Josué 5:9 Commentaire : Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi & Metzudat David

“And the Lord said to Joshua” [5:9]. The Holy One said to Joshua: today I will remove the disgrace of Egypt. The Egyptians said that an evil star appeared in the desert over Israel. That is to say, the Egyptians said that the Israelites should not go into the desert because of the star. It showed that the Israelites would be killed because of the [golden] Calf. However, the Holy One reversed the star over the blood of circumcision. That is to say, Israelite blood was shed through the circumcision. It was for good that they were injured. Therefore, the Holy One said that the disgrace that the Egyptians said that a bloody star is over Israel, would be removed through the circumcision. The Egyptians would say that the blood of the star means the blood of the circumcision. That is, the Israelites should have been killed because of the [Golden] Calf, since there was illicit sex at the incident of the [Golden] Calf, as the verse says, “they rose to revel” [Exodus, 32:6]. Rashi interprets it as, they engaged in illicit sex. However, now that the Israelites had been circumcised, they no longer went after illicit sex. The sin of the [Golden] Calf, that is illicit sexual relations, had been removed through the circumcision.⁵Rashi, Joshua, 5:9; Yalkut Shimoni, Joshua, Remez, 15.

I have removed. (Lit. I have rolled) I have removed the ridicule of the Egyptians who had said [when they were leaving], “See that ‘Raah’ is before you.⁷Shemos, 10:10. There is a star named Raah, which is a symbol of blood. We see it overpowering you in the wilderness.”⁸The Egyptians intimated that Bnei Yisroel would meet with disaster if they left Egypt because they would be under the power of the star of blood. This is what Moshe referred to in the wilderness [when he said,] “Why should the Egptians speak, saying, ‘With Raah, He took them out.’” But they did not know that [the blood they saw] was the blood of circumcision. And now when they were circumcised in the days of Yehoshua, and the blood of circumcision appeared, that ridicule was removed; for the mixed multitude that went up with them [from Egypt] were still taunting them. This is the way R’ Moshe, Ha Darshan explained [this passage.]

Now I am lifting from on you what the mitzrim shamed you with saying: aren't they uncircumcised like us. And it will be considered a disgrace to the jews like it says: Because she is an embarrassment to us.

I have removed. [Lit. I have rolled] This is similar to: ‘Remove from me humiliation and contempt;’⁹Tehillim 119:22. ‘and he rolled off the stone.’¹⁰Bereishis 29:10.