Circumcision

No circumcision in the desert

Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said unto Joshua, Make thee sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

Joshua 5:3 And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.

Joshua 5:4 And this [is] the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, [that were] males, [even] all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt.

Joshua 5:5 Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had not circumcised.

Joshua 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people [that were] men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

Joshua 5:7 And their children, [whom] he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way.

So why is it that these people who dwelled in the desert did not circumcise their children? Verse 5 states that all the people coming up out of Egypt were in fact circumcised, but the children of those that came up were not. Essentially this means that for 400 years of slavery and suppression in Egypt, circumcision is upheld, but now that they are freed from oppression they discontinue simply because they are dwelling in the desert? And then just because they cross the Jordan, they all off a sudden are able to make sharp knives and circumcise again?

Joshua 5:5 Now all the people בן (H1121 - ben - children) ישְׂראל (H4378 - Yahshael) that came out were circumcised: but all the people גוי (H1471 - gôy - ) מלחמה (H4421 - milḥāmâ - wage war/fight/battle) [that were] born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, [them] they had not circumcised.

Note how:

• The first "all the people" mentioned in verse 5 refers to "Ben Yahshael", meaning the "the children of Yahshael", which refers to these specific group of people.
• The second "all the people" mentioned in verse 5 refers to "goy milhama", meaning general "nations". Examples of this word "goy" to understand it better:
  • Gen 10:5 - By these were the isles of the Gentiles (H1471 - goy) divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations (H1471 - goy)
  • Gen 12:2 - And I will make of thee a great nation (H1471 - goy) and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
  • Gen15:14 - And also that nation (H1471 - goy) whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
  • Gen17:4 - As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations (H1471 - goy)

We know that the one group referred to here is the one that came out of Egypt. These were circumcised and are referred to as "Ben Yashael", i.e. "sons of Yashael", meaning the sons of Jacob. The other group, which is not a foreign or different group, but the children of the first group, are not referred to as "Ben Yashael" but simply as "goy", which could be any group of people, i.e. they are general people.

There is however another word following the "goy" which I think acts like an adjective describing the type of "goy". It is the word "milhama" H4421 which is simply abandoned in this KJV. Let's quickly look at other versions for a different perspective on the translation.