Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 9:3

And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

3 27. The Embassy of the Gibeonites

3. of Gibeon ] This city was the head of the four towns occupied by the Hivites, the other three being Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim (Jos 9:17). It appears to have been a sort of independent republic, since we hear of elders there (Jos 9:11), but not of a king, and is said to have been a great city like a royal city (Jos 10:2), i.e. of the same size and importance as those which the kings of the country made their capitals. The name itself signifies “pertaining to a hill,” i.e. built on a hill, and describes the site, which is, by the direct route, about 5 miles north of Jerusalem, on two of the rounded hills peculiar to this neighbourhood. Placed at the head of the pass of Bethhoron, and commanding the main route from Jerusalem and the lower Jordan valley to Joppa and the sea-coast, and inhabited by a numerous and brave population, it was one of the most important cities of southern Canaan. It is still known as El-Jib.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Gibeon was the head of the four towns Jos 9:17 occupied by the Hivites Jos 11:19. The inhabitants were Amorites 2Sa 21:2; the name Amorites being used as a general name for the Canaanite population (Deu 1:44 note). The Hivites seem to have had a non-monarchical form of government (compare Jos 9:3, Jos 9:11), but their city was Jos 10:2 in size and importance equal to those cities which the kings of the country made their capitals. Gibeon signifies pertaining to a hill, i. e. built on a hill (compare Gibeah and Geba, towns in the same neighborhood), and describes the site, which is on two of the rounded hills unique to this district. It is still known as El-Jib, and lies about five miles north of Jerusalem by the most direct route. It stands at the head of the pass of Beth-horon, through which lies the main route from Jerusalem and the lower Jordan valley to Joppa and the sea coast. Thus from its position, no less than from the number and valor of its people Jos 10:2, it was one of the most important cities of southern Canaan. Gibeon fell within the lot of Benjamin Jos 18:25, and was one of the cities assigned to the priests Jos 21:17. In later times it was famous as the scene of various events (2Sa 2:12-17; 2Sa 20:4-13; 1Ki 2:28-29, compare with 1Ch 16:39). It was for a long time the spot where the tabernacle of Moses, together with the brass altar of burnt offering 1Ch 21:29 and other portions of the sacred furniture, were placed. It was the scene of the magnificent ceremonial with which Solomon inaugurated his reign 1 Kings 3, but no doubt lost much of its importance after the tabernacle and its accompaniments were removed to the temple of Solomon.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Jos 9:3-27

The inhabitants of Gibeon . . . did work wilily.

A Canaanitish stratagem

I. How this device originated.

1. Their wisdom suggested it. The selfsame facts suggest different courses of action to the Canaanites and to the Gibeonites. These events led the great majority to unite their forces against Joshua; they led this Gibeonitish minority to see if they could not come to terms with this irresistible foe. There was no sense whatever in the counsels of the kings. They ought to have assembled in a lunatic asylum, for their wisest counsels were but the ravings of a maniac. There is a spark of wisdom in the craft of the republican Gibeonites. They do come to a wise decision when they resolve to bear anything rather than provoke God against them by vain resistance. Let us, like them, humble ourselves before Gods irresistible might. It is our only wisdom. There is no use waiting till judgment is at the door; no use staying till our souls are besieged by sickness and death: Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.

2. The fears of these Gibeonites also stimulated them, were a spur to their wisdom. Was the conduct of the Gibeonites ignoble? Our hearts always side with the man who against overwhelming odds fights with grim consistency a losing battle, who resolves to Perish if it must be so; at bay, destroying many a foe. But here again we must not lose sight of the religious element which was uppermost in the mind of all. It can never be right for the subject to rise against lawful authority. It can never be ignoble to throw down our weapons of rebellion and fall at the feet of the All-wise, the All-gracious, and the Almighty.

3. Also, there was faith at the bottom of this movement. It may readily be allowed that it was very small; microscopical, infinitesimal, if you choose. It may also be granted that it was also overlaid with error, guile, and selfishness. Yet notwithstanding all these things faith was there. These Gibeonites did believe that the purpose of God would come to pass. They did believe that God desired to give Israel the land, and that He was able to do so. With what mixed motives do we give up our rebellion and fall at the feet of Jesus! Can they bear full scrutiny? Are we pleased with them? I trow not. When we look back and analyse our thoughts and feelings, can we not discover a large leaven of mixed motives? Accordingly, there is here much encouragement to all. You ask, Is my faith of the right kind? See. If faith of this miserable description finds grace, who need despair? Perhaps our motives will not bear close examination; perhaps it is true that it is a selfish thing to fear hell; that it is nothing more than a hangmans whip. But if that whip lashes us to the feet of Jesus, and works for us salvation, we shall bless God for it for ever.

II. How this plan was prosecuted. Anything is fair in war, so men say; and anything is fair in diplomacy, so men have believed in past ages. It need not surprise us, then, that these Gibeonites followed the universal rule. They show their craft both by what they did and by what they hid. They were no novices in the art of deceit. They also prosecuted their commission very courageously. The coolness and audacity of these men are marvellous. They must have had strong nerves, a great command over themselves, and a deep knowledge of human nature. These men were neither fools nor cowards after all.

III. How their stratagem succeeded. It succeeded to perfection. Their audacity, cunning, and knowledge of human nature were all conspicuous in this transaction, and served them well. The weakness of the Israelites helped to bring about the same result. It is one thing to be rudely suspicious, it is another thing to be over-credulous. But practically how often are men at a loss how to decide when placed in similar circumstances! Therefore we should not blame Israel too severely, but rather remember that the best cure either for over-credulity or over-caution is communion with God and distrust in self. The men of Israel are also very self-conscious. Pride had something to do with their decision to take these strangers under their protection. They felt honoured and flattered by the supposed circumstances which made them a centre of universal attraction. Would you be an instrument in the hands of another, a pipe producing just such notes as the player pleases, think much of yourself; give yourself out to be some great one; open your ears and give up your heart to the sweet blandishments of flattering lips. Contrariwise remember that the humblest soul is the most independent. The Israelites were also very self-confident, and this exposed them to the wiles of these schemers. No step that we take in life is too trivial to be made a matter of prayer. Only as we do so, consulting with God about everything, are we guided by His eye. Here the Israelites put right questions–Who are you? Whence come you? But sufficient care was not taken to sift the answer and see if it was true. All is not gold that glitters. Much ancient armour is manufactured all the year round at Birmingham. Not a few ancient statues are made to order in Italy in these days, and sold to innocent connoisseurs. Even so is it in things spiritual. The wolves are very clever at fitting themselves with sheeps clothing; the make-up is often particularly ingenious. Let the Israel of God take heed to the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this Word it is because there is no light in them. And we should apply this also to the affairs of every-day life. How often do we involve ourselves in difficulties, hedge up our way with troubles, lead ourselves into danger, because we ask not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. We give a listening ear to plausible representations; we hurry headlong into inviting schemes; we enter heedlessly into doubtful connections without weighing the consequences or looking for Divine direction. But sooner or later we discover that no business, or engagement, or union can prosper without the counsel and approbation of the Lord; and often with shame and sorrow we have to seek His face to undo the evils which our Own rashness and unfaithfulness have brought upon us. But in considering this matter our view would be very superficial did we not look higher than man and his motives. The purpose of Jehovah had also to do with the result. Why did He allow Joshua to be thus deceived? To teach him and Israel a valuable lesson? No doubt; but it was also for the purpose of manifesting to all that He was not unwilling to show mercy to the very chief of sinners. If with all their guile and crooked policy He spared these Gibeonites, much more would He have spared them if they had honestly cast themselves on His mercy. Yea, He spared them because they came; He reproved them because they came thus. In this manner God separated the precious from the vile; He commended their faith in coming, and condemned their mode of approach. Accordingly, while it was well for them that they came at all, nothing was gained, but much was lost, by their crooked policy. Thus is it always, and therefore what encouragement is there here to the open and ingenuous.

IV. The result of this stratagem. They received a place in Israel. This was no small matter; far more than they had expected. This was no small favour where all would have perished. This place in Israel was obtained with difficulty. When it was discovered who these strangers were, the people were roused against the princes who had conducted the treaty with them, and murmured loudly at the result: How true to human nature is this murmuring. It is always easy to criticise these who are in authority, and find fault with the conclusions to which they come. Every toper in a village inn, were you to credit him, could conduct the affairs of the British Empire with greater success than the wisest prime minister that ever lived. The most ignorant and irresponsible individual in a congregation is confident he would never have fallen into the mistakes of his betters. These Israelites perhaps thought that they were very zealous for God in thus murmuring, but I am afraid that self-interest had a little to do with it. Was it not somewhat of a disappointment that they would not be able to finger the spoil of these Gibeonitish cities? How often does selfishness sharpen zeal! The proper time for murmuring or objecting would have been when the treaty was so hastily concluded. But these critics forgot that then also their heads were turned, and that in all likelihood they would have murmured if the princes had proposed any other course than the one they are now condemning. But though equally deceived with their leaders, they were not like them bound by a solemn oath, and therefore they felt free to murmur. Yet it was a good sign that they went no further. Though they grumbled they submitted, and the Gibeonites were allowed to live. They owed their safety to the ability of Joshua and the princes of Israel. In this emergency the leaders displayed great firmness. They felt that it would be better far to fulfil their agreement at any cost rather than by any shift or quibble to retire from it. Surely in this steadfast adherence of Joshua to this covenant the seeker may find great encouragement. There have been murmurers in the house of God who have called in question the grace of that Saviour who forgives sinners. Remember the taunt of the Pharisees, This Man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. The race of the self-righteous is not yet extinct; but Jesus is not less firm than Joshua, and justifies the ways of God to men in that glorious constellation of grace which the fifteenth chapter of Luke contains. Again, these Gibeonites received a definite place among the people of God. They became an integral part of the nation, with duties as clearly defined as those of the tribe of Levi. Henceforth they were an essential part of the people; Israels God was theirs; Israels friends were their friends, Israels foes their foes; and they were sharers in all Israels fortunes. The place which these Gibeonites received in Israel was, however, very humble. The lowest kind of drudgery was expected of them. But if their place and occupation are very lowly, their Master is very high and honourable, and He so arranged that they should not be private slaves, scattered through the nation, but that they should be attached to the tabernacle as servants to the priests and Levites. Now the humblest office under a great and good man may be better than the highest place a mean and bad master could offer. It would be better to black the boots of some men than to roll in the carriage of others. And if the place of these Gibeonites was humble, it was at the same time useful. This would be a great consolation to them, and would reconcile them to their lot. The place of these Gibeonites was also a hallowed one; their service was sacred. God brought them near Himself, attached them to His tabernacle, sheltered them under His wing. The altar of Jehovah was the centre of their service. They were nearer God than many in Israel. To be near God is the highest privilege and the chief joy of the renewed heart. And we come near to God just as we make the Cross of Christ the centre of all our service. The doorstep of Gods house is a happier resting-place than the downy couch in the gilded pavilion of royal sinners. Still further, these Gibeonites had a hopeful place in Israel, and that was a great advantage. In the service of such a Master they might well expect to rise, and they did. Ismaiah, one of Davids mighty men, was a Gibeonite. Melatiah, a builder of the wall of Jerusalem under Nehemiah, was another. These are instances recorded to show how they prospered and rose in Jehovahs service. In England it is thought a great matter to be recognised in any way as connected with the royal house. The official appointment to such a position may frequently be seen framed and glazed and placed conspicuously in the window. The fact is noted in the gold letters on the sign, on every bill, and notice, and advertisement that is sent from the establishment. They strive to let no one forget or be oblivious of the fact. They find that it is profitable to do so. Much more laboriously should we in all things make it plain whose we are and whom we serve. (A. B. Mackay.)

