Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 9:16
And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they [were] their neighbors, and [that] they dwelt among them.
Verse 16. At the end of three days] Gibeon is reputed to be only about eight leagues distant from Gilgal, and on this account the fraud might be easily discovered in the time mentioned above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
At the end of three days, i.e. at the last of them, or upon the third day, as it is said Jos 9:17; so this phrase is elsewhere used, as Deu 14:28; 31:10. Or it may be properly understood, that after three days they heard this; and on the day after they heard this, they came to their cities, as is said, Jos 9:17.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16, 17. at the end of three days . .. they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dweltamong themThis information was obtained in their furtherprogress through the country; for as Jos9:17 should be rendered, “when the children of Israeljourneyed, they came to their cities.” Gibeon was about eighteenor twenty miles from Gilgal.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass at the end of three days, after they had made a league with them,…. The league seems to have been made the same day they came; the Gibeonites were no doubt in haste to have it concluded, lest they should be discovered; and Joshua, and the princes of Israel, took no pains, and gave themselves no great trouble to inquire about them, but made peace with them at once; and it was but three days after, or within three days of its being made,
that they heard that they [were] their neighbours, and [that] they dwelt among them; that is, in their neighbourhood, as the Arabic version; and so Noldius r renders the words, “and that they dwelt near them”; for the Gibeonites did not dwell among the Israelites, or in the midst of them, but near the place where they were; and this they understood either by some deserters that came to the camp of Israel, or by some of the Israelites who were sent to reconnoitre several parts of the country, especially such as lay nearest, or for the sake of getting provisions for their camp.
r Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 211. No. 932.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Three days after the treaty had been concluded, the Israelites discovered that they had been deceived, and that their allies dwelt among them (see Jos 9:7). They set out therefore to deal with the deceivers, and reached their towns Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim on the third day. “ Chephirah, which was afterwards allotted to the tribe of Benjamin along with Gibeon and Beeroth, and was still inhabited after the captivity ( Jos 18:25-26; Ezr 2:25; Neh 7:29), is to be seen in the ruins of Kefir, an hour’s journey to the east of Yalo, in the mountains, and three hours to the west of Gibeon (see Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 146, and Van de Velde, Memoir, pp. 303-4). Beeroth, , according to Eusebius ( Onom. s. v.) a hamlet near Jerusalem, and seven miles on the road to Nicopolis (it should read Neapolis), was in the tribe of Benjamin (2Sa 4:2), and still exists in the large village of Bireh, which is situated upon a mountain nine Roman miles to the north of Jerusalem in a stony and barren district, and has still several springs and a good well, besides the remains of a fine old church of the time of the Crusades (see Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 130ff.; Seetzen, R. ii. pp. 195-6). Kirjath-jearim, also called Kirjath-baal (Jos 15:60), Baalah (Jos 15:9), and Baal-Jehuda (2Sa 6:2), was allotted to the tribe of Judah. It stood upon the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15:60; Jos 18:15); and the ark remained there, after it had been sent back by the Philistines, until the time of David (1Sa 7:2; 2Sa 6:2; 1Ch 13:5-6). According to the Onom., s. v. and , it was nine or ten Roman miles from Jerusalem, on the road to Diospolis (Lydda), and is probably to be seen in the present Kuryet el Enab, a considerable village with a large number of olive trees, figs, pomegranates, and vineyards, from the last of which the old “town of the forests” has received the more modern name of “town of the vine” (see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 335, and Bibl. Res. pp. 156-7; and Seetzen, ii. p. 65). These towns, which formed one republic with Gibeon, and were governed by elders, were at so short a distance from Gilgal (Jiljilia), that the Israelites could reach it in one or two days. The expression “ on the third day ” is not at variance with this; for it is not stated that Israel took three days to march there, but simply that they arrived there on the third day after receiving the intelligence of the arrival of the ambassadors.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Deceit Discovered, vs. 16-21
This second great error of Joshua actually put him into a dilemma, in which he may well have been dismayed. If he had remembered to always abide by the charge he had received there would have been no cause for dismay. Very shortly after concluding the pact with the Gibeonites the Israelites discovered that they lived just three days ahead of their line of march in their conquest. Actually Gibeon, the chief of their towns, lay a scant thirty straight-line miles from the camp at Gilgal In going up to Ebal and Gerizim for the uttering of the blessings and curses they passed much nearer the place. When it was learned how they had been tricked the congregation of Israel was very much displeased with their elders, but these stuck by their oath in fear of the wrath of God if they should fail to keep it. However, to honor their foolish oath was to dishonor the original command of the Lord to exterminate the pagan inhabitants of the land, so that it is questionable whether they were bound under God to honor the oath they had made to the Gibeonites. The eventual settlement of the problem was to leave them alive, but to make them servants of the congregation in hewing the wood and drawing the water to be used in the service of the tabernacle.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16. And it came to pass, etc. The chastisement of their levity by the discovery of the fraud, three days after, must, by the swiftness of the punishment, have made them more sensible of the shame and disgrace. For it was thus known, that through sloth and lethargy, they had very stupidly fallen into error from not having taken the trouble to inquire into a matter almost placed before their eyes. Their marching quietly through that region, entering cities without trouble, and finding free means of sustenance, was owing to the paternal indulgence of God, who not only pardons their fault, but causes that which might justly have been injurious to turn out to their good. Here it is related that the children of Israel did not act in a hostile manner in that region, because the Gibeonites had received a promise of safety confirmed by an oath.
