of Nun, we read
St Cyprian of Carthage † AD 258 Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews 2.20
… And he said, I am the leader of the host of the Lord; now draw near. And Jesus fell on his face to the earth, and said to him, Lord, what dost Thou command unto Thy servant. And the leader of the Lord’s host said, Loose thy shoe from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 1.2.12
… And he said unto him, As captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and said unto him, Lord, what dost thou command thy servant? and the captain of the Lord said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.”
Eusebius of Caesarea † AD 339 The Church History of Eusebius 10.4.14
… of profane rulers, vomiting forth death, moreover, and infecting with his deleterious and soul-destroying poisons the souls captured by him, and almost slaying them by his death-fraught sacrifices of dead idols, and causing every beast in the form of man and every kind of savage to assault us—then, indeed, the ‘Angel of the great Council,’ the great Captain
St Athanasius of Alexandria † AD 373 Life of Antony. (Vita Antoni.) 16
… And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.pref.9
9. Holy Gideon, then, foresaw this, that the nations of the Gentiles also would drink by the reception of faith, and therefore he enquired more diligently, for the caution of the saints is necessary. Insomuch that also Joshua the son of Nun, when he saw the captain of the heavenly host, enquired: “Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.10
126. And did Joshua, the son of Nun, err in recognizing the leader of the heavenly host?
5:14
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 2.88
… What Moses is to conquer him by stretching out his hands upon the mount, in order that the cross, thus typified and prefigured, may prevail? What Joshua, as his successor, arrayed alongside the Captain of the Lord’s hosts?
5:16
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 3.10
71. Moses was not the Bridegroom, for to him cometh the word, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot,” that he might give place to his Lord. Nor was Joshua, the son of Nun, the Bridegroom, for to him also it was told, saying, “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot,”
5:1
1. Kings of the Amorites, etc., and kings of Chanaan. — The Septuagint, and kings of Phoenicia. Under these two peoples all seven nations dwelling in the promised land are understood by synecdoche, namely the Hevites, Jebusites, Hittites, Pherezites and Gergesites, Deut. vii, 1. Moreover the Amorites were called those who dwelt toward the Jordan; the Canaanites, those who dwelt toward the Mediterranean sea, whom the Septuagint here calls Phoenicians; elsewhere they are commonly called Palestinians or Philistines; indeed sometimes not only Philistines, such as the Gazites, Azotians, Accaronites; but also all Jews and Idumeans are called Phoenicians, as Masius teaches from Dionysius Africanus and Strabo, lib. XVI. Hence the woman who is called by Matthew, cap. xv, vers. 22, a Canaanite woman, is called by Mark a Syrophoenician woman. And indeed Tyre and Sidon, which were the metropolises of Phoenicia, once belonged to Chanaan or to the land promised by God to the Jews, all agree, although the Hebrews on account of their sloth never possessed them. Masius and Arias here confirm this beautifully and at length, and Pererius in Exodus, pag. 186, at the end. Their heart was dissolved, and there remained no spirit in them. — It is a hyperbole, as if to say: Thus the Canaanites and the rest, on account of the Hebrews' passage through the Jordan with dry feet, are struck in mind, as if life and spirit had failed them as the lifeless. The Septuagint: their minds were melted, and they were dismayed, and there was in them no wisdom whatsoever, suggesting counsel fitting to resist the Hebrews. Moreover, heart is called that part of the mind in which strength and constancy are placed; spirit truly that power of the mind by which we are wise, and by which we discern and deliberate what is to be done: for with heart melting and failing, namely when strength wavers through fear, it is necessary that the faculty of understanding be disturbed and fail at the same time.