League made with the Gibeonites

The customs and manners of modern times, in which is less of simplicity and more of parade, and when facilities for intercourse with far distant dwellers would render such a deception quite impossible, cannot be a criterion by which to judge of the policy of this expedient. Strange as it would be viewed by us, neither their appearance nor speech excited suspicion. Their falsehood stands no example for Christians, yet no one but must admire their ingenuity. Necessity is the mother of invention. The resources which have opened in invention have been such as were never thought of in ease and safety. They believed the report, and, being sore afraid, had no expectation of life but from alliance with the Lords people; therefore were saved in yielding, when others were destroyed in resisting. There is no hope for any but those who, in faith and love, are in league with the true Israel of God–those who seek by prayer, and obtain through grace, a share in their spiritual and eternal interests. And oh! when those tremendous evils which, in the Divine threatenings, impend over the guilty, are so apprehended as to fill transgressors with fears of dying, when the great concerns of another world lie in their full weight on the heart, and they see that all to be hoped for in the best state of future being is endangered and lies at awful stake, what expedients are ready to be adopted I though none ever succeed but the one which the gospel points out as the never-failing provision of mercy. No decree is gone forth against such as cease hostilities, and who voluntarily yield themselves up to the reign of grace, but against those only who persist till they perish in their rebellion. The more deter mined and inveterate any have been in their opposition to the kingdom of God, the more heartily welcome they become when, in the fervent entreaties of deep-felt need, they apply for life and pardon through the merit of Christ. No sight on earth more interesting than to witness a spiritual subjection to our Divine and glorious Redeemer; to see a forsaking of the world for the Church, and, instead of fighting against God to destruction, sinners obtaining the assurance of life and pardon through faith. These suppliant strangers, with worn-out apparel and musty provision, and bearing every mark of having come a long journey, remind one of the true condition of those who apply to Christ, and who desire to obtain a portion in the inheritance of His people. They are really what these only feigned to be; and should they appear in the best robes of nature, whatever their own opinion, they would be esteemed but as filthy rags by the infinitely holy God, which, in self loathing, must be thrown aside for change of raiment, for garments of salvation and robes of righteousness. Their address is not less striking than their appearance, and may remind us of a suppliant for mercy, We are thy servants: make ye a league with us. The security of life they were willing should be held upon servitude of life. What is so dear as life? As Satan said of Job, Skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath, will he give for his life. And nothing is so much the concern of an awakened mind, as to live in a state of favour with God, and union with His people. It is accounted no slavery, but perfect freedom, as well as secure protection, and to be desired beyond all earthly advantages, to retain life in the service of God. The expedient adopted in their necessity availed. It was a precipitate act, and though highly reprehensible, in not asking counsel of the Lord, to whom all the affairs of His Church and people should be referred in humble and obedient faith, yet it was not to be rescinded. In the all-wise dominion of God it was overruled for mercy to many. Though the command was peremptory, and so utterly to destroy the inhabitants of the land as to make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them, yet the 20th chapter of Deu 5:10-11, would induce a hope that they who, whether near or afar off, yielded to the triumphant Church and renounced idolatry would have obtained mercy and been incorporated with the Lords people. Is not this the very constitution and procedure of the gospel, a most affecting and honourable covenant of peace, requiring only to be closed with and signed by the sinner in submission and faith? As the men of Gibeon came to Israel, have you applied to Jesus for peace? If so, the testimony of conscience will accord with the witness of the Spirit, in that happy hope and assurance which will attend the sealing of the covenant on the heart. Unspeakably blessed their state with whom the promise of life is confirmed: they cannot perish, neither shall any pluck them out of the hands of their covenant God. The sword that spares in mercy will protect in justice. Not long before discovery was made of their artifice. The surprise which this excited was not little, nor the apprehension of consequences to be feared from the precipitate and incautious engagements entered into; for the people all murmured against the princes. But the providence of God was in it, and His honour so involved in His peoples regard to their oath that the treaty made could not be broken. If in a case of fraud, and in a certain view the stealing of His mercy, God will not suffer an impeachment of His character by a forfeiture of truth in His people, what shall be said of the inviolability of those engagements of His love for the accomplishment of which He has voluntarily, in the view of all our unworthiness, pledged in solemn oath and promise His own infinite perfections? One cannot but conceive it designed to present us with an idea of the conversion of enemies to God, and afford a prelude of the accession of Gentiles to His Church. Such as God designs to save He inclines to sue for mercy. Servitude became their condition whose lives mercy spared; but that was honourable, as it was holy, and to be preferred to all the degrading liberties and superstitions of idolatry. Life was the constant reward of their service, and in many instances, it may be hoped, grace was connected with their labour. By spiritual instructions imparted in that temple where they served, though in the meanest office, the gracious among them would become sharers in more valuable blessings than any that could be connected with the highest earthly honours. None can be truly in the service of God but they will find better pay and purer satisfaction than any who are serving themselves or the world. (W. Seaton.)

Pious frauds

In the Gibeonites there was faith–a belief that Israel was under the protection of a remarkable Divine power, under a Divine promise the truth of which even Balaam had very recently acknowledged–I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. Undoubtedly a religious feeling lay at the bottom of the proceeding. A great Divine Being was seen to be involved, who was on Israels side and against his enemies, and it would not do to trifle with Him. But in their way of securing exemption frond the effects of His displeasure the grossest superstition appeared. They were to gain their object by deceit. What a strange conception of God! What blindness to His highest attributes, His holiness and His truth! What a miserable God men fashion to themselves when they simply invest Him with almighty power, or perhaps suppose Him to be moved by whims and prejudices and favouritisms like frail man, but omit to clothe Him with His highest glory–forget that justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne, mercy and truth go before His face. The conduct of the men was the more strange that it was impossible that they should not be speedily found out. And it was quite possible that, when found out, they would be dealt with more severely than ever. True, indeed, Joshua, when he did detect their plot, did not so act; he acted on a high, perhaps a mistaken, sense of honour; but they had no right to count on that. We cannot but respect the way in which Joshua and the princes acted when they discovered the fraud. It might have been competent to repudiate the league on the ground that it was agreed to by them under false pretences. It was made on the representation that the Gibeonites had come from a far country, and when that was seen to be utterly untrue there would have been an honourable ground for repudiating the transaction. But Joshua and the princes did not avail themselves of this loophole. The fact that the name of the Lord God of Israel had been invoked in the oath sworn to the Gibeonites constrained them to abide by the transaction. They carried out that great canon of true religion–first and foremost giving glory to God in the highest. But though the lives of the Gibeonites were spared, that was all. They were to he reduced to a kind of slavery–to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and the altar of God. Does anything resembling this fraud of the Gibeonites ever take place among ourselves? In answer, let us ask first of all what is the meaning of pious frauds? Are they not transactions where fraud is resorted to in order to accomplish what are supposed to be religious ends? How can anything be a real religious gain to a man, how can it be otherwise than disastrous in the last degree, if it develops a fraudulent spirit, if it perverts his moral nature, if it deepens and intensifies the moral disorder of his heart? If men saw the beauty of holiness, the beauty of the Lord, they could never bring their minds to such miserable distortions. It is pure blasphemy to suppose that God could thus demean Himself. It is self-degradation to imagine that anything that can be gained by oneself through such means could make up for what is lost or for the guilt incurred by such wickedness. And this suggests a wider thought–the fearful miscalculation men make whensoever they resort to fraud in the hope of reaping benefit by means of it. Yet what practice is more common? The question is, Does it really pay? Does it pay, for instance, to cheat at cards? Does it pay the merchant to cheat as to the quality of his goods? Does it not leak out that he is not to be trusted, and does not that suspicion lose more to him in the long run than it gains? Or, to vary the illustration. When one has entrapped a maiden under false promises, and then forsakes her; or when he conceals the fact that he is already married to another; or when he controls himself for a time, to conceal from her his ill-temper, or his profligate habits, or his thirst for strong drink, does it pay in the end? The question is not, Does he succeed in his immediate object? but, How does the matter end? Is it a comfortable thought to any man that he has broken a trustful heart, that he has brought misery to a happy home, that he has filled some ones life with lamentation and mourning and woe? We are not thinking only of the future life, when so many wrongs will be brought to light, and so many men and women will have to curse the infatuation that made fraud their friend and evil their good. We think of the present happiness of those who live in an atmosphere of fraud, and worship daily at its shrine. Can such disordered souls know ought of real peace and solid joy? All Eastern nations get the character of being deceitful; but indeed the weed may be said to flourish in every soil where it has not been rooted out by living Christianity. But if it be peculiarly characteristic of Eastern nations, is it not remarkable how constantly it is rebuked in the Bible, even though that book sprang from an Eastern soil? No doubt the record of the Bible abounds with instances of deceit, but its voice is always against them. And its instances are always instructive. Satan gained nothing by deceiving our first parents. Jacob was well punished for deceiving Isaac. Davids misleading of the high priest when he fled from Saul involved ultimately the slaughter of the whole priestly household. Ananias and Sapphira had an awful experience when they lied unto the Holy Ghost. All through the Bible it is seen that lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but they that deal truly are His delight. And when our blessed Lord comes to show us the perfect life, how free He is from the slightest taint or vestige of deceit! Is it possible for us ever to be worthy of such a Lord? First, surely, we must go to His Cross, and, bewailing all our unworthiness, seek acceptance through His finished work. And then draw from His fulness, even grace for grace; obtain through the indwelling of His Spirit that elixir of life which will send a purer life-blood through our souls, and assimilate us to Him of whom His faithful apostle wrote: He did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth. (W. G. Blaikie, DD.)