Now two questions arise — first, Whether the children of Israel, who had no intention whatever to pledge their faith to impostors, had contracted any obligation? and, secondly, Whether it was not in the option of the people to rescind a promise which their leaders had foolishly and erroneously made? In regard to the general position, the obligation of an oath ought to be held in the greatest sacredness, so that we may not, under the pretext of error, resile from pactions, even from those in which we have been deceived, since the sacred name of God is more precious than the wealth of a whole world. (85) Hence though a man may have sworn with little consideration, no loss or expense will free him from performance. I have no doubt, that in this sense David says, (Psa 15:4,) that the true worshippers of God, if they have sworn to their hurt, change not, because they will bear loss sooner than expose the name of God to contempt, by retracting their promises.
I conclude, therefore, that if a private interest only is to be affected, everything which we may have promised by oath must be performed. And it is apparent from the words, that the Israelites were afraid lest they should expose the name of their God to disgrace among the nations of Canaan. For I think there is an emphasis in the expression — because they had sworn by the God of Israel. But a special reason left the Israelites at liberty to recede from the deceitful compact; for they had not only given up their own right, but improperly departed from the command of God, with which it was not lawful to interfere in the smallest iota. It was not in their power either to spare the vanquished or enact laws of surrender, whereas they now transact as if the business had been committed to them. We see, accordingly, that they twice profaned the name of God, while, under pretence of the oath, they persevered in defending what they had foolishly promised.
In the deference which the common people pay to their leaders, by abstaining from all violence to the Gibeonites, we behold the integrity of the age. Elsewhere it would have readily occurred to elude the promise by asserting that a whole people were not bound by the agreement of a few individuals, as the Romans did, in repudiating the Caudine peace, to which only the consuls, legates, and tribunes had sworn without the orders of the senate and people. The more praise, therefore, is due to that rude simplicity in which the religious obligation prevailed more than the too subtle arguments which the greater part of men in the present day approve and applaud. The people are indeed indignant that their leaders had taken more upon them than they were entitled to do, but their moderation does not allow them to proceed beyond murmur and noise. (86)
(85) Calvin was well qualified, by his legal education, to discuss the important question here raised, and it is impossible to dispute the soundness of his general positions in regard to it, both here and in the previous section of the Commentary on this chapter. There is, however, an appearance of inconsistency in some of the statements. In the section beginning with the third verse, he says in Latin, “ Cum larvis ergo paciscitur Josue, nec quidquam obligationis contrahit, nisi secundum eorum verba;” or as it is in French, “ Josue donques traitte alliance avec des masques ou phantosmes et n’est nullement oblige, sinon suivant leurs paroles;” “Joshua, then, makes an alliance with masks or phantoms, and is in no way bound, except according to their words.” Again, in the section beginning with verse the sixth, he says, “ Dixi summo jure evanidum et irritum fuisse ejusmodi foedus,” or as it is in French, “ J’ay dit qu’a la rigueur de droit une telle alliance estoit nulle et cassee;” “I have said, that in strict law such an alliance was null and void.” And he gives the reason in the form of a question, when he asks, “What do they (the Gibeonites) gain when their request is granted, but just that they are to be kept safe, provided they have come from a distant country?” But if the Gibeonites did not gain, or, in other words, were not entitled to demand anything, it is perfectly obvious that the Israelites could not be bound to grant anything. They were the two parties to a mutual contract, in which the claims of the one party were exactly the counterpart or measure of the obligations of the other. It might have been expected, therefore, that after Calvin had decided that the Gibeonites had no claim, he would, of course, have decided that the Israelites had incurred no obligation. Here, however, when considering this latter point, he seems to change his ground, by distinctly asserting, that we may not resile even from pactions in which we have been deceived. The inconsistency, however, is only apparent. He does not say that we are bound by such pactions, as if they were valid in themselves, but he adverts to circumstances which may lay us under a formal obligation to act as if we were bound by them. In other words, he removes the case from a court of law into the court of conscience, and thus brings it under the class of cases to which St. Paul referred, when he drew a distinction between things lawful and things expedient. Joshua and the elders had sworn rashly, but having by so doing put the honor of the God of Israel, so to speak, in pledge, they were bound, at whatever cost, to redeem it. — Ed.