5:2
2. At that time the Lord said to Joshua: Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel. — "Of stone," the Septuagint, "of stone"; Masius, "of rock"; in Hebrew it is צורים tsurim, which the Chaldean, Cajetan, Arias, Pagninus and Vatablus translate as "sharp"; others, "sharpened with a whetstone." Better our Vulgate, the Septuagint, St. Augustine, Theodoret, Origen, Rupert, Masius and others translate it "of stone." For the Hebrew צור tsur everywhere signifies a rock, stone and boulder. Whence also Tsor (and from this Tor and Tyre) that mighty city of Phoenicia was named, because it was built upon a rock of the sea, and therefore was impregnable. Thus also Sephora, the wife of Moses, circumcised her sons with a stone knife, Exodus IV. And many believe that Christ was circumcised with a stone knife. You may ask, why did Joshua command the Hebrews to be circumcised with a stone knife? I answer, the literal cause was that which Theodoret gives, namely that in that place there was an abundance of stones, but a scarcity of iron and steel. For the Hebrews were dwelling about Arabia, which is called Petraea from the abundance of stones, where they sharpen stones like iron, and from them make very sharp knives. Thus also elsewhere in former times iron was rare, and therefore dear and of great price. Whence Lycurgus among the Spartans ordered money to be coined from iron, so that by its weight and heaviness he might prevent thefts, as Plutarch testifies in his Life. And Catullus writes of Atys castrated with flint: "He himself, he says, rolls down sharp weights of flint upon himself." Indeed the Greeks formerly sharpened their pens with flint, as Julian writes, book VI of the Epigrams: "The stone, he says, which sharpened the dull cheek of the pen." The allegorical cause was that these stone knives should be a type and figure of Christ, who is a spiritual rock, and by spiritual circumcision circumcises not the flesh from the foreskin, but the mind from vices, and will circumcise the body from diseases and death in the hill of the foreskins, that is, in the resurrection of the dead, as Rupert says here, chapter xvi; thus also Theodoret, Question I, Origen, Procopius and others. Furthermore St. Augustine, sermon 141 On the Seasons; St. Bernard, sermon 1 On the Circumcision, and the Master of the Sentences in IV, treating of circumcision, believe that circumcision ought to have been performed with a stone knife, because God commands the same thing here: but this precept was given to Joshua alone, not to others. Whence in Genesis chapter xvii, verse 10, where the institution and precept of circumcision is sanctioned by God, no mention is made of a stone knife. For this reason even now the Jews circumcise themselves and theirs with an iron knife, not a stone one. Thus Abulensis, Hugh of St. Victor, St. Thomas, Lyra, and expressly St. Justin (who was a Jew, namely a Samaritan) in his Dialogue Against Trypho: "That first circumcision of yours, he says, was formerly done with iron, and is still done so, and therefore hardness of heart remains in you; but ours, which is the second, is done by sharp stones, namely by Christ and the Apostles, who circumcise the vices of the heart." Circumcise the second time the children of Israel. — Why "the second time"? Is it because those once circumcised, with the foreskin growing back or being drawn together again (which Symmachus, the interpreter of Holy Scripture, and others who defected from the Jews to the Samaritans once did, as I showed in I Corinthians vii, 18), are commanded to circumcise it a second time? Not at all. First therefore Theodoret, Question III, and Masius think this circumcision is called the second, with respect to the first, which was done by Abraham, who at God's command was the first to circumcise himself with his whole family, Genesis xvii. But with respect to Abraham this was not the second, but more than the tenth, indeed the hundredth circumcision; for after Abraham for 400 years until Moses all his descendants were circumcised. Secondly, Vatablus thinks it is called the second with respect to the first, which was done by Moses, who circumcised the people brought out of Egypt at Sinai. But of this circumcision of Moses neither Scripture, nor Philo, nor Josephus, nor anyone else makes mention. Thirdly, R. David Kimchi and Cajetan interpret "the second time" as "in turn" or "by turns," as if to say: Do not circumcise all at once, lest all the circumcised grow weak and be unable to resist the Canaanites, but circumcise them in two turns, so that while these are being circumcised, the others still uncircumcised may be strong to fight with the Canaanites. But this is remote and foreign to the meaning. I say therefore with St. Augustine here, Question VI, and with Abulensis, that it is not commanded here that the same man be circumcised a second time, but the same people, who had first been circumcised in their parents in Egypt, and that by the command and exhortation of Moses, as Tertullian holds, in his book Against the Jews, and R. Levi and others. But the same people is commanded a second time to be circumcised in their sons, who had remained uncircumcised for 40 years during which they had wandered in the desert; these therefore resumed the circumcision that had been omitted for so many years in Chanaan. That this is the genuine sense is evident from what follows, especially verses 3, 5 and 6. For this was the same people who were led out of Egypt by Moses, and were brought into the promised land by Joshua; who was first circumcised in Egypt in the time of Moses, indeed all who had not yet been circumcised were circumcised shortly before the departure from Egypt. For at the departure they celebrated the Passover, and ate the Paschal lamb; for no one could eat this unless he were circumcised, Exodus chapter xii. The circumcision of the people then ceased on account of their wandering in the desert for forty years: but when this wandering was finished, when Israel had already entered into Chanaan, all who up to that time had been uncircumcised were circumcised by Joshua, and therefore this second circumcision of the people is called such. Thus Masius, Lyranus, Pererius, Serarius and others. Tropologically our Jacob Alvarez, in his tract On Mortification: The first, he says, circumcision made in Egypt designates external mortification; but the second, effected in the crossing of the Jordan, signifies internal mortification, which is fittingly done on the hill of foreskins: because he who dares to mortify his interior parts has already ascended the hill, that is, some degree of perfection. Of these, the first is external, if taken alone with no regard to the second, is of no great moment, since it leaves the soul uncircumcised and subject to vices.
