John Calvin Commentary Joshua 5:11

"And they did eat of the produce of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes and parched grain, in the selfsame day." — Joshua 5:11 (ASV)

And they did eat of the old corn, etc. Whether they then first began to eat wheaten bread is not very clear. For they had lived in a country that was not uncultivated and was tolerably fertile. At least in the territories of the two kings, there was enough corn to supply the inhabitants.

It does not seem reasonable to suppose that the children of Israel allowed the corn they found there to rot and perish by mere waste. And I have no doubt that they ate the flesh that remained from the sacrifices. It is quite possible, therefore, that they did not wholly abstain from wheaten bread and yet did not abandon their accustomed food.

For a country assigned to only a part of the people could not have provided sufficient food for the whole multitude, since there is no doubt a just estimate was made when Moses settled only two and a half tribes there. Therefore, up to that point, the twelve tribes had not found sufficient food, especially since the country had been devastated by war, and the Israelites, who were not safe enough to leave the camp, could not devote their attention to agriculture. The manna was thus necessary to feed them until a more abundant supply was obtained. This took place in the land of Canaan, and then, accordingly, they returned to common food.

But why they deferred it until that day is not known, unless it was because after their wound was healed, some days had to be spent collecting corn, while religion did not permit them to bake bread for fear of breaking the Sabbath. But although that rest was sacred, we gather from the circumstances that they hurried, as the flour must have been previously prepared, since they could not grind it and bake it in a single day.

Be this as it may, the Lord supplied them with provisions as long as their need required it. The sudden failure of the manna, at that very moment, must have provided additional proof of the kindness of God, since it was apparent from this that the manna was a temporary resource, which had descended not so much from the clouds as from a paternal providence.

Moreover, it is clear that this refers to the produce of the previous year, and it is unnecessary to raise any question about it. For it would have implied too much rashness to seize the produce of the current year before it was properly matured, and a whole month would hardly have been enough to collect sufficient supply for such a great multitude. I cannot see why commentators should trouble themselves so much with such a clear matter.