(86) French, “ Quand il ne passe point outre le murmure, et qu’il se contente de cela;” “When they do not proceed beyond murmuring, and rest contented with it.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Jos. 9:17. On the third day] That is the same as at the end of three days in Jos. 9:16. The armed men would move from Gilgal to Gibeon (about twelve miles) in the same day on which the news was heard (Crosby). Keil, with more apparent accuracy, reckons Gibeon as eighteen or twenty miles from Gilgal, and supposes the phrase, the third day, to mean on the third day after the discovery of the stratagem. He adds: the third day is not to be interpreted as meaning that their journey occupied three days, a statement which Fay conveniently overlooks while criticising Keils opinion.
Jos. 9:23. Ye are cursed] Heb. =arar, and not charam, whence cherem (Crosby). Thus, although the Gibeonites were not devoted in the fullest manner, they were devoted in the sense of being set apart exclusively for the menial service of the tabernacle. They were the slaves of the tabernacle, and afterwards of the temple. Like the metal of the devoted cities, which, for another reason could not be destroyed, and which was dedicated to the service of the tabernacle, so these Gibeonites were still held to be forfeited to God. No one might employ them for his own private service. In these Hivites was begun the literal fulfilment of Noahs curse upon Canaan (Gen. 9:25).
Jos. 9:27. In the place which He should choose] Shewing that this book was written before the building of the temple; or, if the words refer to an assigned place for the tabernacle, as seems most probable, Fays view, that they indicate the appointment of the Gibeonites at once to the lowest service of the sanctuary, must be held to be correct.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Jos. 9:16-27
THE TREATY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Soon after Joshua and the princes had sworn to preserve the lives of the Gibeonites, they discovered the imposition of which they had been made the victims. The treaty was concluded without asking counsel of the Lord, and it took only three days ere it began to bring shame and work confusion. This paragraph shews us:
I. The sacredness which should ever attach to promises. Jos. 9:18. The oath which had been solemnly sworn before the Lord might or might not have been binding. The league was obtained by entirely fraudulent representations. It might be urged that when the conditions under which it was granted were proved to be feigned and false throughout, the league itself would have no more foundation in fact than the conditions had. Whether the conditions were expressly named in the terms of the covenant or not, this could make no difference whatever to the moral obligation of the Israelites in respect to keeping the covenant. By implication, if not expressly, the treaty was made with the Gibeonites on the ground that their story was true; and none knew this better than the Gibeonites themselves. If we proceed on the assumption that Joshua was not morally obliged to keep this treaty, the history makes the sacredness of promises in general still more emphatic. He kept his word when he was not bound to keep it, because the word of one man to another is a holy thing. Whether the treaty be considered binding or not, God solemnly approved the course eventually taken.
1. A promise, once really made, should be held to be as sacred as an oath. When Christ said, Swear not at all, He did not mean to prevent men from giving the utmost possible assurance of fidelity to their fellows. The yea, yea, and the nay, nay, were to be felt to be as obligatory as the most solemn oath.
2. Promises should be kept, even when they have to be kept at considerable sacrifice. When David asked, Lord, who shall abide in Thy Tabernacle? he also answered, He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He who breaks his promise in order to spare his own capital robs the estate of human trustfulness, and thus pays a personal debt with public property. Such a man steals from the faith and rest and peace of mankind generally, that he may protect himself and the comparatively small circle associated with him.
3. If possible, promises should be kept even when they have been fraudulently obtained. Herein lies the chief emphasis of this story. Seeing that the treaty had been made, it was best that it should be kept. When once the Gibeonites had been punished for their lie, it was absolutely imperative that the treaty should be respected. Hence the chastisement which God inflicted, four centuries later, for Sauls breach of his promise (2Sa. 21:1-14). God would have us keep our word at all times, unless the thing promised be in itself sinful.