The Gibeonites

Do we not see here, first and foremost, the pitiable shifts to which all spiritual fear is driven? The fear of Israel came upon the Gibeonites, and the result was an invention, a false arrangement, an attempt to escape the inevitable. This is the story of to-day. Volumes might be written upon this one thought, namely, that spiritual fear is always and of necessity driven to the most pitiable shifts. Spiritual fear says, What can I do? I will undertake long pilgrimages; I will discharge severe and exhausting penances; I will build churches, and seem to worship; I will commingle with the people of God as if I were one of them when my heart is a thousand leagues away from the very poorest soul in all the sacred number. The trick of the Gibeonites is the game of to-day. Spiritual fear knows not the spirit of truth, and cannot, of course, know the spirit of joy. Are we not always cursed by this spirit of fear? It leads us to misconstructions of God. He ceases to be God when He is looked at through the medium and under the base inspiration of servile fear. The man in whom the spirit of fear is cannot read the Bible. It is a mere idol to him. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Saints may be outwitted by the world

Saints are outwitted by the world in the things of the world, and no marvel; neither does it impeach their wisdom, any more than it does a scholars to be excelled by a cobbler in his mean trade. Nature, where it intends higher excellencies, is more careless in those things which are inferior; ms we see in man, who, being made to excel the beasts in a rational soul, is himself excelled by some beast or other in all his senses. Thus the Christian may well be surpassed in matters of worldly commerce, because he has a nobler object in his eye that makes him converse with the things of the world in a kind of non-attendance; he is not much careful in these matters; if he can die well at last, and be justified for a wise man at the day of resurrection, all is well. (H. G. Salter.)

Reprehensible self-distortion

Self-abasement is proper; but self-distortion is wrong, false, wicked, hateful to Omniscience. It is the voice of Jacob, though the hands be the hands of Esau: the Pharisee in another face. Was the artifice any the less real on the part of Jeroboams wife when she appeared in the presence of Ahijah the prophet, though a queen in disguise? Was not the conduct of the Gibeonites crafty and reprehensible? The attempt to make ourselves worse is as bad as trying to make ourselves better. It is hypocrisy either way, and God hates it in every form, in every disguise, for every purpose. Do no violence to self-hood. Be natural, simple, straightforward. Go to the Father in penitence and trustfulness, and then may you say, For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Thomas Parsons.)

Beguiled by the crafty enemy

How often is the believer who, with Joshua, would have withstood some fierce assault, because driven by it to dependence upon the almighty arm, the all-sufficient grace, of his Divine Captain and Defender, with Joshua beguiled by the tempters wiles and the deceitfulness of sin! The Gibeonites presented themselves to Joshua and to Israel as not falling within the number of those nations whom they had been enjoined to destroy utterly, with whom they must make no truce nor covenant, whom their eyes must not pity nor spare. Does your experience prove that sin is always presented to you as sin–in its native hideousness, its essential heinousness, its inseparable danger? Does the tempter always show the hook with the bait? Are you never tempted to make a league with–to tolerate–to conform to–that which ought to be proscribed and opposed without reserve? Never in danger of calling evil good and good evil; of putting darkness for light and light for darkness; of putting bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter? In a word, are there no Gibeonites among your souls enemies? (J. C. Miller, D. D.)

Old shoes and clouted upon their feet.

Old shoes and clouted, patched clothing

There are two sorts of hypocrites–those who profess to be better than they are: they form a large class; and those who profess to be worse than they are. There is great scope for hypocrisy even in wearing clothes. There are a great many people who wear very expensive garments at the cost of other people; because they have never paid for them, and never hope to do so. They represent one class of hypocrites. But occasionally you meet with a man who looks dreadfully shabby. His coat has a goodly number of patches, and every garment he wears gives proof of having been well worn. He dies, and leaves many thousands of pounds, sewn in some bag or other, and concealed in the chimney or under the mattress. Now, he is a hypocrite of the other type; he professes to be much poorer than he is. The Gibeonites were hypocrites of this order on this occasion. They acted as they did of a set purpose, not in order to show that they were poor, and thus to gain sympathy, but for quite another purpose. They sought to impress upon Joshua that they had come from a far country: that they had walked a weary journey, and that they had worn out their sandals, their clothes, and wine bags on the journey. They sought to make Joshua believe that they were led to him by kind, unselfish motives: that they had been prompted by such high regard for Joshua and the people whom he led as to earnestly wish to be on good terms with them. One cannot help trying to picture to ones self what happened at Gibeon just before they started. A goodly company of men went forth as ambassadors, and all wanted the oldest clothes they could get. I wonder whether there were secondhand dealers at Gibeon? The articles must have gone up suddenly in price if there were; and what an opportunity for clearing old and bad stock out–all the old sandals, and the old clothes I However that may have been, they got what they required, and at length appeared before Joshua, and represented to him that they had come a long journey, during which they had worn out their clothes, and that they had not had the opportunity of reclothing themselves; but that meanwhile they had been very careful of their garments in patching them diligently and well. It would not have done for them to have come in rags, and therefore they were careful to show to Joshua that, worn out as their garments were, yet they had made the best use of them, and had in each case put in a stitch in time to save nine. I wish that, while abstaining from all the deceit of these men, we could learn one lesson from them. Would that poor people always acted as economically as these people pretended to have acted on this occasion. If there are any of you who are placed in circumstances where it is necessary to have many patches on your garments, and other boys who are placed in better circumstances than you feel inclined to laugh and sneer at you, never be ashamed of your patches; always consider that every patch on your coat tells everybody what an industrious mother you have at home. On the other hand, a hole that is allowed to remain long and to expand day by clay is a reflection on all concerned. Now look at this from another standpoint. You see these people wanted to impress Joshua with the fact that on-this one journey they had worn out all the clothing they had provided for themselves. Have you ever thought what a great deal we all wear out in life? Have you ever thought how many garments, how many shoes, and how many hats every boy of twelve has worn out since the day he was born? I suppose the oldest man here would stand perfectly aghast ii all the garments he had worn and cast aside were only made to pass before him. Now that is something worth our consideration. It at least teaches us this–that there must be a marvellous Providence which takes care of us in a very extraordinary way. Then, think again of the food consumed. If we only thought of this we should begin to ask, Where have all these garments come from? and how has all this food been provided? Thus, we should thank God more for His providence, and be less ready to cast away garments when they were half worn, and to think ourselves too good to wear a garment that is comparatively threadbare, though we may be too poor to buy a new one. Now just one word more–it is this. We not only wear out clothes and consume food, but also these bodies of ours, on the journey of life. We have only one body for the journey of life: in other words, we have only one suit for the soul. It is a marvellous suit, it expands as the soul expands. But it is not like the spirit itself; it is not immortal: it is subject to a great deal of wear and tear. Now God mends this for us day by day. But by and by, even with all His care, it begins to wear out. There are some here who are getting on in life. Their souls garment is not what it was. They cannot run as fast as they could when they were boys: they cannot do as much work as they did when they were young men in the prime of life. What is the matter? Oh, the old garment is beginning to wear, and the good God has to patch it up a little. The doctor says sometimes, Well, I can patch him up a little bit. But what a grand thing it will be when we shall never wear out! When this garment is put aside, God will provide for us another that will never grow old, and we shall engage in a service of which we shall never tire. (D. Davies.)

Causes of raggedness

Many a clouted shoe, many a ragged garment has been paraded before the eyes of men during the three thousand years that have passed since the jaded asses of Gibeon entered the camp at Gilgal. Let me name some shams to be avoided.

1. Beware first of the shams of social life. Let us rather put up with the blame of being blunt and uncivil than feel that we are constantly begirt and bedizened with shams as deceitful as were the clouted shoes and the ragged raiment of these men of Gibeon.

2. Let me urge you also to beware of the shams of trade and commerce. And I do not limit these to what may be found in the shop and the market-place. I extend the warning to every professional pursuit. There are shams in them all. It has grown into a proverb, that there are tricks in all trades; and the proverb is more pointed because it is so true. Be poor men all your lives rather than richer ones, if riches can only be won by practices as disreputable as were the clouted shoes and the ragged raiment of the deputies of Gibeon.

3. And let us beware, above all, of the shams of religion. The most loathsome of all hypocrisy is that which assumes the garb of religion. The man who dares to assume this that he may further his own selfish ends joins himself to Ananias and Sapphira, and is not afraid to sin against the Holy Ghost. Oh! in whatever else we are hypocrites, let it not be in assuming the language and demeanour of followers of Christ while our hearts are far from Him and rebelling against Him! for this is worse an hundredfold than the clouted shoes and the ragged raiment of the Gibeonites. And of these representative shams that I have named, and of all others, it is to be remembered that one day will declare them. But though I have drawn these lessons from the words of the text, as spoken of those who wore the clouted shoes and the ragged raiment, to effect a dishonest treaty, and to give colour to a lying tale, yet the words occurred to my mind as descriptive of those by whom the clouted shoes and ragged raiment are not assumed from choice, but worn from the grim necessity that they have no other. And it is concerning this class of our communities, and our duty towards them, that I wish now to speak. It is a humbling fact that amid the civilisation and wealth of our land, of which we are so proud, there are hundreds and thousands of poor, neglected waifs–men, women, and children–who are homeless and unsheltered. Of the children, at any rate, we must say that by some cruel misfortune they are degraded to a sphere immeasurably below their birthright as children of immortality. They are more sinned against than sinning. If they are called by the opprobrious name of human vermin, whose fault is it that they are such? If they have been declared to be attired in the unalterable livery of scoundreldom, whose fault is it that this new and terrible representative class has been suffered to grow up in our midst in monster proportions? If they have been called by a more truthful title, the Arabs of the streets, their hand against every man, must it not be confessed that it is because every mans hand has so long been against them? It is our bounden duty to inquire something into the producing causes of this great mass of human sorrow, and misery, and want, and sin; let us try to do so. Of course there is a certain amount of this utter poverty for which the idleness and laziness of the people themselves must be blamed. It is true now as when Solomon said it, that drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. But what can we say for those homeless children who are striving to earn an honest penny by gathering holly, by holding horses, and so on? Their homelessness and raggedness has come down to them; they are born with it; their only heritage one of woe! I trace it to two causes: first, improvidence; and second, extravagance, especially in the two articles of dress and drink. But since rags and tatters are already the heritage of many thousands of children, from the improvidence and drunkenness of their parents, we must do something more than aim at removing the producing causes; we must help those hapless ones who are already in rags. I know that we shrink from doing so. This is one of the penalties of abject misery. But this feeling of aversion, though common, is unchristian! Our Lord never shrank from contact with the poorest, and filthiest, and most ragged and loathsome leper. And so it becomes us, who profess to follow in His steps, to seek to gather in even the most ragged outcast on our streets and lanes. (J. E. Clarke, M. A.)

