Joshua 5:1

Amorites] represent, roughly speaking, the inhabitants of the highland districts. Canaanites] = 'lowlanders,' in the specialised sense, the dwellers on the maritime plain. Until we were passed over] RM 'until they were passed over.' It was always thus read by the Jews.

2-9. Renewal of the Rite of Circumcision. This was necessary, because all those who had come out of Egypt already circumcised (except, of course, Joshua and Caleb) had died in the wilderness; while the new generation of males had not been circumcised by the way (Joshua 5:7). This omission of the rite was of course not necessitated by the journeyings, which were certainly not continuous. It was more probably a deliberate disciplinary regulation, as a sign of the broken covenant: see prefatory remarks.