5:3
3. He circumcised them on the hill of foreskins, — that is, in the place and hill so called from the circumcision of foreskins performed there by Joshua, just as the same place was called Galgala for the same reason, verse 9.
5:5
5. All of whom were circumcised. — From this, by contrary reasoning, some plausibly gather that none of the others, who were not circumcised and had not been murmuring rebels against God, died in the desert; and this is suggested by the Psalmist, Psalm cv, 37, and by Moses, Deuteronomy xxix, 5.
5:6
6. Now the people that were born in the desert during forty years of journey through the widest solitude were uncircumcised. — It is asked, for what reason circumcision was omitted in the desert, when it had been commanded by God, Genesis xvii? First, the Talmudists, in the tract On the Law of Leviticus, and from them R. David here assert that during the forty years in which the Hebrews wandered in the desert, the North Wind, or Boreas, an enemy to clouds, did not blow, and this lest it should scatter the pillar of cloud which was the guide of their journey. And for this reason the Hebrews abstained from circumcision, because they thought that wind ought to be observed by them, in that it heals wounds. But these are the inventions of those fabulists, indeed mere trifles and nonsense. Secondly, Theodoret here, Question II; St. Jerome, Book I on the Epistle to the Galatians; John of Damascus, Book IV On the Faith, chapter xxvii, and others give this reason, that in the desert the people of Israel were by themselves and by the nature of the place sufficiently distinct and separated from other nations, and therefore it was not necessary for them to be circumcised. For circumcision was instituted for this reason, that by it Israel might be distinguished from others. This reason is fitting, but insufficient. For even in Judaea the Jews were divided from other nations, and yet they ought to have been circumcised for other more important ends, namely for the commandment of God, and that by this means they might give themselves to the Synagogue, and become the children of Abraham and the people of God, as now happens through baptism. Thirdly, St. Augustine here, Question VI, thinks that circumcision was omitted through the disobedience of the people: wherefore he sinned by omitting it; but this sin Moses and Scripture would have rebuked in his people, which however it does nowhere. Fourthly, Gabriel Vasquez in the Third Part, disputation CLXIV, chapter II, suspects that these sons remained uncircumcised in the desert on account of the fault and murmuring of their parents; for on this account God punished those parents themselves with death, but their sons with uncircumcision. The same thing is suspected here by Masius and Pererius in chapter xvii of Genesis. But Scripture hints at nothing of the sort, indeed it insinuates the contrary, namely that God rejected the rebellious fathers and provided sons in their place, and with them made a new covenant (of which circumcision was the sign), and led them into the promised land, from which He had excluded the parents on account of rebellion. I say therefore: The true reason for circumcision being omitted in the desert was that the Hebrews were excused from it by their continual wandering, because in it they had no stable and certain rest: but whenever the pillar of cloud, the guide of the way, moved, so often the Hebrews had to follow it and move their camps. But they could not have done this if they had been circumcised on that day, or a little before. For circumcision inflicted a grave wound on the body and acute pain, so that one could neither fight nor walk, as is evident in the Shechemites, who were slain by Simeon and Levi to avenge the rape of Dinah, Genesis xxxiv. Wherefore on account of the frequent and uncertain movement of camps the Hebrews were excused from circumcision, lest through it they should incur danger to their lives. Thus Abulensis, Lyra, Masius, Serarius and St. Thomas, Third Part, Question LXX, article 4. But in Canaan, where a dwelling place was to be established, they were circumcised, immediately upon entering it, namely at Gilgal; and this for three reasons: first, because the law was the condition of the covenant made between God and Abraham and his descendants concerning the giving to them of Canaan: but the beginning and as it were the gateway of the law was circumcision, as baptism is of Christianity: through circumcision therefore it was fitting that they should take possession of the promised land; secondly, because a little later, namely on the 14th day of the month at evening, by the command of God the Paschal lamb was to be eaten, verse 10; but no one was permitted to eat this unless he had first been circumcised, and thus enrolled in the family of Abraham and the Synagogue of Israel; thirdly, because on the very threshold of Canaan, the Hebrew Republic, both civil and sacred, was immediately to be established, and consequently all the laws of God, both ceremonial (among which circumcision was the first) and judicial, were to be observed by the Hebrews. Whence they immediately celebrated the Passover, that they might begin the possession of the promised land in a holy and religious manner. On the tenth day therefore of the first month Nisan they crossed the Jordan and fixed their camps at Gilgal, and on the following eleventh day they were circumcised there, and rested three days on account of the wound, and on the fourth day, which was the 14th of Nisan, at evening they celebrated the Passover. Morally, let the founders and governors of republics learn here to begin their government from God and from His law and worship, as Joshua does here; for God, being appeased, will prosper it. And let every faithful person learn to begin his duties and actions with God and from God, according to that saying: "Begin from God." Moreover, the Septuagint errs here and in Num. xiv, 33, for it has forty-two years of wandering in the desert instead of forty years. For it is certain that it was precisely only forty years. Finally, this circumcision of the people could be accomplished in one day, namely on the eleventh of Nisan, because anyone who was circumcised could circumcise, even if he were not a priest or Levite, but a layman: and one person could circumcise many in a day. And those who were circumcised then were living survivors who had gone forth from Egypt circumcised, when they had not yet reached the twentieth year: for those who had reached it, all of them died in the desert on account of their murmuring. Again, those who were circumcised for the first time on the eleventh day here could soon circumcise many others. That he might show them the land flowing with milk and honey. — Correct with the Romans, the Hebrews and the Septuagint, so that it reads: that he might not show them. For God had sworn that he would slay all the murmurers in the desert, Num. XIII.