The men . . . asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.–

Seek direction from God

Let the fault and neglect of the leaders of Israel instruct you. They were deceived because they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. The Urim and Thummim and the High Priest were in the camp, and from them an infallible answer might have been obtained. Go ye then, in the hour of temptation, to God by prayer. Implore His counsel and direction; and the Holy Spirit, in answer to your fervent petition, shall give you a right judgment in all things. Cry each of you to God, What I know not, that teach Thou me. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, &c. Study the Bible; be instant in prayer: so shall the eyes of your understanding be opened to discern the causes of danger; and so shall you be enabled to live with that holy caution which, through Divine grace, will make a way for you to escape. Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.(R. P. Buddicom, M. A.)

Going astray

There is an old but wholesome proverb which speaks of making more haste than good speed. We find the same truth, otherwise expressed, in Scripture; expressed as a part of the will of God, from whose right of control over man flow all those duties of caution, deliberation, and foresight which are inculcated nowhere so forcibly as in the Bible. We have in this passage a very remarkable illustration of our homely English proverb; and at the same time a very remarkable illustration of forgetfulness of the Divine saying, Acknowledge God in all thy ways, and He shall direct thy paths. The men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel of the Lord.

I. This was unjustifiable.

1. They had the teaching of direct precepts that forbid it. They were told that the land which was given them to possess was filled with a wicked people, whose cup was full, and that their strange work was their extermination. Thus instructed, they were to make no covenant with any of the inhabitants of the land, but to smite utterly both man and beast. This precept, or rather reiterated command, they forgot; acting under impulse they forgot what was written, and governed by feeling they overlooked the law.

2. They had the teachings of their own experience that should have suggested caution. Let us not so conduct our selves: let us remember the past only to be wiser for the future; let obedience to law be the rule of our life, lest some stern and inexorable calamity should come and crush us into inevitable submission.

3. All this was perfectly unjustifiable. What ever consequences might have resulted, they could only blame themselves. Precept and precedent were against them, yet blindly and wilfully they defied both.

II. The results of this forgetfulness.

1. To the Israelites. The moment the mistake was found out the multitude, who had said nothing before, began of course to murmur. So frequently, when men connive at each others iniquities and mistakes, as soon as one of their number is reduced to trouble his partners in folly will be the first to upbraid him. God may forgive us our sins and our follies; but He will not by miracle interpose to save us from the natural consequences of our violation of the laws by which He manifests the everlasting unchangeableness of His moral government.

2. To the Gibeonites. Lying and cheating always defeat themselves in the long run. (W. G. Barrett.)

Hasty judgments

The children of Israel made two mistakes here.

I. They received these men by reason of their victuals. They judged in a hasty and superficial way. By hasty judgments we are led into wrong in several directions.

1. Hasty judgments lead us to wrong others.

2. Hasty judgments lead us to wrong God. You take a superficial view of your troubles, and you think God is a tyrant and is cruel.

3. How many reject the truth by such hasty judgment. Some trifle suffices–a silly criticism they heard years ago–to lead them to give up Christianity and lose their souls. This, then, is the first lesson of the text: To form no judgment concerning any man or any thing on insufficient or defective data.

II. They asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. They acted upon their own wit and discernment. If you have any wit, you are to use it. You may think you know all about the harbour of success, every shallow, every sunken rock, yet it would be better to take a pilot on board. I prefer to employ a praying doctor, a praying lawyer. (H. M. Scudder, D. D.)

A judgment over self- reliance

What an ominous sound there is in those words! They portend disaster, and it befell. Up to this moment the initiative had always been taken by the Lord. Now for the first time it is taken by Joshua and the people. In all the previous chapters the words run thus: And the Lord said unto Joshua; but there is no such phrase in this. Israel through her chosen leaders acted for herself, and easily fell into the trap. If only they had inquired of the Lord the dimming light in the sacred, stone would have betrayed the fatal secret and arrested the formation of the league. Let us lay the moral to our heart. Earths sombre tints and cross-lights are very perplexing; and it is often extremely hard to detect the truth. The foolish virgins are so much like the wise; the tares so resemble the wheat; the hireling imitates so precisely the Shepherds voice; the devils mimicry of an angel of light is so exact; bye-path meadow is parted from the Kings highway by so narrow a boundary. We urgently need, as the apostle prayed for his Philippian converts, that we may have, not only all knowledge, but all discernment, so that we may prove the things that differ (Php 1:10, R.V. margin). In one place this power to discriminate is said to result from use (Heb 5:14); whilst in the passage already quoted it is attributed to an abounding love. But following the suggestion of the narrative before us, we may say that it will follow naturally on the careful cultivation of the blessed habit of asking counsel at the mouth of the Lord. Never trust your own judgment. When voices within or without would hasten you to decide on the strength of your own conclusions, then be careful to refer the whole matter from the lower court of your own judgment to the supreme tribunal of Gods. If there is any doubt or hesitation left after such reference, be sure that as yet the time has not come for you to under stand all Gods will. Under such circumstances wait. Throw the responsibility of the pause and all it may involve on God, and dare still to wait. As a traveller over the hills, when the mist has come down, elects to stand or lie where it overtakes him, rather than wander on, perhaps to the brink of a precipice, so wait. If you trust God absolutely it is for Him to give you clear directions as to what you should do. And when the time for action arrives He will have given you such unmistakable indications of His will that, though a fool, you will not be able to mistake them or err therein. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)

Joshua made peace with them.–The grand inquiry here is whether this league was lawful or not? Answer the first: Some have these sentiments, that it was unlawful upon those grounds, because

(1) God forbade Israel to make any league with the Canaanites, and bade to destroy them all (Exo 23:32; Exo 34:15; Deu 7:2) without making any exceptions, &c.

(2) Secondly, the people murmured at this league (verse 18), which they ought not to have done, had it been lawful.

(3) Joshua denounces those Gibeonites accursed for deceiving him (verse 23), which he would not have done had nothing been done but what was just and equal.

(4) He charged them with circumventing him by dissimulation (verse 21). Answer the second: but others affirm it was a lawful league, as Augustine and all the rabbis, &c., upon those grounds. First, it was lawful for Israel to offer peace to other nations before they besieged any of their cities (Deu 20:10), which shows this league was lawful as to the substantial part of it. Secondly, this sanguinary law of killing all the Canaanites was not absolute and universal, but admitted of an exception of penitents and true converts, as appeareth from Jer 18:7-8, and Joh 3:4. Thirdly, that this law was thus limited (being only a positive law, and so might be qualified with a natural and moral equity) appears in Israels sparing Rahab and her relations. Fourthly, the reason of that sanguinary law was lest those Canaanites that were not killed might entice the Israelites to their idolatry. Now that reason ceased at their turning from idolatry and becoming proselytes to Israel, &c. Fifthly, that the Gibeonites were converts appears, for their hearts were not hardened as the other Canaanites were (Jos 11:19-20). They came to Joshua here in the name of the Lord (verse 9), and they had this blessing, to have a near approach unto God in their service of the sanctuary (verse 27), where David could have been content to be a poor door-keeper (Psa 84:10). Sixthly, Had this league been unlawful it had been better broken than kept; if it had been a sin to make it, the sin would have been double to keep it; but Joshua and all the princes upon the review of it did conscientiously keep it (verses 19, 20, 22, 23). Seventhly, God severely punished the violaters of this league, long, even 400 years, after, as 2Sa 21:3. Sauls rash zeal cost the seven of his sons lives, and so almost rooted out his whole posterity. Eighthly, The utter destruction of all the other cursed Canaanites came not so much or so necessarily upon them by virtue of any absolute or peremptory precept for destroying them as it did from their own obstinacy and obduration of their hearts, whereby they did not only neglect but also scorned to make peace (Jos 11:19-20). (C. Ness.)

Hewers of wood and drawers of water.—

Mistakes divinely overruled

This is a beautiful and comforting example of the way in which God overrules our mistakes, and brings blessing out of our sins, as the chemist obtains his loveliest dyes from the refuse of gas retorts. Inadvertently, and without due consideration, some of my readers may have entered into alliance with a Gibeonite, whether in marriage, in business, or in some other sphere. Are they therefore to abandon their high privilege, and forsake their lofty ministry to the world? Must they cease to be Gods portion, and the priests of men? Not necessarily. Let them turn to God in repentance and confession, and He will teach them how these very hindrances may become great means of help, so that they shall hew the wood for the burnt-offering, draw the water for the libations, and promote the prosperity and well-being of the soul. Out of the eater shall come forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness. (F. B Meyer, B. A.)

.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 3. The inhabitants of Gibeon heard] These alone did not join the confederation. Gibeon is supposed to have been the capital of the Hivites. In the division of the land it fell to the lot of Benjamin, Jos 18:25, and was afterwards given to the priests, Jos 21:17. See Clarke on Jos 10:2.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Or, but when the inhabitants; for he shows that these took another and a wiser course.