4. If we hope that God will keep His promises to us, we must keep ours to each other. The Divine promises are only sure to us in Christ, and to break our promises to our fellows is, in this matter, to ignore Christ. The Saviour uses the same argument on the question of forgiveness: If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
II. The opposition which is continually found in the way of truth. All the congregation murmured against the princes. It is not necessary to suspect the congregation of selfish motives, touching the question of spoil, because of this opposition. Probably the people feared the wrath of the Lord, because a league had been made which He had forbidden. The Israelites had recently suffered shame and anxiety and loss because of Achans sin, and it is reasonable to suppose that they were mainly actuated to this murmuring against their leaders by their fear of the anger of Jehovah.
1. He who contends for truth and uprightness must not expect to escape opposition.
2. Opposition to those who are faithful to truth is offered from various motives.
3. Such opposition should be firmly met (Jos. 9:19). He who contends for integrity may well stand firmly. He who strives for fidelity need not fear to be faithful.
III. The penalties which ultimately attend fraud. The Gibeonites and their children were made slaves of the tabernacle for ever. Possibly if they had come openly, and pleaded for mercy, they would have been spared, as Rahab and her family had been. Israel had no right to conclude a covenant of peace with an entire city or people; for their general guidance they were forbidden to do so; it was not safe to trust them with powers to make peace with even single cities, lest repentance had been simulated by the Canaanites, and this deception had spread to city after city, and tribe after tribe, till Israel had entered into covenant with many of the inhabitants of the land who remained in heart as idolatrous as ever (cf., Deu. 20:16-18). But had the leaders of Israel asked counsel of the Lord, He might have given them the right to make peace in this or any other particular instance. This is implied in chap. Jos. 11:19. Judging by what we know of the character of God, He would certainly have commanded the Gibeonites to be spared, had they been penitent. There can be no doubt whatever about this. When God could swear by no greater, He sware by Himself: As I live, saith the LORD GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. The whole spirit of the Scriptures assures us that had all the Canaanites sincerely repented of idolatry, and sought Divine mercy, God would have pardoned them as readily as He afterwards spared Nineveh. This being so:
1. The bondage of the Gibeonites must be regarded as a punishment. Lying thought it could do better than candour and penitence; it set out to find life, and life was granted, but it was a life of perpetual slavery; confession would have found not only life, but liberty also. The bondage was the outcome of sin, and was meant also to be remedial.
2. This bondage of the Gibeonites was expedient, because of the Israelites. The social status of the Gibeonites was lowered, till the poorest Israelite would think little of the men, and less of their gods. Men do not learn of their slaves. The gods of Canaan, moreover, would be ignored daily by the very service which the spared Gibeonites rendered in the worship of the God of Israel. Thus God shews us that when we cannot remove a temptation, we are to disarm it. He shews us not less, how He makes all things work together for good to them that love Him. The habits of a lifetime could hardly be changed throughout an entire community by the penitence of a week. God suffers the prowess of His people to work prayer in the idolaters; He also suffers the prayer to go hand in hand with the deception. Then the slavery follows naturally as a punishment for sinthe sin of lying, and the half-repented sin of idolatry; and thus is the danger of a great temptation taken from the Israelites, and a purifying discipline, to continue through many generations, reserved for the idolaters themselves. Surely one of the most gladdening studies of heaven will be that in which the redeemed of the Lord search out the wonderful interworkings of the providence and grace by which, personally, each has been brought to his city of habitation, the New Jerusalem.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Jos. 9:16-17.FROM GUILT TO JUDGMENT.
Consider:
I. Guilt in its relation to exposure. Sooner or later it must be revealed. The Gibeonites well knew, in their case, that it could not long remain hidden. Their feeling is very much the normal condition of guilty hearts generally. Guilt is like the moth of the summer evening; it will make for the light. The guilty heart feels that the tendency of things is ever in the direction of exposure, but hopes for concealment notwithstanding.
