Joshua 9
9
The People of Gibeon Trick the Leaders of Israel
1-2The kings west of the Jordan River heard about Joshua's victories, so they got together and decided to attack Joshua and Israel. These kings were from the hill country and from the foothills to the west, as well as from the Mediterranean seacoast as far north as the Lebanon Mountains. Some of them were Hittites, others were Amorites or Canaanites, and still others were Perizzites, Hivites, or Jebusites.
3The people of Gibeon had also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. 4So they decided that some of their men should pretend to be messengers to Israel from a faraway country.#9.4 So … country: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. The men put worn-out bags on their donkeys and found some old wineskins that had cracked and had been sewn back together. 5Their sandals were old and patched, and their clothes were worn out. They even took along some dry and crumbly bread. 6Then they went to the Israelite camp at Gilgal, where they said to Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a country that is far from here. Please make a peace treaty with us.”
7-8 #
Ex 23.32; 34.12; Dt 7.2. The Israelites replied, “But maybe you really live near us. We can't make a peace treaty with you if you live nearby.”#9.7,8 nearby: See Deuteronomy 20.10-18.
The Gibeonites#9.7,8 Gibeonites: Hebrew “Hivites.” said, “If you make a peace treaty with us, we will be your servants.”
“Who are you?” Joshua asked. “Where do you come from?”
They answered:
9We are your servants, and we live far from here. We came because the Lord your God is so famous. We heard what the Lord did in Egypt 10#Nu 21.21-35. and what he did to those two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan: King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, and King Sihon of Heshbon.
11Our leaders and everyone who lives in our country told us to meet with you and tell you that all of us are your servants. They said to ask you to make a peace treaty with our people. They told us to be sure and take along enough food for our journey. 12See this dry, crumbly bread of ours? It was hot out of the oven when we packed the food on the day we left our homes. 13These cracked wineskins were new when we filled them, and our clothes and sandals are worn out because we have traveled so far.
14The Israelites tried some of the food,#9.14 tried … food: Probably to see if it really was old or to show that they wanted peace. but they did not ask the Lord if he wanted them to make a treaty. 15So Joshua made a peace treaty with the messengers and promised that Israel would not kill their people. Israel's leaders swore that Israel would keep this promise.
16-17A couple of days later,#9.16,17 A couple … later: The Hebrew text has “At the end of three days,” meaning two days after the day the treaty was made. the Israelites found out that these people actually lived in the nearby towns of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim.#9.16,17 Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim: These towns were 30 to 50 kilometers west of the Israelite camp at Gilgal. So the Israelites left the place where they had camped and arrived at the four towns two days later.#9.16,17 A couple of days … later: Or “A couple of days later, the Israelites moved their camp to the area near the towns of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-Jearim. When they arrived, they realized that they had made a peace treaty with the people of these nearby towns!” 18But they did not attack the towns, because the Israelite leaders had sworn in the name of the Lord that they would let these people live.
The Israelites complained about their leaders' decision not to attack, 19-21but the leaders reminded them, “We promised these people in the name of the Lord God of Israel that we would let them live, so we must not harm them. If we break our promise, God will punish us. We'll let them live, but we'll make them cut wood and carry water for our people.”
22Joshua told some of his soldiers, “I want to meet with the Gibeonite leaders. Bring them here.”
When the Gibeonites came, Joshua said, “You live close to us. Why did you lie by claiming you lived far away? 23So now you are under a curse, and from now on your people will have to send workers to cut wood and carry water for the place of worship.”#9.23 the place of worship: The Hebrew text has “God's house,” which at that time was the sacred tent.
24The Gibeonites answered, “The Lord your God told his servant Moses that you were to kill everyone who lives here and take their land for yourselves. We were afraid you would kill us, and so we tricked you into making a peace treaty. But we agreed to be your servants, 25and you are strong enough to do anything to us that you want. We just ask you to do what seems right.”
26Joshua did not let the Israelites kill the Gibeonites, 27but he did tell the Gibeonites that they would have to be servants of the nation of Israel. They would have to cut firewood and bring it for the priests to use for burning sacrifices on the Lord's altar, wherever the Lord decided the altar would be. The Gibeonites would also have to carry water for the priests. And that is still the work of the Gibeonites.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Joshua 9
9
Deception by Gibeon
1When all the kings heard about Jericho and Ai, those who were west of the Jordan in the hill country, # Jos 3:10 in the Judean foothills, # Or the Shephelah and all along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea # Nm 34:6 toward Lebanon — the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — 2they formed a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel.
3When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, # Jos 10:2 4they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions # Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg; other Hb mss read They went disguised as ambassadors and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. 6They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us.” # Jos 5:10
7The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, # = the men of Gibeon “Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you? ” # Ex 23:32; Dt 7:2-5; 20:10-18
8They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” # 2Sm 15:15; 2Kg 10:5
Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from? ”
9They replied to him, “Your servants have come from a far away land because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, 10and all that He did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan — Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. 11So 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 servants. Please make a treaty with us.” ’ 12This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you. But take a look, it is now dry and crumbly. 13These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.” 14Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s counsel. # Ex 17:1; Lv 24:12; Nm 3:16; 9:18; 22:18; 27:21; Dt 1:26; 8:3; Jr 23:16 15So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them. # 2Sm 21:1-2
Gibeon’s Deception Discovered
16Three days after making the treaty with them, they heard that the Gibeonites were their neighbors, living among them. 17So the Israelites set out and reached the Gibeonite cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. # Jos 18:25 18But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath # Ps 15:1-4; Ezk 17:16-20 to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then the whole community grumbled against the leaders.
19All the leaders answered them, “We have sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. 20This is how we will treat them: we will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.” 21They also said, “Let them live.” So the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water carriers # Dt 29:11 for the whole community, as the leaders had promised them.
22Joshua 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? 23Therefore you are cursed and will always be slaves — woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24The Gibeonites answered him, “It was clearly communicated to your servants that the Lord your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. We greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. # Jos 10:2 25Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever you think is right.” # Lit us as is good and as is right in your eyes do # Gn 16:6; Jr 26:14; 38:5 26This is what Joshua did to them: he delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers — as they are today — for the community and for the Lord’s altar at the place He would choose. # Dt 12:5
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