Joshua 5 11

Joshua 5:11 kjv

And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

Joshua 5:11 nkjv

And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.

Joshua 5:11 niv

The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.

Joshua 5:11 esv

And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.

Joshua 5:11 nlt

The very next day they began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the land.

Joshua 5 verses

Joshua 5 11 Meaning

Joshua 5:11 signifies a pivotal moment in Israel's history, marking the end of the miraculous manna provision and the commencement of God's covenant blessing through the abundance of the Promised Land. Immediately following the circumcision at Gilgal and the observance of Passover, the Israelites consumed the produce of Canaan for the first time. This act demonstrated God's faithfulness in bringing them into the land and providing for them through its harvest, emphasizing a new stage of provision and their dependence on His blessing upon the land rather than daily miraculous food. The timing, "on the morrow after the Passover," links this new sustenance directly to their spiritual purification and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, symbolizing a fresh start in a holy land.

Joshua 5 11 Context

Joshua chapter 5 is a deeply symbolic and significant passage, preceding Israel's major conquest of Jericho. After forty years of wandering, the Israelites who crossed the Jordan River were consecrated in Gilgal. This involved two crucial acts: first, the mass circumcision of all males born in the wilderness, renewing their covenant with God (Josh 5:2-9). Second, the observance of Passover (Josh 5:10). This verse, Joshua 5:11, describes the immediate aftermath of this Passover, signifying a pivotal transition. For the first time, Israel consumed the actual produce of the land they had entered, specifically "old corn" (grain from the previous harvest), unleavened cakes, and parched corn. This consumption marks a definite end to their sole reliance on the miraculous manna (which would cease the very next day, Josh 5:12) and indicates their active inheritance of God's promised abundance. It firmly establishes their presence as the rightful inheritors of Canaan, being fed directly from its bounty, and confirms God's faithfulness to His promises made to their ancestors. This entire sequence – circumcision, Passover, and partaking of the land’s fruit – symbolizes purification, deliverance, and a new life under God’s direct blessing in the Promised Land.

Joshua 5 11 Word Analysis

• And they did eat (וַיֹּאכְלוּ, wayyo'kělû): A simple Hebrew waw-consecutive perfect, indicating a sequential action immediately following the previous verse's event (Passover observance). It signifies a definite, completed action: they actually consumed the produce. This marked a significant change from their previous diet of manna.

• of the old corn (מֵעֲבוּר הָאָרֶץ, mē'abūr hā'āreṣ):

  • Old corn (עֲבוּר, 'abūr): This term refers to harvested grain or produce from the land. It typically denotes crops from the previous season, indicating that the land of Canaan was already cultivated and abundant, with existing stores available to the Israelites immediately upon entry. This wasn't food they had cultivated themselves yet, but an immediate gift of God's provision from the settled land, reinforcing that God was giving them a land they did not toil for. It includes grains like wheat and barley, foundational crops of the ancient Near East, not the modern maize.
  • of the land (הָאָרֶץ, hā'āreṣ): Specifically the Promised Land, Canaan. This phrase underscores the fulfillment of God's long-standing promise to provide a fertile land (Exod 3:8; Deut 6:10-11). It highlights God's sovereignty over the land and its productivity, directly challenging pagan beliefs in local fertility gods by demonstrating that the one true God provides for His people from this land.

• on the morrow after the passover (מִמָּחֳרַת הַפֶּסַח, mimmoḥŏrat happesaḥ):

  • Morrow after (מִמָּחֳרַת, mimmoḥŏrat): Pinpoints the exact day. The day after Passover is the 15th of Nisan, which also marked the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to Leviticus 23:10-14, this was also the day for the waving of the firstfruits sheaf (the 'omer), symbolizing the dedication of the harvest to God. By partaking of the land's produce on this specific day, Israel was, in effect, performing a "firstfruits" act in their new dwelling, acknowledging God as the source of their new sustenance.
  • Passover (הַפֶּסַח, happesaḥ): This refers to the specific festival commemorating God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exod 12). Its observance prior to eating the land's produce underscores themes of redemption, sanctification, and preparedness for a new phase of covenant life and blessing.