II. Guilt in its connection with fear. The state of mind in which the Gibeonites found themselves after the success of their ruse must have been most unenviable. The blow would come: when would it come? how would it come? Fear ever waits on sin. The guilty no sooner become guilty than they are delivered over to the keeping of fear. Even when God had brought the sin of Cain to the light, and sent him from the Divine presence, Cain was overwhelmed with a vision in which discovery was perpetually repeating itself, and death continually waiting on discovery: he cried, It shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall slay me. The murderers vision of life was made up of two things: a state of chronic exposure, and a time of incessant judgment. Josephs brethren succeeded for a long while in concealing their wickedness, but not even the years which intervened between their sin and their trial could keep down the consciousness that their old act of iniquity was approaching the light. More than twenty years after their sin, they saw in the rough usage of the Egyptian lord the coming judgment of their crime: And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother. A guilty heart continually goes in fear of coming exposure. It often feels about its wickedness, as one says of guilt, in a fragment by Landor:
It wakes me many mornings, many nights,
And fields of poppies could not quiet it,
Owen has told us that One lie must be thatched with another, or it will soon rain through; and the thatching is miserable work indeed when the thatcher is driven to feel that, labour ingeniously and perseveringly as he may, the rain will come through after all.
III. Guilt finding its worst fears realised. The Gibeonites could not hope to conceal their fraud for long; they could not but be anxious as to whether their trick would be resented. Their anxiety was not without cause. In less than a week the armed hosts of the Israelites, indignant at the treatment they had received, were seen marching hastily into the territory of the Gibeonites to demand an explanation, and, it might be, to take vengeance on the deceivers. The fear of the wicked is not vain. It has its counterpart in reality. It is the shadow cast on the heart by an actual cloud. It often precedes solemn judgment. About food and raiment, Christ says to His disciples, Take no thought for the morrow. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. No such word is ever spoken to the unrepentant man concerning the judgment that follows sin.
Jos. 9:18-20.THE OPPOSITION OF THE PEOPLE TO THEIR LEADERS.
I. The murmuring of the congregation. Probably the people were concerned lest God should be angry. Possibly some murmured in view of lost spoil.
II. The faithfulness of the princes. They were faithful to their promise:
1. Because of the solemnity of an oath (cf. Eze. 17:13-19).
2. Because of the sacred name by which the oath had been sworn (Jos. 9:19).
3. Although they had previously erred in not asking counsel of God.
The obligation of an oath should be so far held sacred by us, as to prevent our departing on pretence of an error, even from engagements into which we may have been led by mistake; the sacred name of God being of more importance than all the wealth in the world. Therefore, although a man may have taken an oath without sufficient consideration, no loss or injury can release him from his engagement. My decision therefore would be, that whenever it is only our advantage that is in question, we are bound to perform whatever we have promised on oath.[Calvin.]
Jos. 9:22-25.THE BEARING OF TRUE MEN AND FALSE.
I. The dignity that belongs to truthfulness. Truth is greater in its defeats than lying is in its triumphs.
1. It has a nobler demeanour.
2. It can discuss calmly even the details of the plan by which it has been overthrown.
3. To it, eventually, belongs the right of passing sentence.
II. The servility which, accompanies falsehood. Falsehood foreshadows its bondage in the spirit which it manifests.
1. It can argue only from motives of self-interest.
2. It pleads its very fears as excuses.
3. It accepts its sentence without remonstrance.
4. It endeavours to the last to take advantage of that sense of right in others which has been wanting in itself. As it seemeth good and right to thee to do unto us, do.
Jos. 9:26-27.The Nethinim.
These hewers of wood and drawers of water were probably appointed not merely to the work indicated in these words, but to the general drudgery of the tabernacle, and subsequently of the temple. In Ezr. 8:20 they are called the Nethinim, that is, the given or dedicated ones. Henceforth these Gibeonites, then, were not their own; they belonged unto God in a perpetual servitude. Their history, and the name by which they were afterwards known in Israel, suggest to us the following thoughts:
I. Life forfeited by sin, but preserved by grace. The Gibeonites appear to have owed their lives to the princes; really, they owed them to God, who had so diligently taught His servants the sacredness of every promise.
1. The lives of these men had been forfeited by their own iniquity. They had become devoted by reason of the idolatry for which the rest of the Canaanites were actually slain. They might see their own deserts in the fate of their fellows.
2. Their lives were preserved by Divine grace. (a) By the grace of God in the leaders of the Israelites. (b) By the grace in which God afterwards shielded them from their enemies (2 Samuel 21).
II. Life preserved by grace, but preserved for work. The Gibeonites were not to be useless. They were not to be mere pensioners in the land. They were to be the servants of the temple of the Lord. Gods dedicated ones are not redeemed to idleness. They are called to arduous work, to constant work, to the humblest work. Christ washed His disciples feet, to shew us in what lowliness we ought to serve one another. The Psalmist sang, I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. He who owes life to undeserved mercy may well serve in continual gratitude. Secker said, God has three sorts of servants in the world: some are slaves, and serve Him from fear; others are hirelings, and serve Him for the sake of wages; and the last are sons, and serve Him under the influence of love.
