JOSHUA 9

This is an interesting story involving trickery and covenant relationships. Read the whole chapter first to get an overview.

Verses 1-2 These verses actually serve as an introduction to chapters 9 and 10.

Verse 1 “Beyond the Jordan” in this verse means the area west of the Jordan whereas in most other OT passages it refers to the east of the river instead.

Verse 3 Gibeon was located just north of Jerusalem.

Verse 4 Butler points out that “cunning” has both positive and negative connotations in the Bible. “From the Gibeonite point of view, they were quite wise in what they did, whereas the Israelite version saw this as deceptive and wrong.” Remember Jesus' admonition for us to be gentle as doves and wise as serpents.

Verses 6-7 There is a confusing reference to “the man of Israel.” Proposed alternative readings include: the men, military leaders, or Israel as a collective body. Compare different translations here.

Verse 7 The Septuagint reads “Horites” instead. Others, such as Spieser, feel it may refer to the Hurrians.

Verse 9 Note that the Gibeonites never explicitly answer the question posed in v. 8.  There is a similar incident in the intertestamental book I Maccabbes (chapter 8) in which the Jewish leader Judas Maccabaeus sends a delegation to Rome asking for a treaty to be made between the two nations. This was done in the hope that Rome could help them free themselves from Seleucid oppression. The author stressed in v. 19 that they “went to Rome, a very long journey, and came before the senate...” Thus, he shows that they were not violating the prohibition against aligning with “the people of the land” (see Exodus 23-24). Notice the similarity in language.

Verse 10 The Gibeonites pointedly leave out the more recent conquests of Jericho and Ai since they supposedly had only arrived recently from a distant land and should not have known about those.

Verse 11 John Lilley notes that the fact that they only ask for a position of vassalage rather than equality should have made the Israelites suspicious, “but flattery wins the day.”

Verse 13 This may have later echoes in Jesus' proverb in Matthew 9:17 about new wine in old wineskins.

Verse 14 Francis Schaeffer suggests a better translation would be “They received the men by reason of their food.” Thus, the Israelites looked at the Gibeonites' food, tasted it, and that was all the proof they felt they needed to verify the story. Trent Butler agrees with this interpretation. Discuss possible lessons for today.

K. L. Younger: “Ironically, Israel has just defeated Ai by means of a ruse; now Israel is the victim of a ruse. The Israelites do not turn to God to discern the Gibeonite strategy. As in the case of the first battle of Ai, the Israelites' overconfidence in their ability to discern the situation leads to a lack of dependence on the LORD.”

Verse 15 Shalom (“peace”) means more than just lack of war. It also has the connotation of having a right relationship with God.

Verses 19-20 This fact will become important years later when King Saul attempts to wipe out the Gibeonites. Because of this act, God visited a famine on Israel. The famine is halted only after King David allows the remaining Gibeonites to execute the male descendants of Saul (see II Samuel 21).

Verse 21. Robert Gordon feels that this consequence is similar to “a typical Near Eastern effeminency curse” whereby the men are reduced to performing typical women's chores such as hewing wood and drawing water. See also II Samuel 3:29

Hugh Blair calls this “a curse that became a blessing” since God (1) caused a miraculous victory for the Gibeonites in Joshua 10:7-15 and (2) later made them to be temple servants (Ezra 2:43; 8:20) with Gibeon being designated as one of the special Levitical cities (Joshua 21:17). So not only did this Gibeonite trickery lead to blessings for the Gibeonites, God also used it (see Joshua 10-11) to precipitate a key war which Israel would win with divine help and make a huge dent in the Canaanite territory to be conquered. Note that God honored the Israelites in this way since they in turn had honored the vow they made with Gibeon despite the conditions under which this agreement was made.