The Strong, Silent, Shoeless Josh

Joshua Chapter Five, the Strange and the Spectacular

Vital Stats:

Verses: 15

Is It Read At Synagogue?: Yes, for the most part. All but the first verse is the most prominent section of the Haftarah for the first day of Passover.

Famous Quotes/Phrases: In the final verse, Joshua is told by a stranger, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy,” an almost word-for-word repetition of one of the first things God tells Moses at the Burning Bush. Joshua’s encounter with the stranger is worthy of a deeper dive below.

Basic Plot: This chapter touches on several different aspects of the Israelites’ preparation to attack Jericho. The first is found in the initial verse, as the kings of the peoples currently living in Canaan are told that the waters of the Jordan River had split for the Israelites. The kings despair at this news, sensing that it won’t be long before the Israelites attack. The next section describes the need for the Israelites to be circumcised for a second time, followed by Joshua’s declaration that their disgrace of slavery has been removed. The Israelites begin to eat the produce of the Promised Land, so God ceases to provide them with manna. The chapter concludes with the aforementioned anecdote of Joshua and the stranger.

What’s Strange: Why in the world would the Israelites require a second circumcision? The way the text describes it, the generation entering the Promised Land had been born during the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, and for whatever reason, these newborn males hadn’t been circumcised. (Perhaps the constant wandering prevented time for adequate care and recovery? The text doesn’t specify.) But the Talmudic tractate of Yevamot suggests a different explanation: The original commandment of circumcision, initially told to Abraham, is not as comprehensive a procedure as what God eventually expects the Israelites to perform, and so the generation under Joshua’s leadership needs to undergo a second procedure so the men may have a more complete brit milah. Personally, the first explanation sounds more plausible; why would God have commanded Abraham to undergo and perform incomplete circumcisions?

What’s Spectacular: The episode of Joshua and the stranger feels both familiar and unique. The Hebrew Bible introduces numerous unnamed characters that briefly appear to play a pivotal role in a story; the stranger that wrestles with Jacob and the man who directs Joseph to his brothers are two that come to mind. What’s more, this stranger, according to Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, is a divine being representing God, which is another common trope in the Tanakh.

But what’s different is that this episode feels like a footnote to the rest of the narrative. Unlike Moses, whose experience at the Burning Bush is central to our understanding of his state of mind upon assuming the leadership of the Israelites, Joshua merely does what the stranger says and that’s it. The fact that both Joshua and Moses are asked to remove their shoes feels like a forced way to connect the characters’ experiences.

Maybe the reason why we have this passage is to reinforce the differences between Moses and Joshua. Whereas Moses frequently doubts himself and is sometimes reluctant to assert himself, Joshua is, at least so far, a pro-active leader. Whereas Moses wears his heart on his sleeve, Joshua appears to be the strong, silent type. And while Joshua is expected to follow in Moses’ footsteps, perhaps this story tells us that when it comes to new leadership transitions, it helps to have someone who’s just a little different than the one before.

Shabbat Shalom!