And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole.
When they had done circumcising all the people. No mention is made of the two tribes and a half east of the Jordan; but it may be that the rite was performed among them at the same time. Since the number of those born in the wilderness and uncircumcised must have been immense, a difficulty is apt to be felt how the rite could have been performed on such a multitude in so short a time. But it has been calculated that the proportion between those already circumcised (under twenty, when the doom was pronounced), and those to be circumcised, was one to four, and consequently, from so great a number of persons being free to operate, the whole ceremony could easily have been performed in a day. Keil calculates that, among the million of males who entered Canaan, 338,000 must have been under 20 years of age, and were consequently circumcised ('Commentary on Joshua,' p. 139). Circumcision being the sign and seal of the covenant, its performance was virtually an infeoffment in the promised land; and its being delayed until their actual entrance into the country was a wise and gracious act on the part of God, who postponed this trying duty until the hearts of the people, animated by the recent astonishing miracle, were prepared to obey the divine will, which was the condition on which alone the terms of the national covenant would be fulfilled.
They abode in their places in the camp until they were whole. That would be several days (see the note at Genesis 34:25; Genesis 34:29). It is calculated that, of those who did not need to be circumcised, more than 50,000 were left to defend the camp, if an attack had been then made upon it.