5:9
9. This day have I taken away the reproach of Egypt from you, (because this day I have transferred you from the life and customs of the uncircumcised through circumcision into my people, Synagogue, law and holy religion. For this reason) The name of that place was called Galgal, — that is, a taking away, namely of the foreskin, and consequently of the reproach of the Egyptians: for גלל galal signifies to roll, to roll away, to remove, to take away; from galal with the first syllable doubled is formed gilgal and galgala. Whence this place was called Gilgal, Galgal, Galgala, by St. Jerome Golgal, which was once a famous city on the direct road from the Jordan to Jericho: distant from the Jordan by fifty stadia, from Jericho by ten: at Galgal Saul was anointed by Samuel as the first king, I Kings vii, 10. There twelve stones were set up, witnesses of the passage of the Hebrews through the divided Jordan. In Galgal also the prophet Elisha dwelt, IV Kings IV, 38. Again St. Jerome, Bede and Lyra translate Galgala as wheel, revolution, circulation. Whence from galal and gilgal was formed gulgolet, and in Chaldaic gulgolta, and thence Golgotha, that is Calvary or skull, so called from the rolling, because it is round. Hence the mount of Calvary, so called from the skulls of the condemned beaten there, on which Christ was crucified. Wherefore Josephus, interpreting Galgala as liberty, wished to consult the modesty of the Hebrews in his manner, and to flatter the ears of Vespasian and the Romans, if not to court them. Tropologically Origen, hom. 5: "If," he says, "after the remission (as it were circumcision) of sins you sin no more, truly the reproach of Egypt has been taken away from you. But if you sin again, the old reproaches are rolled back upon you, and all the more so, because it is a much greater crime to trample upon the Son of God and to count the blood of the covenant as profane, than to disregard the law of Moses." For the Egyptians in the time of Joshua were uncircumcised; Gentiles, addicted to idols and vices. Yet afterwards they accepted circumcision, as Jer. cap. IX, vers. last teaches. See what is said there. Some think they accepted it in the time of Solomon, when he took as wife the daughter of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, III Kings x. Again, our Alvarez, tract. De mortificatione, takes reproach actively, namely that the Egyptians reproached the Hebrews going out from Egypt that they were going to hunger and death, as if to say: Certainly you have seen that with the Jordan dried up you crossed into this region, and occupied the land promised to you, and in it as in a land peaceful to you, you were circumcised, and for three days without any fear until you were healed, you rested: therefore I did not lead you out from Egypt to death, so that your oppressors might say, but so that you might live free and secure. Thus also from us who cultivate spiritual circumcision, that is mortification, the reproach of the world will be taken away; because the worldly will see that we have by no means lost life through self-denial, but have exchanged carnal life and displeasing to God for spiritual life and pleasing to God.
5:10
10. And they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month (the first, Nisan) in the evening, — for the reasons given vers. 6: this was the third Passover of the Hebrews. For they celebrated the first the day before they went out from Egypt, Exodus xii; the second in the following year, after receiving the law and erecting the tabernacle in Sinai, Num. ix, 2; the third here. Allegorically Joshua here celebrating a new and first Passover in the holy land represents Jesus Christ, the new Passover, that is, instituting the Eucharist at the last supper.