Gibeon; a great and royal city of the Hivites, Jos 10:2; 11:19.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3-15. when the inhabitants of GibeonheardThis town, as its name imports, was situated on a rockyeminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modernvillage of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, anda large important city (Jos 10:2).It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in theneighborhood, a free independent state (Jos9:17) and to have enjoyed a republican government (Jos9:11).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And when the inhabitants of Gibeon,…. A large and royal city, a metropolitan one, which had three others belonging to it, and under it, mentioned Jos 9:17; see Jos 10:2; no mention is made of any king over them, perhaps they were governed by elders, Jos 9:11. Though an Arabic writer h says, the king of Gibeon wrote to Joshua, and desired security, and sent him large gifts, whom having preserved in safety, Joshua placed on his throne: when these

heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai; had taken the one in a miraculous way, and the other by a stratagem, and had burnt them both, destroyed the inhabitants, plundered their substance, and slew both their kings, all which struck them with terror.

h Patricides, p. 30. apud Hottinger. Smegm. Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 507.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

But the inhabitants of a republic, which included not only Gibeon the capital, but the towns of Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim also, acted differently from the rest. Gibeon ( , Gabaon, lxx Vulg.) was larger than Ai, being one of the royal cities (Jos 10:2), and was inhabited by Hivites, who were a brave people (Jos 10:7; Jos 11:19). It was afterwards allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, and set apart as a Levitical town (Jos 18:25; Jos 21:17). After the destruction of Nob by Saul, the tabernacle was removed thither, and there it remained till the building of Solomon’s temple (1Ch 16:39; 1Ch 21:29; 1Ki 3:4-5; 2Ch 1:3.). According to Josephus, it was forty or fifty stadia from Jerusalem, and judging from its name was built upon a hill. It is to be found in the modern Jib, two good hours’ journey to the north-west of Jerusalem, a village of moderate size, on a long chalk hill which overlooks a very fertile, well cultivated plain, or rather a basin, consisting of broad valleys and plains, and rises like a vineyard, in the form of separate terraces ( Strauss, Sinai, p. 332). The remains of large massive buildings of great antiquity are still to be seen there, also some fountains, and two large subterraneous reservoirs (vid., Rob. Pal. ii. p. 136). When the Gibeonites heard of the fate of Jericho and Ai, they also did (something) with stratagem. In the expression (“ they also ”) there is a reference implied to what Joshua had done at Jericho and Ai; not, however, to the stratagem resorted to in the case of Ai, as such an allusion would not apply to Jericho. They set out as ambassadors: , from , which occurs in every other instance in the form of a noun, signifying a messenger (Pro 13:17, etc.). In the Hithpael it means to make themselves ambassadors, to travel as ambassadors. The translators of the ancient versions, however, adopted the reading , they provided themselves with food; but this was nothing more than a conjecture founded upon Jos 9:12, and without the slightest critical value. They also took “ old sacks upon their asses, and old mended wineskins.” , from , lit. bound together, is very characteristic. There are two modes adopted in the East of repairing skins when torn, viz., inserting a patch, or tying up the piece that is torn in the form of a bag. Here the reference is to the latter, which was most in harmony with their statement, that the skins had got injured upon their long journey. Also “ old mended sandals upon their feet, and old clothes upon them (upon their bodies); and all the bread of their provisions had become dry and quite mouldy.” , lit. furnished with points; , pointed, speckled (Gen 30:32.). Hence the rendering of the lxx, ; Theod., ; Luther, schimmlicht , mouldy; whereas the rendering adopted by Aquila is ; by Symmachus, , i.e., adustus , torridus ; and by the Vulgate, in frusta comminuti , i.e., crumbled.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

The Artifice of the Gibeonites.

B. C. 1450.

      3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,   4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;   5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.   6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.   7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?   8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?   9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,   10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.   11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.   12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:   13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.   14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.

      Here, I. The Gibeonites desire to make peace with Israel, being alarmed by the tidings they heard of the destruction of Jericho, v. 3. Other people heard those tidings, and were irritated thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites heard them and were induced to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and grace of God in the gospel is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, 2 Cor. ii. 16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. I do not remember that we read any where of a king of Gibeon. Had their government been at this time in a single person, perhaps his heart would have been too high to yield to Israel, and he would have joined with the rest of the kings against Israel. But these four united cities (mentioned v. 17) seem to have been governed by elders, or senators (v. 11), who consulted the common safety more than their own personal dignity. The inhabitants of Gibeon did well for themselves. We have,

      II. The method they took to compass it. They knew that all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were to be cut off; perhaps they had some spies in the congregation at Ebal, when the law was read, who observed and brought them notice of the command given to Israel (Deut. vii. 1-3), that they should show no mercy to the Canaanites, give them no quarter in battle, which made them afraid of fighting them, and that they should make no covenant with them, which made them despair of gaining any advantage by treating with them; and therefore there was no way of saving their lives from the sword of Israel unless they could, by disguising themselves, make Joshua believe that they came from some very country, which the Israelites were not commanded to make war upon nor forbidden to make peace with, but were particularly appointed to offer peace to,Deu 20:10; Deu 20:15. Unless they could be admitted under this notion, they saw there was but one way with them: they must submit to the fate of Jericho and Ai. Though the neighbouring princes knew that all the men thereof were mighty (ch. x. 2), and they knew it themselves, yet they durst not contend with Israel, who had an Almighty God on their side. This therefore is the only game they have to play, and observe,

      1. They play it very artfully and successfully. Never was any such thing more craftily managed.

      (1.) They come under the character of ambassadors from a foreign state, which they thought would please the princes of Israel, and make them proud of the honour of being courted by distant countries: we find Hezekiah fond of those that came to him from a far country (Isa. xxxix. 3); they were not used to be thus courted.

      (2.) They pretended to have undergone the fatigues of a very long journey, and produced what passed for an ocular demonstration of it. It should seem it was then usual for those that undertook long journeys to take with them, as we do now for long voyages, all manner of provision in kind, the country not being furnished as ours is now with houses of entertainment, for the convenience of which, when we have occasion to make use of them, we have reason to be very thankful. Now they here pretended that their provision, when they brought it from home, was fresh and new, but now it appeared to be old and dry, whereas it might well be presumed they had not loitered, but made the best of their way; so that hence it must be inferred that they came, as they said they did, from a very far country: their sacks or portmanteaus were old; the wine was all drunk, and the bottles in which it had been were broken; their shoes and clothes were worse than those of the Israelites in forty years, and their bread was mouldy, Jos 9:4; Jos 9:5, and again, Jos 9:12; Jos 9:13. Thus God’s Israel have often been deceived and imposed upon with a show of antiquity. But (as bishop Hall expresses it) errors are never the older for being patched, and so seeming old; but those that will be caught with this Gibeonitish stratagem prove they have not consulted with God. And thus there are those who make themselves poor with the badges of want and distress and yet have great riches (Prov. xiii. 7), or at least have no need of relief, by which fraud charity is misplaced and diverted from those that are real objects of it.

      (3.) When they were suspected, and more strictly examined as to whence they came, they industriously declined telling the name of their country, till the agreement was settled. [1.] The men of Israel suspected a fraud (v. 7): “Peradventure you dwell among us, and then we may not, we must not, make any league with you.” This might have discouraged the Gibeonites from urging the matter any further, concluding that if the peace were made the Israelites would not think themselves obliged to keep it, having thus solemnly protested against it in case they dwelt among them; but, knowing that there was no hope at all if they stood it out, they bravely ventured a submission. “Who knows but the people of Israel may save us alive, though thus inveigled into a promise; and if we tell them at last we shall but die.” [2.] Joshua put the questions to them, Who are you? and whence come you? He finds himself concerned to stand upon his guard against secret fraud as well as against open force. We in our spiritual warfare must stand against the wiles of the devil, remembering he is a subtle serpent as well as a roaring lion. In all leagues of relation and friendship we must first try and then trust, lest we repent at leisure agreements made in haste. [3.] They would not tell whence they came; but still repeat the same thing: We have come from a very far country, v. 9. They will have it thought that it is a country Joshua knows nothing of nor ever heard of, and therefore would be never the wiser if they should tell him the name of it.

      (4.) They profess a respect for the God of Israel, the more to ingratiate themselves with Joshua, and we charitably believe they were sincere in this profession: “We have come because of the name of the Lord thy God (v. 9), because of what we have heard of that name, which has convinced us that it is above every name, and because we have a desire towards that name and the remembrance of it, and would gladly come under its protection.”

      (5.) They fetch their inducements from what had been done some time before in Moses’s reign, the tidings whereof might easily be supposed ere this to have reached distant regions, the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sihon and Og (Jos 9:9; Jos 9:10), but prudently say nothing of the destruction of Jericho and Ai (though this was the true inducement, v. 3), because they will have it supposed that they came from home long before those conquests were made. We need not be long to seek for reasons why we should submit to the God of Israel; we may be furnished either with new or old, which we will.

      (6.) They make a general submission–We are our servants; and humbly sue for a general agreement–Make a league with us, v. 11. They insist not upon terms, but will be glad of peace upon any terms; nor will the case admit of delays, lest the fraud be discovered; they would fain have the bargain struck up immediately; if Joshua will but make a league with them, they have all they come for, and they hope their ragged clothes and clouted shoes will be no exception against them. God and Israel reject none for their poverty. But,

      2. There is a mixture of good and evil in their conduct. (1.) Their falsehood cannot be justified, nor ought it to be drawn into a precedent. We must not do evil that good may come. Had they owned their country but renounced the idolatries of it, resigning the possession of it to Israel and themselves to the God of Israel, we have reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives, and they needed not to have made these pretensions. It is observable that when they had once said, We have come from a far country (v. 6), they found themselves necessitated to say it again (v. 9), and to say what was utterly false concerning their bread, their bottles, and their clothes (Jos 9:12; Jos 9:13), for one lie is an inlet to another, and that to a third, and so on. The way of that sin is down-hill. But, (2.) Their faith and prudence are to be greatly commended. Our Lord commended even the unjust steward, because he had done wisely and well for himself, Luke xvi. 8. In submitting to Israel, they submitted to the God of Israel, which implied a renunciation of the god they had served, a resignation to the laws of true religion. They had heard enough to convince them of the infinite power of the God of Israel, and thence might infer his other perfections of wisdom and goodness; and how can we do better for ourselves than surrender at discretion to infinite wisdom, and cast ourselves upon the mercy of a God of infinite goodness. The submission of these Gibeonites was the more laudable because it was, [1.] Singular. Their neighbours took another course, and expected they should join with them. [2.] Speedy. They did not stay till Israel had besieged their cities; then it would have been too late to capitulate; but when they were at some distance they desired conditions of peace. Thy way to avoid a judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us imitate these Gibeonites, and make our peace with God in the rags of humiliation, godly sorrow, and mortification, so our iniquity shall not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and make a league with him and the Israel of God, and we shall live.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Gibeonites Deceive, vs. 3-15

Later on it appears that Gibeon was one of the cities of the Hivites, a strong contingent of the league formed to oppose Joshua and Israel. So the united front was not unanimous against the Israelites. To “work wilily” is to engage in guile and trickery to gain an intended end which could not be otherwise gotten.

They did this by choosing shrewd messengers, who took stale and moldy bread, patched wine bottles, ragged clothes and shoes, and agreed on a cunning tale to deceive the Israelites. Thus they appeared in Israel’s camp at Gilgal, requesting that Israel make a league of peace with them.

The Israelites must have suspected them for they suggested that if they were of Canaan they could not make peace with them. When they insisted that they were servants of Israel, seeking peace, Joshua even went so far as to inquire of their citizenship and country.

