Joshua 9

Joshua 9:1 When all the kings heard about Jericho and Ai, those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, in the Judean foothills, and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon – the Hethites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites – 

Joshua 9:2 they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel.

Joshua 9:3 When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

Joshua 9:4 they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

Joshua 9:5 They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly.

Joshua 9:6 They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a faraway land. Please make a treaty with us.”

Joshua 9:7 The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, “What if you actually live among us? How could we make a treaty with you?”

Joshua 9:8 They said to Joshua, “We are your slaves.” Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

Joshua 9:9 They replied to him, “Your slaves have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of Yahveh, your God. You see, we have heard news about him and all that he did in Egypt,

Joshua 9:10 and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan –  King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.

Joshua 9:11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your slaves. Please make a treaty with us.”‘

Joshua 9:12 This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly.

Joshua 9:13 These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.”

Joshua 9:14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions but did not seek Yahveh’s decision.

Joshua 9:15 So Joshua established a relationship with them and made a treaty to allow them to stay alive, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.

Joshua 9:16 Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them.

Joshua 9:17 So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

Joshua 9:18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them by Yahveh, the God of Israel. Then, the whole community grumbled against the leaders.

Joshua 9:19 All the leaders answered them, “We have sworn an oath to them by Yahveh, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.

Joshua 9:20 This is how we will treat them: we will let them stay alive so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”

Joshua 9:21 They also said, “Let them stay alive.” So, as the leaders had promised, the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community.

Joshua 9:22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?

Joshua 9:23 Therefore you are cursed and will always be slaves – woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

Joshua 9:24 The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly reported to your slaves that Yahveh, your God, had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to annihilate all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.

Joshua 9:25 Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is right.”

Joshua 9:26 This is what Joshua did to them: he rescued them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them.

Joshua 9:27 On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers – as they are today – for the community and for Yahveh’s altar at the place he would choose.

Joshua 9 quotes:

” A new phase of possessing the land begins here, and conquering the hill country is the next challenge for possessing the land. The narrator tells of independent ethnic enclaves who plot war against the tribal threat (9:1). These ethnic groups live in the hill country, in the western foothills (Shephelah), and along the coast of the Mediterranean, or Great Sea, as far north as Lebanon. The narrator tells readers that the nations in Canaan came together to make war against Joshua and Israel (9:2).”

Harris J. Gordon et al. Joshua Judges Ruth. Hendrickson Publishers ; Paternoster Press 2000. p. 61.

“The biblical narrator wants the reader to know that this ruse tricked the Israelites but not their God. Had they inquired of God, they would have learned of the deceit that targeted them (9:14).”

Lyles, Ron, et al. Joshua and Judges. 1st ed, Baptistway Press, 2005. p. 53.

“This chapter tells how the people of Gibeon, a city some 11 kilometers southwest of Ai, tricked the Israelites into making a treaty with them. Their plan worked, and even when the Israelites discovered that they had been deceived they could not kill them; the treaty was binding, and all the Israelites could do was to subject them to the status of slavery, a condition which was still in force when the account was written.”

Bratcher Robert G and Barclay Moon Newman. A Handbook on the Book of Joshua. United Bible Societies 1992. p. 123.

Joshua 9 links:

Maranatha Daily Devotional – October 10, 2015
Maranatha Daily Devotional – October 11, 2015
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Thursday, June 20, 2019
missions and common sense

The JOSHUA shelf in Jeff’s library