5:11
11. And they ate of the fruits (of grain) of the land the next day, unleavened bread, and parched grain of that same year,—"of the fruits," either of the present year and the past year, as R. David and Vatablus wish, and to this the Hebrew word עבור abur alludes, from the root abar, that is, it passed, it went by; or rather of the new grain of the present year, as the Septuagint expresses it. Moreover the Hebrew abur, and the Chaldean ibbura, signify any fruits of the year both present and past. Thus Masius. The next day.—In Hebrew, the day after the Passover, that is the day after the first day of unleavened bread, namely the second day of unleavened bread, or the sixteenth day of the month Nisan; for on that day they were first obliged to offer to God a sheaf of grain, before they could eat of the fruits of the present year, according to the law of Leviticus xxiii, 14. But R. David by the day after the Passover understands the first day of unleavened bread, or the fifteenth of Nisan. For on the day before that, namely the fourteenth at evening, they ate the Paschal lamb. He himself, as I have said, understands by fruits the grain of the past year, which it was lawful to eat before the sheaf of grain was offered on the second day of unleavened bread; for this was offered as it were the firstfruits of the new grain of the present year, not of the past. Parched grain.—In Hebrew קלי kalvi, that is roasted grain. See Leviticus ii, 14.
5:12
12. The manna failed,—namely to fall or snow from heaven. For God, who had bestowed manna upon the Hebrews on account of their lack of food, withdrew the manna when an abundance of other food was offered: just as birds bring food to their young in the nest while they are tender, but when they grow and become stronger and are able to provide for themselves, they leave them, so that they may procure their own sustenance. For God, as He does not fail in necessities, so neither does He abound in superfluities. A notable example is found in Theodoret in the Philotheos, chapter x. Theodosius the Abbot, he says, praying like Moses, and striking the rock with his staff, drew forth from it a spring of perpetual water, which would irrigate the monastery built by him in a dry place. This spring, after a bath was later constructed in the monastery, dried up, but when it was destroyed it began to flow again, as if succoring the need, and ceasing when it ceased. Tropologically, those who seek and taste the pleasures of the earth are deprived of heavenly things: for God gives the spirit of prayer and contemplation to those remaining in the desert, namely those leaving behind the pleasures of the flesh and the ambition of the world; and from those who turn their hearts back to the world, He hides it. These gradually become carnal from spiritual, and cease to taste the sweetness of this manna; but those become ever more pure and spiritual: for when the spirit is tasted, all flesh becomes insipid. And conversely, to whom flesh is pleasing, to him the spirit becomes insipid. Hear St. Bernard, epistle 3 to Fulco: "How fire and water cannot exist together, so spiritual and carnal delights do not tolerate each other in the same place. Where Christ perceives the belching of gluttony among cups, He does not deign to offer His wines sweeter than honey and honeycomb to the mind. Where there is curious variety of foods, where the varied colors of rich furnishings feed the eyes equally with the belly, the heavenly bread abandons the hungry mind." The same, sermon 6 On the Ascension: "He errs entirely," he says, "if anyone thinks that heavenly sweetness can be mixed with this ash, that divine balm with this poison, those gifts of the spirit with such enticements." Hear also St. Jerome, epistle 4 to Julian: "It is difficult, indeed impossible, that anyone should enjoy both present and future goods, that he should here fill his belly and there his mind, that he should pass from delights to delights, that he should be first in both ages, that he should appear glorious in heaven and on earth." Anagogically Rupert here, chapter xvii: Manna, he says, earthly, that is the Eucharist, will fail, when Christ will exhibit to us the solid fruits of heaven. For there He Himself will feed us with Himself, as it were with the bread of life, and will inebriate us as it were with divine wine, according to that: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure," Psalm xxxv, 9. Hear Rupert: "We are fed in mind by reading or hearing the word of God, we are fed also by mouth eating from the table of the Lord the bread of eternal life, and drinking the cup of perpetual salvation. But when we shall come to that land of the living, to that blessed Sion, where God of gods shall be seen in His own species, we shall need neither the word of doctrine, nor these species of bread and wine, but seeing in His own substance we shall eat the bread of Angels. Therefore after they ate the fruits of the land, the manna failed, because namely after that which is perfect shall come, that which is in part shall be done away." Allegorically the manna failed, that is the goods of the old law failed, when Jesus substituted the Eucharist for them, which is truly the bread of Angels and the manna of heaven. Thus Nyssenus in the Life of Moses.
