Joshua 9
9
Gibeonites Connive a Treaty
1Now when all the kings who were west of the Jordan, in the hill country, in the lowland and along the shore of the Great Sea to the vicinity of Lebanon—the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—heard about it,
2they gathered themselves together as a unified alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel.
3But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
4they acted craftily. They went and traveled as ambassadors, took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and worn-out wine skins, cracked and patched up,
5along with worn-out, patched up sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes on them. All the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbly.
6Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. So now, make a treaty-covenant with us.”
7Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites: “Perhaps you are living among us. How then should we make a covenant with you?”
8But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
9So they replied to him: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the Name of Adonai your God. For we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt,
10and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to King Sihon of Heshbon and to King Og of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, go to meet them and say to them: “We will be your subjects, so now make a treaty-covenant with us.’”
12This is our bread, which was hot when we took it for our provision from our homes on the day we left to come to you, but now behold, it is dry and crumbly.
13And these wineskins, which we were new when we filled them, but now see, they are cracked. Also these our garments and our sandals are worn-out because of the very long journey.”
14So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not seek counsel from Adonai’s mouth.
15So Joshua made peace with them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore to them.
16But it came about at the end of three days after they had cut a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors, and were living among them.
17So Bnei-Yisrael journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
18But Bnei-Yisrael did not strike them, because the leaders of the community had sworn to them by Adonai, God of Israel. Then the entire community murmured against the leaders,
19but all the leaders answered the entire community, “We have sworn to them by Adonai, God of Israel, so now we cannot touch them.
20This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.”
21“Yes, let them live,” the leaders said further, “but let them chop wood and draw water for the entire community.” So the leaders decreed concerning them.
22Then Joshua summoned them and he spoke to them saying: “Why have you deceived us saying: ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are living among us?
23Now therefore, you are cursed, and you will never cease to be servants, wood-choppers and water-carriers for the House of my God.”
24So they answered Joshua and said: “It was because your servants were clearly told that Adonai your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you. So we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and so we did this.
25Now behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your eyes to do to us, do.”
26Thus he did to them, delivering them from the hand of Bnei-Yisrael, so they did not slay them.
27 On that day Joshua made them wood-choppers and water-carriers for the community, and for the altar of Adonai in the place which He would choose. So it is to this day.
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Joshua 9: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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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