The deceivers gave an evasive answer, seemingly calculated to suggest that their land was so far away that Joshua and the elders of Israel had never heard of it, so there was no need to state the name of their country.

Joshua and the elders almost appear naive in the exchange, in not insisting on the name of the strangers’ country. The Gibeonite deceivers stressed their previous story with a tale how the bread was fresh, the wine bags and clothing new when they started on their journey to meet the Israelites, but a long, hard journey had rendered them old. They very shrewdly insisted that their sole reason for coming was out of respect for the great God, whose deeds in Egypt and across the Jordan they had heard. They were very careful not to mention the dry ground crossing of Jordan, the fall of Jericho’s walls, and the destruction of Ai, for these events were so recent that they should not have heard of them had they come from so far away place as they contended.

It is most astounding that Joshua fell into another serious mistake so quickly following his humiliation regarding Ai. In their overconfidence he and the elders made their inspection of the Gibeonite evidence and reached agreement concerning the requested league without consulting the Lord, (cf; Php_3:3). Thus the Gibeonites received the oath of Israel not to harm them.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

3. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard, etc. The inhabitants of Gibeon alone rejecting the proposal to make war have recourse to fraud, and endeavor to obtain peace by pretending to live at a great distance. To make such an attempt, was very odious to their neighbors, because it was, in a manner, to make a schism among them, to open a door to the Israelites, and weaken the strength of their allies. And though blame is justly due to the foolish credulity of Joshua and the rulers, who were under no obligation to bargain rashly in regard to a matter not properly investigated, yet the Lord, who is wont to bring light out of darkness, turned it to the advantage of his people; for it procured them an interval of relaxation, while they halted in a tranquil district.

The Gibeonites, indeed, judged rightly and prudently, when they resolved to bear anything sooner than provoke God more against them, by a vain resistance. But the employment of fraud and illicit arts, to circumvent those whose favor and protection they desired to enjoy, was no less absurd and ridiculous than at variance with reason and equity. For what could be the stability of a league which was founded in nothing but gross fraud? They pretend that they are foreigners who had come from a far distant country. Joshua, therefore, is bargaining with mere masks, and contracts no obligation except in accordance with their words. Hence the craft by which they insinuated themselves ought not to have availed them. Still, as a great degree of integrity yet existed among men, they deemed it enough to obtain an oath even extorted by fraud, feeling fully persuaded, that the people of Israel would not violate it.

The expression, that they too acted cunningly, is erroneously supposed by some to contain an allusion to the stratagem which Joshua had employed in deceiving the citizens of Ai no less inaccurately do others make it refer to the time of Jacob, whose sons, Simeon and Levi, (83) had treacherously destroyed the Sichemites. (Gen 34:0) The antithesis is merely between the hostile preparations of the kings and the secret wiles with which the Gibeonites accosted Joshua. Accordingly, after it is stated, that some had leagued with the intention of trying the result of open war, the trick of the Gibeonites is subjoined, and hence the meaning is, that Joshua had to do not only with professed enemies, who had gathered themselves together to battle, but with the crafty dissimulation of one nation.

It is asked, however, why the Gibeonites labored so anxiously in a matter which was not at all necessary? For we shall see elsewhere that the Israelites were ordered to offer peace to all, that they might thereafter have a just and legitimate cause for declaring war. But as it was everywhere rumored, that they were seeking a permanent settlement in the land of Canaan, (which they could not obtain except by expelling the inhabitants,) the Gibeonites conclude that there is no means of binding them to mercy except by imposing upon them in some way or other; as they would never have spontaneously and knowingly allowed the land which they had invaded to be occupied by others. Nay, as it was known that they had been commanded to destroy all, they had no alternative left but to have recourse to fraud, as all hope of obtaining safety was otherwise taken away. And for this reason they shortly after ask pardon for a fraud wrung from them by necessity.

Here, however, a question arises; as the Israelites object that they are not at liberty to make any paction with the nations of Canaan, but are bound to exterminate them utterly. There is certainly a discrepancy between the two things — to exhort to submission, and at the same time refuse to admit suppliants and volunteers. But although God required that the laws of war should be observed according to use and wont, and that, therefore, peace should be offered on condition of submitting, he merely wished to try the minds of those nations, that they might bring destruction upon themselves by their own obstinacy. At the same time, it was intimated to the Israelitish people, that they must destroy them; and hence the conclusion necessarily followed, that those who dwelt in the land of Canaan could not be tolerated, and that it was unlawful to make a covenant with them.

We shall afterwards find both things distinctly expressed, viz., that all persisted in carrying on war, because it had been the divine intention that their hearts should be hardened, and that they should perish. It was, therefore, a legitimate inference that those who were doomed to death could not be preserved. If any one object that the Gibeonites, who voluntarily applied for peace, were therefore exceptions, I answer, that the Israelites were not at present considering that formal custom which produced no result, but are merely attending to the promise and the command of God. Hence it is, that they allow no hope to remain, because they had been simply and precisely commanded to purge the land by putting every individual to death, and to succeed to the place of those they had slain.

(83) French, “ Duquel les trois enfans, assavoir, Ruben, Levi et Simeon;” “Whose three sons, Reuben, Levi, and Simeon.” — Ed.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

Jos. 9:3. The inhabitants of Gibeon] Gibeon was a city situated, as its name indicates, upon a hill. It was about forty stadia from Jerusalem, according to Josephus, Ant. vii. 11. 7 (50 according to his Bell. Jud. ii. 19. 1), on the road towards Beth-horon and Lydda. In size it surpassed Ai, being one of the royal cities, though then without a king. Its constitution was republican, under the government of elders; the republic embracing, in addition to Gibeon, the towns of Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim (Keil).

Jos. 9:4. Went and made as if they had been ambassadors] They went and travelled as ambassadors, or they started on their journey as ambassadors (Keil). They did not pretend to be ambassadors, for they were ambassadors; the pretence consisted in their saying that they came from a distant land (Capellus). Wine bottles] Heb., wine skins.

Jos. 9:5. Clouted] From Saxon olut (Swed. klut), a fragment of cloth, a patch, also a cuff, or blow, with the hand. In both of these senses, the word is still often used in some of the provinces. Chaucer, Ascham, Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers, repeatedly use it with the sense given to it in the text. Mouldy] Spotted, or crumbled, i.e., falling to pieces because dry from being old.

Jos. 9:6. The camp at Gilgal] Reasons have already been given for the conclusion that this was not the Gilgal in the plains of Jericho, but Gilgal beside the plains of Moreh (cf. Deu. 11:30; Gen. 12:6), between Bethel and Shechem. It is apparently the same place which is mentioned in 2Ki. 2:1-2, as having Bethel below it. It is highly improbable that Joshua would have taken the entire body of the people back from Mount Ebal to the Gilgal of the first encampment, and thus have abandoned for a time the altar and the pillars containing the law, which it had been deemed of such importance to turn aside from the war and erect.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Deceit of the Gibeonites Jos. 9:3-15

3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp of Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Per-adventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

3.

Where was Gibeon? Jos. 9:3

According to Josephus, it was 4050 stadia from Jerusalem; and judging from its name, it was built upon a hill. It is to be found in the modern el Jib, about six miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. A village of moderate size, on a long chalk hill now overlooks a very fertile, well cultivated plain, or rather a basin, consisting of broad valleys and plains. The hill rises like a vineyard in the form of separate terraces. The remains of large massive buildings of great antiquity are still to be seen there. There are also some fountains and two large subterranean reservoirs. The Gibeonites lived in a city which was the head of four towns occupied by the HivitesGibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim (Jos. 9:17). It was something of an independent republic (1) with elders (Jos. 9:11), (2) with no kingsince none is mentioned, (3) and with a name as a royal city (Jos. 10:2). It was situated at the head of the pass of Beth-horon and commanded the main route from Jerusalem and the lower Jordan Valley to Joppa and the seacoast. The town was inhabited by a numerous and brave population. Gibeon was therefore one of the most important cities of southern Canaan. A team of archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum made excavations in 1960 which attest the fact of the existence of the city of Gibeon. These citizens made famous in the Bible spent a great portion of their funds to build defenses against attack. Dr. James B. Pritchard, director of the museum in the Biblical Archaeology section, reported these findings after five years of excavations at the Arab village of El Jib, Jordan, the site of the ancient Gibeon. The excavations were conducted in cooperation with the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem. The director of the museum. Dr. Froelich Rainey said that the team of archaeologists uncovered the existence of an elaborate system of civil defense which was designed to enable Gibeon to withstand indefinite siege. Also near the town was a cemetery dating some two thousand years before Christ. This cemetery contained thirty-six rock-cut tombs which illustrated burial customs and shed light on the details of the Gibeonites daily life, several hundred years before they made peace with the Israelites. According to the report the civil defense system involved construction of two walls which encircled Gibeon. There was also a camouflaged tunnel leading from inside the inner wall to a nearby spring which insured adequate water supply. The outer wall probably was built prior to the time when the Gibeonites made peace with Joshua. The large inner walls erected in the days of the early Israelite kings were probably erected after Gibeon was conquered by King Seshonk or Shishak in Egypt around 945 B.C. From all appearances the city of Gibeon was able to resist attacks until about 586 B.C. when the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar laid waste the city while on his victorious march to Jerusalem.

4.

Who were the Gibeonites? Jos. 9:4

They were inhabitants of a republic which included not only Gibeon, the capital, but the towns of Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. Gibeon was larger than Ai, being one of the royal cities (see Jos. 10:2), and was inhabited by Hivites, who were a brave people (Jos. 10:7; Jos. 11:19). It was afterwards allotted to the tribe of Benjamin and set apart as a Levitical town (Jos. 18:25; Jos. 21:17). After the destruction of Nob by Saul, the Tabernacle was removed thither; and there it remained until the building of Solomons temple (1Ch. 16:39; 1Ch. 21:29; 1Ki. 3:4-5; 2Ch. 1:3 ff.). They are called Hivites in verse seven, but they were all of Canaanite background and origin.

5.