5:13
13. When Joshua was in the field of the city of Jericho. — In Hebrew, when he was in Jericho, that is, in the territory or field of the city of Jericho, unless you prefer to take the preposition in for at by an enallage customary among the Hebrews. A similar instance is in chapter x, verse 19. Whether therefore Joshua moved his camp from Gilgal into the field of Jericho, or whether, with his camp remaining at Gilgal (for Gilgal was distant from Jericho by only ten stadia, that is scarcely half a league), Joshua the watchful commander, first concerned with the destruction of Jericho that lay before him, and turning over in his mind the plans and manner of its destruction, and praying to God, went forth into the field of Jericho, or even went to spy out a place suitable for attacking the city: there this vision was presented to him, which would add courage to him for accomplishing the deed: thus while we plan great and holy things in our mind, God insinuates himself into our counsels, and demonstrates the strength and means of executing them. And he saw a man standing against him. — In Hebrew בנגדו benegdo, that is, before him, opposite and in front of him. This was an Angel in the appearance of גביר gebir, that is, a man. Whence some think he was Gabriel. Holding a drawn sword, — like one fighting; and therefore also girded with a helmet, breastplate and belt, as Serarius thinks. God or an Angel is accustomed to assume a form, appearance and garb suited to the person and the matter with which he is dealing, and on account of which he appears. Therefore a drawn and flashing sword in the hand of a strong man represents God's power and vengeance, assisting Joshua as it were his soldier and commander, and being present and ready to him for waging so bloody a war against Jericho. Thus Rupert. So Christ appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden as a gardener, to two disciples walking as a traveler, to Stephen standing and contending standing, Acts vii, 55. And he went up to him. — The Septuagint: he went against him. Note here the fearless spirit of Joshua, with which he alone meets the armed man, and greets him with words that plainly determine either a duel or friendship. And he said to him: Art thou of us, or of our adversaries? — Some think that Joshua supposed this man to be a human being, not an Angel, and said to him: Art thou of ours, or of the Canaanites? Whence the Angel subjoins:
5:14
14. By no means. — I am not of your side or from your camp, nor from the adversaries', but I am an Angel of God. Thus Abulensis, Serarius and others. On the other hand, it seems that Joshua knew from so august a form of the man, or at least suspected him to be a guardian Angel either of the Hebrews or of the Canaanites, and therefore asked: "Art thou of us, or of our adversaries?" Thus Origen here, hom. 4, who says Joshua doubted whether this Angel were good or evil. So also St. Gregory, Arias Montanus and others. The Chaldean version favors this, which translates: "Hast thou come to help us, or our enemies?" Furthermore, that the Angel was indeed known by Joshua, and that he wished to discern whether he himself were the guardian of friends or of enemies, Jobius the Monk in Photius in his Library, together with many others, writes in this manner. For many things taught Joshua that this was neither one from the hostile line, nor from his own army, namely that he had suddenly appeared, that no one of the adversaries would dare either to pass through the midst of the enemy forces, or to come into the sight of the commander; and moreover that, having used such boldness, he had done nothing whatever hostile; otherwise it would not have been the part of a most wise commander to be ignorant what the appearance and equipment of his own men was, and likewise what that of foreigners was. But Joshua indeed knew that vision to be one of the intelligent spirits; but he desired to know this, whether what had appeared were from the enemies, or from that army which protected Israel. Tropologically, in a similar manner we must deal with the instincts and impulses of the soul, and ask: "Are you of ours, or of the adversaries?" so that if they are sent by a good Angel, they may be admitted, if by an evil one, they may be repelled. Hence also St. Gregory, lib. XXXIII of the Morals, cap. xxii, says that Joshua feared here a deception of the devil: for "Satan himself transformeth himself into an Angel of light," II Cor. xi. "Joshua feared this transformation," he says, "when seeing an Angel, he inquired whose side he was on, saying: Art thou of us, or of our adversaries? so that namely if he were of an adverse power, by the very fact that he would recognize himself suspected, he would recoil from the deception." The same is found in Blessed Peter Damian, lib. II, epist. 7, which in order is 28. Morally, St. Antony in St. Athanasius, from this saying and deed of Joshua, taught us that we ought to do the same in any fear, temptation, horror, especially when specters or phantasms strike us down, so that we may boldly assail them, and ask who they are, and whence they come. For by this boldness we shall dispel all fear and the deceits of the devil. Hear St. Antony: "When any vision shall present itself to you, boldly ask who that one is, and whence he came; and without delay if it be a revelation of the saints, the fear shall be turned into joy by Angelic consolation. But if it be a temptation of the devil, with confident mind the questioning vanishes: for it is the greatest sign of security to ask who he is and whence? Thus also the son of Nave, by questioning, knew his helper, nor could the enemy escape the questioning of Daniel." Who answered: By no means (am I of the adversaries), but I am the prince of the army of the Lord, — both heavenly (that is to say, I am the prince of all the Angels) and earthly, namely of the faithful people or the Israelites, that is: I am Michael, who preside over the Church both Angelic in heaven triumphant, and yours here in Canaan militant. Thus Theodoret, Lyran, Abulensis, who adds that