Joshua 5 : 13, What's the Meaning of the Captain of the Host of the Lord?
1) Direct Answer
“The Captain of the host of the LORD” in Joshua 5:13–15 is the LORD Himself appearing in a man-form—the pre-incarnate Christ—coming as the Commander of Heaven’s armies to take charge of Israel’s battles.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Joshua falls on his face and worships Him, and He accepts it and says, “Loose thy shoe… for the place whereon thou standest is holy” (Joshua 5:14–15). That matches the burning bush where the LORD said the ground was holy (Exodus 3:5). Created angels do not accept worship (Revelation 22:8–9), but this One does, which shows He is God.
- He appears with a drawn sword (Joshua 5:13), like the One who judges by the sword of His mouth (Revelation 19:11–15; Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17).
- He comes as Captain—just as Jesus is called the “Captain of our salvation” (Hebrews 2:10). The same LORD who led Israel now leads His people to victory by His Word.
- The “host of the LORD” are His armies—both the heavenly host and His covenant people on earth (see Exodus 12:41; Psalm 103:20–21). He is supreme over both.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- If this were a mere angel, he would refuse worship, but he receives it and declares the ground holy—so this is the LORD.
- Joshua asks, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” The answer is higher: “Nay; but as Captain of the host of the LORD am I now come.” In other words, the question isn’t whether God is on our side; the issue is whether we are under His command.
- The drawn sword shows the battle is the Lord’s; victory comes by exact obedience to His Word—just like Jericho fell when Israel followed His instruction.
4) Reinforcing Statement
It’s not three Gods. The one God, who later was manifested in flesh as Jesus Christ, stood before Joshua as the Captain of the LORD’s host. He still leads His people today, and every wall falls when we stand under His command.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
The Queen of Sheba
60-0401E §1
...nd now there is a Bible published which is his translation. When I spoke to him yesterday, he said to me, "I would like to meet Brother Branham because I have heard so much of him." To my surprise he told me a few things that I've asked him to tell you himself, tonight, about the Word and about visions. This morning Dr. Lamsa, Brother Branham, and a few of us had breakfast together. And you know, I never saw two men that were more like two long-lost brothers that had found each other and understand each other. When...
Show us the Father
54-0811 §33
Look what He said. Here's a good thought. He told Joshua ... or, not Joshua, but Moses, "I have given you Palestine; it's yours." And it was all walled up and fortified with Philistines and big walls around it, but I've give it to you. It's yours; now go take it. There's the idea. Go take it. Divine healing's yours; go take it. It's fortified up with doctors' belief, and agnostics' belief, and everything else, but go take it. God said it's yours. Amen. The Holy Ghost is yours; go take it. Your pastor don't believe...
Blind Bartimaeus
59-0408 §22
Blind Bartimaeus said, "If I could've only been sitting at this gate when that Chief Captain of the host of the Lord would've been standing there, I would've got my healing. If I'd just knowed that His presence was there." Little did he know, that less that two hundred yards from him right then come that same Captain, the Lord Jesus, the Captain of the host of the Lord. Then, all of a sudden, there was a noise. Isn't it most unusual, that where Jesus is, there's usually a lot of noise. And we hear them coming out t...
And thy Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies
61-0212E §46
When Moses was trapped in this place here, now, he's right in the line of duty, right in the line of duty. God led him right down there. What's he going to do? The Red Sea, a trap set exactly. But Moses just marched forward on. One writer, I believe, said that God looked down through that pillar of fire with angry eyes, looked down at that Red Sea that was trying to cut off his children in the line of duty. And said the sea got scared, and rolled back, and just made a path for them. Well, if He could look through a...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-121
...which means the laity. Nicolaitane means, "to conquer the laity". Now why is this such a terrible thing? It is terrible because God has never placed His church in the hands of an elected leadership which moves with political mindedness. He has placed His church in the care of God-ordained, Spirit-filled, Word-living men who lead the people through feeding them the Word. He has not separated the people into classes so that the masses are led by a holy priesthood. It is true that the leadership must be holy, but then...