When Were the Israelites Circumcised Before Entering Canaan?

Joshua 5:1-5

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 sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their heart melted, neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, Make you sharp knives, and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time.

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

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.

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.

It is a certainty that the generation of Israelites who departed from Egypt were circumcised, although the practice was subsequently neglected for those born during the forty years of wandering, necessitating the reintroduction of the rite in Joshua 5:1-5.

The scriptures make a clear distinction: all the people who came out of Egypt were circumcised, but those born in the wilderness were not circumcised, which is why Joshua performed the rite upon them "the second time" Joshua 5:5+1.

Circumcision Before the Wilderness

The obligation to perform circumcision existed long before the Exodus, having been instituted as the sign of the everlasting covenant God made with Abraham Genesis 17:7+1.

• Moses' Experience: The extreme importance of this covenant sign was underscored immediately before the Exodus. While Moses was traveling from Midian to Egypt, the Lord met him and sought to kill him because he had neglected to circumcise his youngest son Exodus 4:24. Yielding to his wife Zipporah’s wishes to postpone the ceremony had placed him in danger, demonstrating that his life would not be secure while he was living in neglect of God's positive command Exodus 4:25-263SG 195.2.

• The Passover Requirement: The Passover, instituted just before the departure from Egypt, included a strict ordinance stating that if a stranger wished to keep the Passover, all his males must be circumcised, and explicitly stating that no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof Exodus 12:48. This confirms that the Israelite males themselves must have been circumcised to observe the very first Passover, marking them as the recipients of the deliverance from the "iron furnace" of Egypt Exodus 12:43-51+1.

The Neglect in the Wilderness

The mass circumcision recorded in Joshua 5 was required because the children of Israel born during the journey had failed to receive the sign of the covenant.

• Reason for Neglect: The generation of fighting men who left Egypt failed in faith at Kadesh-Barnea, rejecting God and being sentenced to wander and die in the wilderness Numbers 14:29-34+1. Because they had proved unfaithful to His covenant, this generation was refused the opportunity to perform the sign of the covenant, the rite of circumcision, during that penal forty-year periodEP 285.1+1.

• The Second Circumcision: When the years of rejection were finally ended, and the new generation was ready to enter the Promised Land, the Lord instructed Joshua to renew the ordinance Joshua 5:2-7. This action restored the sign of the covenant and served as a declaration by God that the "reproach of Egypt," which had clung to them due to their unbelief, was rolled away Joshua 5:9EP 344.4+1.

While the practice of circumcision was neglected during the forty years of wandering in the desert, the foundation of the covenant established with Abraham ensured that the rite was solemnly restored before Israel could fully claim their inheritance in Canaan Genesis 17:8+1.