this Angel was the same as he who led the camp of the Hebrews in the pillar of cloud as the guide of the way, and others throughout. For Michael, Daniel x, is called the prince of the nation of the Jews, and fights with the Angel of the Persians, so that he might free the faithful Jews from the captivity of Babylon. See the things said there. Hear our Francis Suarez, tract. On the Angels, lib. VI, cap. xix, num. 22: whence some think that Angel was Michael, who is called the prince of the people of Israel in Daniel cap. x. But Abulensis, Quaest. LXXI, believes it was Gabriel, who also had care of the Jewish people, as is evident from Daniel cap. viii, ix and x: and perhaps Michael had the superior care, and Gabriel the proper care of the whole army of warriors. In which sense it is also approved that guardian Angels are given to armies, especially to the faithful, and those who conduct the cause of God. Which also can be confirmed from that Psalm. xxxiii: The Angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him, and shall deliver them. By which testimony also the Fathers commonly use it for this purpose. Thus far Suarez. Michael therefore was once the ruler of the Synagogue of the Jews, just as he is now the ruler of the Church of Christians, and as such is invoked by her, that he may protect and defend her against demons, against infidels and any impious persons whatsoever. Thus each kingdom and province has its own Angel as ruler, equally as each army of the faithful, as Judas Maccabaeus had an Angel horseman in white garments brandishing a golden spear, who went before the camp, II Maccabees xi, 8; and King Hezekiah, whose Angel slew in one night one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians. This is what the Psalmist sings, Psalm xxxiii, 8: "The Angel of the Lord shall encamp (Hebr. חנה chone, that is, shall pitch camp) round about them that fear him." Wherefore commanders and soldiers in battles ought continually to invoke this Angel of theirs, and pray with Judas Maccabaeus: "O Lord of heaven, send thy good Angel before us in fear and trembling of the greatness of thy arm, that they may be afraid who come with blasphemy against thy holy people," II Maccabees xv, 23. For this purpose the Virtues, Powers, Principalities and Dominions fight for God. Thus the Angel in a pillar of cloud went before the camp of the Hebrews in the desert for forty years, and gave them many victories against Amalec, Og, Sehon, etc. And now I come,—that by my singular presence, namely invisible to you, I may assist you, and for you I shall prostrate the walls of Jericho, and thus I shall lead you into the city, and from there I shall overcome the other Canaanites, and deliver their cities and strongholds to you.
5:15
15. And adoring,—not with latria as God, but with dulia as an Angel ruler. For adoration, whether as Hebr. השתחורה histachave, that is to bow down and bowing down, in Scripture is given not to God alone, but also to Angels and to men, in the manner that the Japanese, Chinese and other Orientals, bowing themselves and striking their foreheads to the ground, adore their kings, that is, venerate them. And this is what the Greek προσκυνεῖν signifies. Morally, to be noted here is the prompt and submissive piety and devotion of Joshua toward the Angel.
5:16
16. Loose thy shoe,—as if to say, Remember that thou standest before God, whose place I take, and whom as his legate I represent, and to whom the will and counsel of the supreme Godhead is being declared to thee in those things which thou seest and hereafter shalt hear, to whom therefore thou ought to show reverence by the putting off of thy shoes; for this place is holy and sacred by the presence of God appearing through me. The same the Angel commanded and said to Moses appearing in the burning bush, and perhaps it was the same in both places. See the words of Exodus III, 5. Furthermore the Angel said many more things here to Joshua concerning the manner of taking Jericho, which we shall hear in the following chapter, verse 2. Learn here with what piety and reverence one ought to conduct oneself in temples, that thou mayest devote thyself not to fables, but to prayer, and how God requires not only interior, but also exterior worship and ceremonies. Whence for "the place whereon thou standest is holy," the Hebrew is holiness is, that is, it is most holy on account of God's presence.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
5:1
… It is always included by the Bible in the enumeration of the pre-Israelite peoples (Gen. 15:21; Ex. 3:8; 13:5; 23:23; 32:2; 34:11; Deut. 7:1; 20:17; Josh. 3:10; 5:1; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8; 24:11; etc.), sometimes as the chief nucleus of the ethnic group alongside the Hittites (Num. 13:30), so that it also represents the whole complex of the pre-Israelite …
5:2
Circumcision (From Lat. circumcisio, «cutting around»; Gr. περιτομή; Heb. Milāh)
… According to H. Gunkel (Genesis, 1910, p. 269), followed by others, the document J would derive circumcision from the Midianite Zipporah (Ex. 4:34), the document E from Joshua (Jos. 5:2
Gilgal, Gilgala (Heb. Hag-Gilgâl "The Circle")
… various expeditions for the conquest of the land of Canaan (Josh. 7:10). Because of its memories - the dwelling of the Ark, the erection of the monument of the 12 stones carried off from the Jordan, circumcision and the celebration of the Passover (Josh. 5:2-12) - it acquired special importance in the history of Israel. …
5:4
Circumcision (From Lat. circumcisio, «cutting around»; Gr. περιτομή; Heb. Milāh)
From Jos. 5:4-7 we learn that all the males who came out of Egypt and died in the desert were circumcised, but those who were born in the desert remained uncircumcised. …
… in other sources of information, must perhaps be understood as a vast movement of rebellion against Moses, a breaking up of unity into many autonomous groups that went off and dispersed, and together an effective abandonment of religious commitments (Josh. 5:4-7; Amos 5:25-26; Acts 7:42-43; Talmud Yerushalmi, Ta'anith 3, 4), an apostasy.