What means did the Gibeonites use to deceive Israel? Jos. 9:5

They had old sacks upon their asses. These were large bags, usually of hair, in which the Orientals pack their supplies for convenient transport on the backs of animals. In these were all the baggage and commodities required for the journey. Beds, boxes, provisions, pots, packages of goods, all are carried in such bags, slung over the back of the animal, one hanging at each side. Being knocked about and exposed to the weather, these saddlebags, as one might call them but for their size, suffer damage in a long journey; and hence the Gibeonites took old bags to convey the impression that a long journey had been made. They also had wine bottles, i.e., skin bottles, of which classical antiquity has afforded many representations. In the East the wine was preserved not in casks but in earthen jars and leather bottles made of the skins of goats, oxen, buffaloes. These were turned inside out, washed, and rubbed over with warm mineral tar or naphtha. The wine would be drawn out at one of the feet by opening and closing the cord with which it was tied. This explains how the bottles could be old, rent, and bound up. It also explains the caution of our Lord against pouring new wine into old bottles, lest they should be burst by the wine (Mar. 2:22). The Gibeonites wore old shoessandals made of hide or palm-leaves and papyrus stalks (cf. Mar. 6:9). They were clouted, sewed with patches. The men also wore old garments. Ambassadors usually appear in clean and decent, if not in splendid, raiment. These men broke custom to put forward their deceit. Their bread was dry and mouldy. The Hebrew word translated mouldy is the same which is rendered by cracknels in 1Ki. 14:3. It denotes a kind of crisp cake. The ordinary bread, baked in thin cakes, was not made to keep more than a day or two, a fresh supply being baked daily. If kept longer it dried up and became excessively hard. It was this kind of bread which the Gibeonites produced and they indicated its hardnesshard as biscuitsin evidence of the length of the journey.

6.

Did the people of Israel go back to Gilgal by Jericho? Jos. 9:6

We assume that after the setting up of the Law on Gerizim and Ebal, Joshua did not conduct the people with their wives and children back again to the camp which they had left in the Jordan valley on the east side of Jericho. He must have chosen the Gilgal which was situated upon the mountains and only seven hours journey to the south of Shechem as the future place of encampment. He probably made this the central point of all his further military operations (see 2Ki. 4:38; Hos. 4:15; Hos. 9:15; Hos. 12:11; Amo. 4:4; Amo. 5:5; cf. 1Sa. 7:16; 1Sa. 10:8; 1Sa. 11:14-15; 1Sa. 13:7-9). This is a spot alluded to in Deu. 11:30, beside the plains of Moreh, and near the site of Abrahams first altar (Gen. 12:6-7). There is a spot called Jilgiliah, a few miles from Bethel.

7.

Why did the Israelites question the Gibemites? Jos. 9:7

God had told the Israelites to destroy completely all the people of the land of Canaan. They were given permission to make peace with nations which lived far off from the Promised Land, but they were not to make any leagues with those who lived within the borders of the country. Nothing about the costume of the Gibeonites would have caused the Israelites to suspect that they lived among them, but they were being careful as they interrogated the ambassadors. When the Gibeonites stoutly affirmed they were from a land which was quite distant, the Israelites were fooled and entered into the league with them.

8.

What was the motive of the Gibeonites? Jos. 9:9-10

The Gibeonites were afraid they would be destroyed. They openly affirmed this in verse twenty-four. They also vowed that they were impressed because of what God had done in destroying the kings east of the Jordan. They had heard the fame of him and all that he did in Egypt (Jos. 9:9 b). Some commentaries feel the Gibeonites very wisely made no mention of the crossing of the Jordan River or the destruction of Jericho. If they had been from a very far country, they might not have heard of these most recent events.

9.

What was the Ashtaroth? Jos. 9:10

Ashtaroth was an ancient city of Asia and lay east of the Jordan (Deu. 1:4; Jos. 12:4; Jos. 13:12; Jos. 13:31). The location was in the land given to the half-tribe of Manasseh when they settled in Gilead. The town was the center of crude worship offered in adoration of Astarte and was the capital city of Og, king of Bashan. The site of the ancient city has been identified with Tell Ashtarah and lies twenty-one miles east of the Sea of Galilee on a hill which is surrounded by a well watered plain. By calling attention to this place in particular, the Gibeonites may have been suggesting their country was in a locale beyond this point and an area which would be outside the border of the Promised Land.

10.

What is the meaning of took of their victuals? Jos. 9:14

A marginal reading in the King James Version is as follows: They received the men by reason of their victuals. There is no evidence that the men of Israel tasted of the wine or partook of the mouldy bread. The author is simply saying Joshua and his leaders were impressed by the evidence which was presented to them. They did not take time then to ask counsel of God in the matter. This was a grave mistake and led them into an unholy alliance which caused grief both to the Gibeonites and to the Israelites in later times.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

THE GIBEONITES MAKE PEACE WITH JOSHUA (Jos. 9:3-27).

(3) The inhabitants of Gibeon.Hivites, as appears by Jos. 9:7. Gibeon was one member of a tetrapolis, or community of four cities, as is seen in Jos. 9:17. Their deception of Joshua and the Israelites on this occasion is a curious compensation for what was done by Simeon and Levi to the Hivites long before, when Jacob first came to Shechem from Padan-Aram (see Genesis 34). On that occasion, the inhabitants of a single city of the Hivites were put to the sword by Israel, by means of a stratagem; on this occasion, a stratagem saved four Hivite cities from destruction by Israels sword.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

THE FRAUD AND PUNISHMENT OF THE GIBEONITES, Jos 9:3-27.

3. Gibeon This was called “a great city.” Jos 10:2. It was the capital of the Hivites, and was situated five miles north by west from Jerusalem, at the head of the pass of Beth-horon. It was the key of central Palestine. Three adjacent cities were leagued with it, (Jos 9:17,) and seem to have formed with it a kind of republic; at least it was not under a king, but was equal in rank to “one of the royal cities.” Jos 10:2. “It stands on one of those rounded hills which characterize especially the western formation of Judea.” Stanley. It is by all travellers identified with the modern village El-Jib a corruption of Gibeon. “It is a very fair and delicious place,” says Mandeville, “and it is called Mount Joy, because it gives joy to pilgrims’ hearts; for from that place men first see Jerusalem.” Here, where it overlooked the wide domain of Israel, the sacred tabernacle was set up for many years under David and Solomon. 1Ki 3:3-4.

El-Jib is a moderately sized village of irregularly placed houses, chiefly composed of old mossy ruins.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Gibeonite Conspiracy ( Jos 9:3-27 ).

The next shock that shook Canaan was that with Jericho, Ai and Bethel defeated, and a way into Canaan having been obtained, and with the covenant having been made by Israel with the ‘foreign’ people of Shechem, the large and powerful Canaanite city of Gibeon capitulated and sought a treaty with the newcomers. The Israelite power base was growing. It is this capitulation of Gibeon who obtained a treaty through deceit that the remainder of this chapter is about.

Jos 9:3

‘And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai.’

The inhabitants of Gibeon may well have felt that they were next on the list to be attacked. Messengers would have raced in to give them warning to prepare themselves and have described in vivid detail the total destruction of Jericho and Ai and the decimation of the army of Bethel.

Gibeon was a fairly important ‘city’ over a small confederation of smaller ‘cities’ (as shown by its description as ‘as one of the royal cities’ – Jos 10:2 and see Jos 9:17) inhabited by the Hivites/Horites (Jos 10:7 – compare Gen 26:2 with Gen 26:20) and ruled over by a council of elders (Jos 9:11). It was what we now know as El-Jib, nine kilometres (five to six miles) north of Jerusalem. This is one case where we have actual evidence as the handles of storage jars were found at the site, stamped with a royal seal or inscribed with the owners’ names and the name Gibeon. In the time of David the Tabernacle was set up there (1Ch 16:39; 1Ch 21:29 see also 1Ki 3:4-5)

The site has not yet revealed traces of a late bronze age settlement but burials at the time do indicate that it was then occupied. Thus it was probably not then a large city or one with a good defensive capability. It is described as ‘greater than Ai’ (Jos 10:2). But we must remember that they were described as ‘but few’. They clearly had little confidence in being able to defend themselves against a nation the size of Israel whose God could do such wonders as those that they had heard of. God’s ‘hornet’ of fear and doubt was doing its work.

Jos 9:4

‘ They also did work subtly, and went and made as if they were ambassadors, and took old sacks on their asses and wine containers, old and torn and bound up.’

It was clearly well known that Israel were set to destroy all Canaanites. Their probable alliance with Shechem was also well known. These two factors explain the Gibeonite approach. If they could pretend to be non-Canaanite YHWH admirers (Jos 9:9) like Shechem they might be able to unite with these fierce and uncompromising people.

The ‘also’ refers to the many different ways in which peoples were preparing themselves to battle with Israel as they sought to work out ways to deal with the Israelite menace. It may also have in mind the cunning of the king of Ai in secretly introducing troops from Bethel without the Israelites knowing about it, and the act of the inhabitants of Jericho in shutting themselves up in their city. Alternately it may refer to the subtle cleverness shown by Israel in capturing Jericho and Ai (stories had no doubt begun to circulate which demonstrated this).

“Went and made as if they were ambassadors.” The word is tsayar in the hithpael (reflexive – ‘made themselves ambassadors’), a unique usage in the Old Testament. Its root is related to the word translated ‘ambassador’ in Isa 18:2; Isa 57:9; Isa 59:19. The versions translate it as ‘took for themselves provisions’ which requires a small change in the Hebrew text (tsyd – see Jos 9:5 and Jos 9:12 – instead of tsyr – ‘d’ and ‘r’ are very similar in Hebrew) but that may have resulted from the fact that they did not recognise the original word. It is a good principle not to alter the Hebrew text without extremely good cause. Thus the idea here is that they wanted Israel to think that they were ambassadors from a non-Canaanite country.

“Took old sacks on their asses and wine containers, old and torn and bound up.” They wanted to give the impression of having come on a long journey (see Jos 9:9; Jos 9:13). The ‘binding up’ indicated the use of cord or similar to give the impression of trying to keep the old skins together.

Jos 9:5

‘ And old shoes and patched on their feet, and old clothing on them and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become mouldy.’

They wore shoes that were clearly in bad condition and had had to be patched and otherwise held together. Their clothing was old and ragged. Their bread was crumbling and spotted and therefore mouldy. They gave all the appearance of having come on a long and arduous journey.

Jos 9:6

‘ And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him, and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. Now therefore make yourselves a covenant-treaty with us.” ’

The covenant was to be between people and people so that emphasis is placed on ‘to him and to the men of Israel’. The ‘men of Israel’ would be the leaders and elders of the people. If Joshua and Israel had just concluded a similar covenant with the men of Shechem which had had the approval of YHWH we can understand why Joshua felt no harm in it. He had grown complacent and so did not consult YHWH. He probably saw them almost in terms of Shechem. One step led to another, but God should have been consulted all the way. The same failure to consult had happened at Ai.

