Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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 swore that he would not show them the land, which the LORD swore unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
6. forty years ] See Num 14:33; Deu 1:3; Deu 2:7; Deu 2:14.
a land that floweth with milk and honey ] For this expression compare Exo 3:8; Exo 3:17; Exo 13:5; Lev 20:24; Num 13:27; Num 16:14; Deu 6:3. “Milk and honey are productions of a land rich in grass and flowers. Both articles were abundantly produced in Canaan, even in a state of devastation. Milk, eaten partly sweet and partly curdled, that of cows as well as of goats and sheep (Deu 32:14), was prominent in the diet of the ancient Hebrews, as in that of the Orientals of the present day. The land yielded great quantities of honey also, especially that from wild bees (Jdg 14:8; 1Sa 14:26; Mat 3:4), and still yields it in its wasted condition.” Keil.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
All the people; the Hebrew word commonly signifies the Gentiles; so he calls them, to note that they were unworthy of the name and privileges of Israelites.
He would not show them, i.e. not give them so much as a sight of it, which he granted to Moses, much less the possession and enjoyment of it. Or showing is put for giving, as it is Psa 4:6; 60:3; Ecc 2:24.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness,…. Wanting a few days, the round number is given: not forty two, as the Septuagint version:
till all the people [that were] men of war, which came out of Egypt,
were consumed; all that were above twenty years of age, excepting Joshua and Caleb:
because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord; but murmured against him, and against his servants, and particularly against Aaron, being the high priest; and chiefly because of the report of the spies, and their murmurs then, which so incensed the Lord against them, that he threatened them with an entire consumption of their carcasses, and which accordingly was fulfilled, to which the following clause refers:
unto whom the Lord sware, that he would not show them the land which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey; see Nu 14:23.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) Us.The first person is used here as in Jos. 4:23; Jos. 5:7. The whole passage from Jos. 4:22 to Jos. 5:6 seems intended to be the reply of the fathers to the children.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Forty years in the wilderness This verse assigns the reason why circumcision had not been performed, namely, their disobedience and punishment. As the sentence of exclusion from the favour of Jehovah had now expired, the nation is again admitted to the privilege of using the sign of his covenant. While in exile they were the objects of his care, and even of his supernatural providence, but not of his approval, just as sinners under the Gospel dispensation enjoy the bounty of God, but not the covenant of his pardoning grace.
Till all the people were consumed The word for people is that which is always used to designate a heathen nation, a Gentile race, in distinction from the peculiar people, Israel. This confirms the explanation that Israel was excluded from covenant relations during the forty years’ wandering.
The Lord sware that he would not show them the land That is, cause them to see, and hence to enter and enjoy, the land.
A land that floweth with milk and honey This phrase represents the great fertility and loveliness of the Land of Promise; it was a land rich in grass for herds, hence there was an abundance of milk; it was profuse in flowers, hence bees and wild honey were very plentiful, (Jdg 14:8; Mat 3:4,) and they still are found, in spite of the lack of cultivation and the desolation of Palestine. Milk and its various products constituted the chief sustenance of the ancient Hebrews. In Palestine the bees do actually deposit honey in the holes of the rocks in so great quantities that it flows out and is gathered in vessels placed beneath.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed because they did not obey the voice of YHWH, to whom YHWH swore that he would not let them see the land which YHWH swore to their fathers that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
This is to explain the situation for those unaware of it. All who were over twenty years old at the first abortive entry into Canaan thirty eight years before, had been sentenced to die in the wilderness, with one or two notable exceptions (Num 14:28-35). This was because of their disobedience on that occasion, and their refusal to enter the land of Canaan when God told them to. Thus He had sworn that they would not see the land which had been promised to them when they left Egypt (Num 14:23). ‘Milk and honey’ represented staple foods and sweetness, a sign of the desirability of the land. But it was only a desirable land when it had sufficient rain. Thus its desirability depended on God’s provision.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 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.
Ver. 6. For the children of Israel walked forty years. ] This way and that way, backward and forward, as if they were treading a maze; and this, for the punishment of their revolt. Num 14:33
With milk and honey.
For they were uncircumcised. Who yet, together with the circumcised, were brought by Joshua into the promised land: so are both sorts by Jesus into the kingdom of heaven. See Eph 2:14 Col 3:11 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
People = nation. Some codices, with two early printed editions, read “generation”,
obeyed not = hearkened not unto.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
walked: Num 14:32-34, Deu 1:3, Deu 2:7, Deu 2:14, Deu 8:4, Psa 95:10, Psa 95:11, Jer 2:2
sware that: Num 14:23, Heb 3:11
a land: Exo 3:8, Exo 3:17, Eze 20:6, Eze 20:15, Joe 3:18
Reciprocal: Gen 27:28 – plenty Gen 34:25 – sore Exo 33:3 – a land Num 13:27 – General Deu 27:3 – a land Jos 24:7 – ye dwelt Jdg 11:16 – walked Heb 3:9 – forty
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 5:6. Till all the people were consumed All the six hundred thousand fighting men that came out of Egypt, except Joshua and Caleb. The Hebrew word , hagoi, here rendered people, commonly signifies the Gentiles, and some have thought it is here used to signify that they were unworthy the name of Israelites. That he would not show them the land That is, would not give them so much as the sight of it, which he granted to Moses, much less the possession.