• unleavened cakes (מַצּוֹת, maṣṣôṯ): This is matzoh in Hebrew, flat bread made without yeast. It is central to the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Pesach) which immediately follows Passover (Exod 12:15). Symbolically, it represents the haste of their departure from Egypt and spiritual purity (absence of 'leaven' often symbolizing sin or corruption, 1 Cor 5:7-8). Eating these from the land's produce for the first time marks a new spiritual and physical sustenance in their consecrated state.

• and parched corn (וְקָלוּי, wĕqālûy): Roasted or parched grain kernels. This was a common, simple, and quick food source in the ancient world, often made from newly harvested (or previously harvested and dried) grain. It highlights the immediacy and natural abundance of the land's provisions, available even without full agricultural processing. This likely refers to grains that were harvested recently from the fields surrounding Gilgal and quickly prepared.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Eat of the old corn of the land": This phrase encapsulates the radical shift in God's provision. No longer dependent on miraculous aerial sustenance (manna), but on the tangible, earthly produce given directly from the Promised Land, signifying a more normalized existence under God's established blessings. This also serves as an indirect polemic against local pagan fertility cults; it is the LORD who provides from this land, not Canaanite deities.
  • "on the morrow after the passover": This precise temporal marker signifies continuity of God's work, linking redemption (Passover) directly to entering into the blessings of the land. It also implicitly connects to the Feast of Firstfruits, positioning Israel's first meal in the land as an act of dedicated possession.
  • "unleavened cakes, and parched corn": These items are simple, foundational foods. Their consumption highlights that Israel did not require elaborate preparations but found immediate and sufficient provision in the land God provided, confirming its 'flowing with milk and honey' reality from day one of permanent settlement.

Joshua 5 11 Bonus Section

• Fulfilled Prophecy and Patience: This verse signifies the long-awaited fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would inherit a land (Gen 15:7, 18). After 40 years of wandering, this meal solidified their rightful claim and the reality of God's patience and faithfulness.
• A New Beginning (New Harvest): While the specific produce was "old corn" (from previous harvest), this act of eating from the land for the very first time represents their first intake of the land's provisions. Spiritually, it's their "first fruits" of a new era of their journey with God, marking their entrance into the covenant blessings.
• Shift in Relationship with God's Provision: Prior to this, God's provision was supernatural and independent of their effort (manna). Now, provision shifts to a pattern requiring cooperation with God's design for the land – laboring, sowing, reaping, and trusting Him for rain and fertile ground (Deut 11:10-12). This represents a transition from a child-like, entirely passive reception to a more mature, partnership-based reliance on God's blessings on their obedient work.
• Preparation for Conquest: Being fed by the land itself prepared Israel both physically and psychologically for the upcoming battles. It affirmed that they belonged to the land and that the land was theirs to conquer, as God had already granted them its very sustenance.

Joshua 5 11 Commentary

Joshua 5:11 stands as a powerful testimony to God's unfailing faithfulness and His meticulously planned provision for His people. This single meal of "old corn of the land," "unleavened cakes," and "parched corn" consumed by the Israelites immediately after their Passover observance at Gilgal encapsulates the culmination of the exodus journey and the beginning of life in the Promised Land. It directly signifies the transition from the miraculous wilderness diet of manna, which had sustained them for forty years, to a new era of covenant blessing, where God would provide for them through the natural abundance of the land He had given them. The cessation of manna (Josh 5:12) directly after this meal reinforces that this was not merely supplementary food, but a divinely ordained replacement, marking their shift from direct supernatural feeding to provision through God's blessing on their agricultural labor in the promised land.

The timing "on the morrow after the Passover" is immensely significant. Passover commemorated deliverance and purification from Egypt; this new meal connects their liberation directly to their sustenance in the land of freedom. This day also initiated the Feast of Unleavened Bread, symbolizing their holy separation unto God. Partaking of the land's bounty in the form of unleavened cakes (purity) and parched corn (ready, natural provision) on this sacred occasion underscores Israel's newly established status as God's covenant people now fully residing in their inheritance, living under His direct and immediate blessing, proving His Word reliable and complete. It emphasizes that divine provision comes both miraculously in barrenness and through natural blessings in abundance, always in accord with His divine timing and covenant promises.