The Meaning of Joshua 5:1 Explained

Joshua 5:1

KJV: 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.

YLT: And it cometh to pass when all the kings of the Amorite which are beyond the Jordan, towards the sea, and all the kings of the Canaanite which are by the sea, hear how that Jehovah hath dried up the waters of the Jordan at the presence of the sons of Israel till their passing over, that their heart is melted, and there hath not been in them any more spirit because of the presence of the sons of Israel.

Darby: And it came to pass when all the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard that Jehovah had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel, until they had passed over, that their heart melted, and there was no spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.

ASV: And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites, that were by the sea, heard how that Jehovah had dried up the waters of the 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.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Joshua 5:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This verse at first might seem more appropriate as a conclusion to the previous chapter. However it explains how the Israelites were able to take several days to perform an operation that rendered them very vulnerable to their enemies militarily. Israel"s foes feared them greatly as a result of the miracle of the Jordan crossing, and they did not attack.
This reference to the Amorites and Canaanites groups all the native tribes together. The people who possessed the South and the mountains of the land were mainly Amorites. Many of them had lived in Transjordan and were the mightiest of the warriors among the tribes. Those who lived in the North, in the lowlands by the Mediterranean Sea, and in the Valley of Jezreel, were mainly Canaanites. The Canaanites were traders rather than warriors. The writer sometimes put all the native people in one or the other of these two groups. This depended on the area in which they lived (South or North, highlands or lowlands) or the general characteristic of the people that occupied most of that area (warlike or peaceful). Reference to the Amorites and Canaanites is probably a merism, a figure of speech in which two extremes represent the whole (e.g, "heaven and earth" means the universe).
"From the human standpoint, if ever there was a time to strike at the Canaanites it was right after the Israelites had gained entrance to the land. Fear had taken hold on the inhabitants of Palestine. But divine plans are not made according to human strategy." [1]

Context Summary

Joshua 5:1-12 - Renewing The Covenant With God
Evidently the people of Canaan realized that they were entering into conflict with God Almighty. This made their bitter resistance less excusable. But before Israel could go forward into the campaign, they must undergo that initial rite which from the days of Abraham had separated them unto God, Genesis 17:1-27. The outbreak at Kadesh had practically annulled that relationship, which now must be renewed, Numbers 14:1-45.
Before we can serve God's high purposes in the world, we must be separated from sin. The old nature must be denied and put away, and the new nature, which is holy, harmless and separate from sin, must become ours. Nothing but death can meet the case, Colossians 2:11; 2 Corinthians 7:1.
The circumcised soul alone may eat of the Passover, which is Christ. We need to feed on Him, keeping the daily feast with joy, 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; John 6:51; John 6:54. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 5

1  The Canaanites are afraid
2  Joshua renews circumcision
10  The Passover is kept at Gilgal
12  manna ceases
13  An angel appears to Joshua

What do the individual words in Joshua 5:1 mean?

So it was when heard all the kings of the Amorites who [were] on the side of the Jordan west and all of the Canaanite who [were] by the sea - that had dried up Yahweh - the waters from before the sons of Israel until - we had crossed over that melted their heart and no there was in them any longer spirit because of the sons of Israel -
וַיְהִ֣י כִשְׁמֹ֣עַ כָּל־ מַלְכֵ֣י הָאֱמֹרִ֡י אֲשֶׁר֩ בְּעֵ֨בֶר הַיַּרְדֵּ֜ן יָ֗מָּה וְכָל־ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־ הַיָּ֔ם אֵ֠ת אֲשֶׁר־ הוֹבִ֨ישׁ יְהוָ֜ה אֶת־ מֵ֧י מִפְּנֵ֥י בְנֵֽי־ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עַד־ [עברנו] (עָבְרָ֑ם) וַיִּמַּ֣ס לְבָבָ֗ם וְלֹא־ הָ֨יָה בָ֥ם עוֹד֙ ר֔וּחַ מִפְּנֵ֖י בְּנֵֽי־ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל ס

וַיְהִ֣י  So  it  was 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
כִשְׁמֹ֣עַ  when  heard 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
מַלְכֵ֣י  the  kings 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
הָאֱמֹרִ֡י  of  the  Amorites 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֱמֹרִי  
Sense: one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt.
אֲשֶׁר֩  who  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּעֵ֨בֶר  on  the  side 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵבֶר  
Sense: region beyond or across, side.
הַיַּרְדֵּ֜ן  of  the  Jordan 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יַרְדֵּן  
Sense: the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approx 200 miles (320 km).
יָ֗מָּה  west 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙  of  the  Canaanite 
Parse: Article, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כִּנְעָן 
Sense: descendant of inhabitant of Canaan n.
אֲשֶׁ֣ר  who  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הַיָּ֔ם  the  sea 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יָם  
Sense: sea.
אֵ֠ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
אֲשֶׁר־  that 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
הוֹבִ֨ישׁ  had  dried  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
יְהוָ֜ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
מֵ֧י  the  waters 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
מִפְּנֵ֥י  from  before 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
בְנֵֽי־  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
עַד־  until 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
[עברנו]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, first person common plural
(עָבְרָ֑ם)  we  had  crossed  over 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine plural
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וַיִּמַּ֣ס  that  melted 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מָסַס  
Sense: to dissolve, melt.
לְבָבָ֗ם  their  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: לֵבָב  
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, soul, understanding.
וְלֹא־  and  no 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הָ֨יָה  there  was 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בָ֥ם  in  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
עוֹד֙  any  longer 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עֹוד  
Sense: a going round, continuance adv.
ר֔וּחַ  spirit 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: רוּחַ  
Sense: wind, breath, mind, spirit.
מִפְּנֵ֖י  because 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
בְּנֵֽי־  of  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל  of  Israel 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation