1And it cometh to pass, when all the kings who are beyond the Jordan, in the hill-country, and in the low-country, and in every haven of the great sea, over-against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, hear -- 2that they gather themselves together to fight with Joshua, and with Israel -- one mouth. 3And the inhabitants of Gibeon have heard that which Joshua hath done to Jericho and to Ai, 4and they work, even they, with subtilty, and go, and feign to be ambassadors, and take old sacks for their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up, 5and sandals, old and patched, on their feet, and old garments upon them, and all the bread of their provision is dry -- it was crumbs. 6And they go unto Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal, and say unto him, and unto the men of Israel, "From a land far off we have come, and now, make with us a covenant;" 7and the men of Israel say unto the Hivite, "It may be in our midst ye are dwelling, and how do we make with thee a covenant?" 8and they say unto Joshua, "Thy servants we are." And Joshua saith unto them, "Who are ye? and whence come ye?" 9And they say unto him, "From a land very far off have thy servants come, for the name of Jehovah thy God, for we have heard His fame, and all that He hath done in Egypt, 10and all that He hath done to the two kings of the Amorite who are beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who is in Ashtaroth. 11"And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land speak unto us, saying, Take in your hand provision for the way, and go to meet them, and ye have said unto them, Your servants we are, and now, make with us a covenant; 12this our bread -- hot we provided ourselves with it out of our houses, on the day of our coming out to go unto you, and now, lo, it is dry, and hath been crumbs; 13and these are the wine-bottles which we filled, new, and lo, they have rent; and these, our garments and our sandals, have become old, from the exceeding greatness of the way." 14And the men take of their provision, and the mouth of Jehovah have not asked; 15and Joshua maketh with them peace, and maketh with them a covenant, to keep them alive; and swear to them do the princes of the company. 16And it cometh to pass, at the end of three days after that they have made with them a covenant, that they hear that they are their neighbours -- that in their midst they are dwelling. 17And the sons of Israel journey and come in unto their cities on the third day -- and their cities are Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-Jearim -- 18and the sons of Israel have not smitten them, for sworn to them have the princes of the company by Jehovah God of Israel, and all the company murmur against the princes. 19And all the princes say unto all the company, "We -- we have sworn to them by Jehovah, God of Israel; and now, we are not able to come against them; 20this we do to them, and have kept them alive, and wrath is not upon us, because of the oath which we have sworn to them." 21And the princes say unto them, "They live, and are hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the company, as the princes spake to them." 22And Joshua calleth for them, and speaketh unto them, saying, "Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, and ye in our midst dwelling? 23and now, cursed are ye, and none of you is cut off from being a servant, even hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God." 24And they answer Joshua and say, "Because it was certainly declared to thy servants, that Jehovah thy God commanded Moses His servant to give to you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we fear greatly for ourselves because of you, and we do this thing; 25and now, lo, we are in thy hand, as it is good, and as it is right in thine eyes to do to us -- do." 26And he doth to them so, and delivereth them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they have not slain them; 27and Joshua maketh them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the company, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, at the place which He doth choose.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 THE KINGS COMBINE AGAINST ISRAEL. (Jos. 9:1-27)
all the kings which were on this side--that is, the western side of Jordan.
in the hills, and in ther valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea--This threefold distinction marks out very clearly a large portion of Canaan. The first designates the hill country, which belonged afterwards to the tribes of Judah and Ephraim: the second, all the low country from Carmel to Gaza; and the third, the shores of the Mediterranean, from the Isthmus of Tyre to the plain of Joppa. (As for the tribes mentioned, see on
Num 13:29).
heard thereof--that is, of the sacking of Jericho and Ai, as well as the rapid advance of the Israelites into the interior of the country.
2 they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord--Although divided by separate interests and often at war with each other, a sense of common danger prompted them to suspend their mutual animosities, that by their united forces they might prevent the land from falling into the hands of foreign masters.
3 THE GIBEONITES OBTAIN A LEAGUE BY CRAFT. (
Josh 9:3-
Josh 9:15)
when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard--This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (
Josh 10:2). It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in the neighborhood, a free independent state (
Josh 9:17) and to have enjoyed a republican government (
Josh 9:11).
4 They did work wilily--They acted with dexterous policy, seeking the means of self-preservation, not by force, which they were convinced would be unavailing, but by artful diplomacy.
took old sacks upon their asses--Travellers in the East transport their luggage on beasts of burden; the poorer sort stow all their necessaries, food, clothes, utensils together, in a woollen or hair-cloth sack, laid across the shoulders of the beast they ride upon.
wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up--Goat-skins, which are better adapted for carrying liquor of any kind fresh and good, than either earthenware, which is porous, or metallic vessels, which are soon heated by the sun. These skin bottles are liable to be rent when old and much used; and there are various ways of mending them--by inserting a new piece of leather, or by gathering together the edges of the rent and sewing them in the form of a purse, or by putting a round flat splinter of wood into the hole.
5 old shoes and clouted--Those who have but one ass or mule for themselves and baggage frequently dismount and walk--a circumstance which may account for the worn shoes of the pretended travellers.
bread . . . dry and mouldy--This must have been that commonly used by travellers--a sort of biscuit made in the form of large rings, about an inch thick, and four or five inches in diameter. Not being so well baked as our biscuits, it becomes hard and mouldy from the moisture left in the dough. It is usually soaked in water previous to being used.
6 they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal--Arrived at the Israelitish headquarters, the strangers obtained an interview with Joshua and the elders, to whom they opened their business.
7 the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us--The answer of the Israelites implied that they had no discretion, that their orders were imperative, and that if the strangers belonged to any of the native tribes, the idea of an alliance with them was unlawful since God had forbidden it (
Exod 23:32;
Exod 34:12;
Deut 7:2).
9 From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God--They pretended to be actuated by religious motives in seeking to be allied with His people. But their studied address is worthy of notice in appealing to instances of God's miraculous doings at a distance, while they pass by those done in Canaan, as if the report of these had not yet reached their ears.
14 the men took of their victuals and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord--The mouldy appearance of their bread was, after examination, accepted as guaranteeing the truth of the story. In this precipitate conclusion the Israelites were guilty of excessive credulity and culpable negligence, in not asking by the high priest's Urim and Thummim the mind of God, before entering into the alliance. It is not clear, however, that had they applied for divine direction they would have been forbidden to spare and connect themselves with any of the Canaanite tribes who renounced idolatry and embraced and worshipped the true God. At least, no fault was found with them for making a covenant with the Gibeonites; while, on the other hand, the violation of it was severely punished (
2Sam 21:1; and
Josh 11:19-
Josh 11:20).
16 at the end of three days . . . they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them--This information was obtained in their further progress through the country; for as
Josh 9:17 should be rendered, "when the children of Israel journeyed, they came to their cities." Gibeon was about eighteen or twenty miles from Gilgal.
17 Chephirah-- (
Josh 18:26;
Ezra 2:25;
Neh 7:29).
Beeroth-- (
2Sam 4:2), now El Berich, about twenty minutes' distance from El Jib (Gibeon).
Kirjath-jearim--"the city of forests," now Kuryet-el-Enab [ROBINSON].
18 the children of Israel smote them not--The moral character of the Gibeonites' stratagem was bad. The princes of the congregation did not vindicate either the expediency or the lawfulness of the connection they had formed; but they felt the solemn obligations of their oath; and, although the popular clamor was loud against them, caused either by disappointment at losing the spoils of Gibeon, or by displeasure at the apparent breach of the divine commandment, they determined to adhere to their pledge, "because they had sworn by the Lord God of Israel." The Israelitish princes acted conscientiously; they felt themselves bound by their solemn promise; but to prevent the disastrous consequences of their imprudent haste, they resolved to degrade the Gibeonites to a servile condition as a means of preventing their people from being ensnared into idolatry, and thus acted up, as they thought, to the true spirit and end of the law.
27 hewers of wood and drawers of water--The menials who performed the lowest offices and drudgery in the sanctuary; whence they were called Nethinims (
1Chr 9:2;
Ezra 2:43;
Ezra 8:20); that is, given, appropriated. Their chastisement thus brought them into the possession of great religious privileges (
Ps 84:10).