5:6
Circumcision (From Lat. circumcisio, «cutting around»; Gr. περιτομή; Heb. Milāh)
… there was a suspension of the law by the will of God, perhaps because of the continual infidelities of the people and the severe punishment that followed, whereby, the covenant having been broken, circumcision, which was its sign, lost its meaning (cf. Jos. 5:6). The precept came back into force with Israel's entry into the promised land. …
5:9
Circumcision (From Lat. circumcisio, «cutting around»; Gr. περιτομή; Heb. Milāh)
… On that occasion God said to Joshua: "today I have rolled away from you the reproach of Egypt" (Jos. 5:9): words of difficult interpretation (A. Fernandez, Comm. in Josue, Paris 1938, pp. 74-76), perhaps to be understood in the sense that with the definitive restoration of circumcision …
5:10
The parts of the A. named in the Old Testament are: the Dead Sea (v.) jām ha-'arābhāh, "sea of the A." (Deut. 3:17; 4:49; Josh. 3:16; 12:3; 2 Kings 14:25; Vulgate: "mare solitudinis"), 'arbhāth Jērīhā (Vulgate: "campestria urbis Iericho"; Josh. 4:13; 5:10) and 'arbhāth Mō'āh (Vulg.: "campestria Moab"; Num. 22:1; 26:3, 63; 31:12; 33:48 f.).
Tabernacle (Tent) of Meeting (Hebrew 'Ohel, usually followed by Me'eth: "Tabernacle of Convene")
… 2nd year of the Exodus the T. was erected and consecrated by Moses: the cloud-glory of Jahweh enveloped it, taking possession of it (Ex. 40). The T. followed the Israelites in their vicissitudes from the desert to the Holy Land: at Gilgal (Josh. 4:19; 5:10; 9:6; 10:6 ff. 9:15, 43; 14:6); at Shiloh (ibid. 18:1; 19:51; Judg. 18:31; 21:19; 1 Sam. 1-4; 14:3; Ps. 78:60); at Nob (1 Sam. 21:1); at Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39; 21:29; 2 Chron. 1:3); …
5:11
Unleavened (Greek: ἀζημός, from privative α and ζῆν, «without leaven»; Hebrew: maṣṣāḥ, pl. maṣṣōth)
… (Ex. 12, 15). Passover was called the "feast of unleavened bread" (Ex. 23, 15; 34, 18; Lk. 22, 1) or the "days of unleavened bread" (Mt. 26, 17; Lk. 22, 7; Acts 12, 3; 20, 6). Already at the first Passover celebrated in the land of Palestine (Jos. 5, 11) the use of unleavened bread is observed.
5:14
… between the angel of Yahweh and Yahweh, but later attributed the theophanies to an angel in order to safeguard the transcendence of God), B. Stein, limiting his investigation to the angel of Exodus (Ex. 3, 2; 14, 19; 23, 20-3; 32, 34; Num. 20, 16; Ios. 5, 14; Iud. 2, 1-4; Is. 63, 9; Mal. 2, 17; 3, 1), argues for identity: the angel of Yahweh is the same omnipresent God who emerges from his transcendence to appear and act in a place, …
… The archangel is the head of the celestial militia (Ios. 5:14-15, LXX) and in this sense Michael is called ἀρχιστράτηγος (Slavonic Enoch, 30:10; Epist. …
… the concept that God was the invisible "captain" of the Israelite hosts in numerous wars, especially against the Philistines (cf. 1 Sam. 17:45; 2 Sam. 5:24). Even earlier it was customary to speak of the "armies of the Lord" (cf. Ex. 7:4; 12:41; Josh. 5:14).
5:15
… They performed the sacred functions barefoot, out of respect for the place of the divine presence (cf. Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). The priesthood had distinguished personalities, among them Ezra, Mattathias and the Maccabees, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.
… Holy Scripture speaks of it (Gen. 42:6; 43:26, 28; Jos. 5:15). Thus the Magi venerated the Infant Jesus (Mt. 2:11); thus Jesus himself prayed in the garden (Mt. 26:39); thus the Apocalypse presents the elders in adoration (Apoc. 5:14; …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.