Once the covenant was entered into it would involve mutual protection and mutual responsibility. Such a covenant was looked on as inviolable and sacred. Even when it was discovered that it had been obtained by false pretences it could not be changed or cancelled. And it was binding through the centuries. When Saul slew some Gibeonites without good reason, punishment had to be exacted (2Sa 21:1-9).

“We have come from a far country.” This was a direct lie, but necessary for the purpose that they hoped to achieve. They were denying that they were Canaanites. It made the elders of Israel think that they were simply protecting their future.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ver. 3. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard, &c. The city of Gibeon, which was much more considerable than Ai, was, according to Eusebius and St. Jerome, the capital of the country of the Hivites. Eusebius adds, that in his time there was a village of this name four miles to the west of Beth-el. Gibeon afterwards fell to the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, and was assigned to the priests. See chap. Jos 18:25 Jos 21:17.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

The Gibeonites, as appears by Jos 9:17 , possessed four cities in the country of the Hivites.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Jos 9:3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

Ver. 3. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard, &c. ] The rest of the Canaanites had heard as much, but made not so good a use of it. Some hear and fear; others hear and are hardened. Some of St Paul’s hearers at Athens derided, others doubted, a few only believed. Act 17:32 ; Act 17:34 Grace maketh the difference.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 9:3-15

3When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, 5and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. 6They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us. 7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we make a covenant with you? 8But they said to Joshua, We are your servants. Then Joshua said to them, Who are you and where do you come from? 9They said to him, Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the LORD 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 Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth. 11So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them, We are your servants; now then, make a covenant with us.’ 12This our bread was warm when we took it for our provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. 13These wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these our clothes 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 ask for the counsel of the LORD. 15Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

Jos 9:3 when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai Gibeon was a well fortified, raised site about six miles north of Jerusalem. We learn from Jos 9:17 that it was apparently in a league of cities. It later became a Levitical city (cf. Jos 21:17) and was located in the tribal allocation of Benjamin (cf. Jos 18:25). It was very significant because it was on the major road between Joppa and the Mediterranean. It later became a temporary home for the Ark of the Covenant (cf. 1Ch 16:39).

Jos 9:4

NASBthey also acted craftily

NKJVthey worked craftily

NRSVthey on their part acted with cunning

TEVthey decided to deceive him

NJBthey had recourse to a ruse

This ADJECTIVE (BDB 115) is used in Jos 9:4-5 four times. The VERB (BDB 115) is used of the miraculous garments that did not wear out during the wilderness wandering period in Deu 8:4; Deu 29:5; Neh 9:21.

NASBand set out as envoys

NKJVand went and pretended to be ambassadors

NRSVthey went and prepared provisions

TEVThey went out and got some food

NJBThey provided themselves with supplies

The phrase set out as envoys appears only here in the OT (Masoretic Text). However, the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Vulgate (cf. REV, NJ, NAB, NRSV) have they prepared provisions (BDB 845, KB 1020, Hithpael PERFECT in Jos 9:12). This translation variation may be due to similar Hebrew roots.

and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys These sacks (BDB 974) were used to carry provisions. They were usually woven from animal hair.

The ADJECTIVE worn out (BDB 115) is used three times.

1. sacks (BDB 974)

2. wineskins (BDB 609)

3. sandals (BDB 653)

wineskins worn-out and torn and mended Wineskins were usually made from the skin of an animal, with the hair shaved off, turned inside out and the neck became the place from which the liquid was poured. We still say the neck of a bottle. When wineskins are new, they are relatively elastic and can accommodate the expansion of fermenting wine. When the skins are old, they cannot expand and they will break. These wineskins were made to look like they had been in use for a long time (possibly patched).

Jos 9:5 worn-out and patched sandals on their feet We learn from ancient literature and archaeology that sandals were made of leather and palm leaves, or papyrus reeds. Patched (BDB 378, KB 375, Pual PARTICIPLE) is found only here in the OT. Its verbal form meant spotted or variegated.

and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled Literally the word crumbled (BDB 666, cf. NASB, NJB) means dotted over in Hebrew which implies mildew (cf. NKJV, NRSV, TEV). In the ancient world people baked bread every day and it was edible for several days.

Jos 9:6 they went to Joshua. . .and said to him and to the men of Israel It seems to be that in Jos 9:6-8; Jos 9:15 we see the three main types of authority among the people of God: (1) the central God-called leader, Joshua (cf. Jos 9:6; Jos 9:8; Jos 9:15); (2) the elders of Israel (cf. Jos 9:15; Jos 9:21); and (3) the entire congregation (cf. Jos 9:18-19). This same threefold type of polity structure can be seen in the New Testament: episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational (cf. Acts 15).

to the camp at Gilgal This could refer to

1. the initial camp site between the Jordan and Jericho, Jos 4:19-20; Jos 5:9-10

2. a city farther north closer to Shechem, Deu 11:30; 2Ki 2:1

3. a city in the allotment of Judah, Jos 15:7

The texts that are uncertain are Jos 9:6; Jos 10:7; Jos 10:9.

make a covenant with us This VERB (BDB 503, KB 500, Qal IMPERATIVE, cf. v.11) literally meant to cut off or cut down. Here it is used in the sense of cut a covenant (BDB 136), which originally involved a sacrifice (e.g., Gen 15:10; Gen 15:17-18; Jer 34:18). See Special Topic below.

SPECIAL TOPIC: COVENANT

Jos 9:7 the Hivites Hivites (BDB 295) seem to be identified with Horites (cf. Gen 36:2; Gen 36:20-21 and the Septuagint). We are not sure of their exact relationship to the Hurrians, but it is obvious that they are a non-Semitic group living within the Promised Land. See Special Topic: Pre-Israelite Inhabitants of Palestine .

how then shall we make a covenant with you The reason for this question was the specific guidelines of Moses about not sparing the life of any of the peoples of the land (cf. Exo 23:32; Exo 34:12; Deu 7:2).

Jos 9:9 The confession of the Gibeonite representatives (which reflected the discussions of all of the leadership) is similar to Rahab’s confession (cf. Jos 2:9-11). It involves

1. an affirmation of YHWH’s greatness and power

2. knowledge of Israel’s supernatural victories with YHWH’s presence and help

3. an element of fear and self preservation

This is also true of Rahab and all conversions

NASBthe fame of the Lord your God

NKJV, NRSVthe name of the Lord your God

TEVwe have heard of the Lord your God

NJBthe fame of Yahweh your God

This term fame (BDB 1027, cf. Jos 7:9) is literally name and is used in the sense of reputation (cf. Deu 10:8; 1Sa 17:45; 2Sa 6:18; 2Ki 2:24).

Jos 9:10 Ashtaroth This is a city in the eastern Jordan area which was in the tribal allotment of Manasseh. It was named after the female fertility goddess of the Canaanite pantheon called Ashterah or Astarte (BDB 800). It is interesting that in Jos 9:9-10 these Canaanites mention nothing of the victories of Joshua at Jericho and Ai. If they had, Joshua would have known that they lived closer than they claimed. See Special Topic: Fertility Worship of the Ancient Near East .

Jos 9:11 The Gibeonite’s representatives spin an elaborate lie (three Qal IMPERATIVES) about the instructions given them by their elders and people.

1. take provisions, BDB 542, KB 534, cf. Jos 9:12-13

2. go to meet, BDB 229, KB 246 (plus Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT, BDB 55, KB 65)

3. make a covenant, BDB 503, KB 500, cf. Jos 9:6

Jos 9:14 so the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask the counsel of the LORD In the MT the phrase of Israel is missing. The implication is that we are not sure which men took these provisions. Some say it was the Gibeonites, who showed the Israelites their provisions to prove their point. Others say it was the men of Israel who took these provisions. Possibly, the reason that Israel took these provisions was (1) to eat the bread, which would have signified a covenant (e.g., Gen 31:54) or (2) to sample them (NJB) to see if they were old. It is interesting that they based their decision on physical evidence without asking the Lord (usually by Urim and Thummim, cf. Num 27:21; also note the VERB is a technical term for counseling with YHWH, cf. Isa 30:2; Isaiah 65 :).

Jos 9:15 swore an oath to them For the Israelites to swear an oath in YHWH’s name, even if under false pretenses, was a binding obligation (cf. Jos 9:19-20; Gen 25:27-34; Gen 27:30-40; Lev 19:12; Num 30:2; Deu 23:21-23). Notice that Joshua’s covenant had to be ratified by the leaders of the congregation.

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

inhabitants. The Gibeonires were Hivites (Jos 9:7), condemned to extermination as mixed with the descendants of the Nephilim (App-26). Exo 23:32; Exo 34:12-15. Num 33:51-56. Deu 7:1, Deu 7:2; Deu 20:16. They were aware of this. Hence their mission; by which they exposed themselves to the enmity of the other nations (Jos 10:1-4).

Gibeon = High place. About six and a half miles from Beth-el, eight miles north-north-west of Jerusalem.

what. Some codices, with Septuagint and Vulgate, read “all that”.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Gibeon: Jos 9:17, Jos 10:2, 2Sa 21:1, 2Sa 21:2

Jericho: Jos 6:1-27, Jos 8:1-35

Reciprocal: Jos 6:27 – his fame Jos 11:19 – the Hivites Jos 21:17 – Gibeon 2Sa 2:12 – Gibeon 1Ki 3:4 – Gibeon 1Ch 12:4 – Gibeonite Neh 3:7 – the Gibeonite

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Jos 9:3-4. And when Rather, but when; the inhabitants of Gibeon A great and royal city of the Hivites. They made as if they had been ambassadors Sent from a far country. Wine-bottles, old and rent, and bound up This seems scarce sense to us; but will appear clear enough when we recollect that glass bottles were not then known, but that bottles made of leather or skins were then used; and the Gibeonites, to make show of being come from a far country, brought with them such as were torn and rent, and bound about with strings or cords to keep them together.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Gibeon stood seven miles south of Bethel. It was "one of the largest towns in the central part of Canaan," [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 95.] larger than Ai (Jos 10:2), and possibly the Hivite capital. [Note: Bush, p. 99.] It later became a Levitical town (Jos 18:25; Jos 21:17). The Israelites eventually pitched the tabernacle there, and it remained at that site until Solomon built his temple (1Ki 3:4-5; 1Ch 16:39; 1Ch 21:29). Hivites inhabited Gibeon at the time of the conquest (Jos 9:7).

When the leaders of Gibeon learned of the crafty methods the Israelites had used at Jericho and Ai, they determined to use deception too.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)