III. Life preserved for work, and this work entirely for God. The Nethinim might not be pressed into the service of the Israelites. They were not only the servants of God, but of God only. They were dedicated, or devoted, perpetually unto Him. Those whom grace saves
(1) are not their own;
(2) they belong not unto men;
(3) they are the servants of Christ. They sing in the gladness of one who felt it no mean thing to belong unto Jehovah: O Lord, truly I am Thy servant. One of our modern hymns, by far too little known, breathes, through six verses, the same spirit. The last four are these:
No longer would my soul be known
As self-sustained and free;
O not mine own, O not mine own!
Lord, I belong to Thee.
In each aspiring burst of prayer,
Sweet leave my soul would ask
Thine every burden, Lord, to bear,
To do Thine every task.
For ever, Lord, Thy servant choose,
Nought of Thy claim abate;
The glorious name I would not lose,
Nor change the sweet estate.
In life, in death, on earth, in heaven,
No other name for me;
The same sweet style and title given
Through all eternity.
Thus should every pardoned and saved man and woman, not simply submit to, but delight in, the rank and dignity and labour of a servant of Jesus Christ.
IV. Life entirely devoted to God, and thus in the highest manner given to men.
1. No man serves his fellows, who does not serve God. That which he does for them with one hand, he more than undoes with the other. He teaches men to live without God in the world, and nothing can compensate for that.
2. He serves his fellows most diligently, who also serves God. It is the zeal of His house that leads men to consume themselves as willing sacrifices for others. Some of the most earnest of the apostles loved to begin their Epistles by calling themselves servants () of Jesus Christ. As they felt how entirely they belonged to the Saviour, they saw in the utmost which they could do for men only a reasonable service.
3. He who is devoted to God is anxious to serve men in the highest possible manner. He strives to serve them, not merely in things connected with the body and with time, but in priceless things touching the soul and belonging to eternity.
NEBY-SAMWIL, OR GIBEON
The chief fame of Gibeon in later times was not derived from the city itself, but from the great high place hard by (1Ki. 3:4; 1Ki. 9:2; 2Ch. 1:3; 2Ch. 1:13); whither, after the destruction of its seat at Nob or Olivet, the tabernacle was brought, and where it remained till it was thence removed to Jerusalem by Solomon. It can hardly be doubted that to this great sanctuary the lofty height of Neby-Samwl, towering immediately over the town of El-Jib, exactly corresponds. The tabernacle would be appropriately transferred to this eminence, when it could no longer remain at Nob on the opposite ridge of Olivet; and, if this peak were thus the great high place of Solomons worship, a significance is given to what otherwise would be a blank and nameless feature in a region where all the less conspicuous hills are distinguished by some historical name. This would then be a ground for the sanctity with which the Mussulman and Christian traditions have invested it, as the Ramah and the Shiloh of Samuel, even though those traditions themselves are without foundation. In Epiphanius time it still bore the name of the Mountain of Gibeon; and from its conspicuous height the name of Gibeon (belonging to a hill) was naturally derived to the city itself, which lay always where its modern representative lies now, on the lower eminence. From thence the Gibeonites hewed the wood of the adjacent valley, and drew the water from the springs and tanks with which its immediate neighbourhood abounds, and carried them up to the Sacred Tent; and there attended the altar of the Lord, which, from its proud elevation, overlooked the wide domain of Israel.[Stanleys Sinai and Palestine.]
HEWERS OF WOOD AND DRAWERS OF WATER
I was forcibly reminded of one item in the sentence of condemnation pronounced upon the Gibeonitesthat they should be hewers of woodby long files of women and children carrying on their heads heavy bundles of wood. It seemed to be hard work, especially to the young girls. It is the severest kind of drudgery; and my compassion has often been enlisted in behalf of the poor women and children, who daily bring loads of wood to Jerusalem from these very mountains of the Gibeonites. To carry water, also, is very laborious and fatiguing. The fountains are far off, in deep wadies with steep banks; and a thousand times have I seen the feeble and the young staggering up long and weary ways with large jars of water on their heads. It is the work of slaves, and of the very poor, whose condition is still worse. Among the pathetic lamentations of Jeremiah there is nothing more affecting than this: They took the young men to grind, and the children fell under the wood.[The Land and the Book.]
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
The Servitude of the Gibeonites Jos. 9:16-27
16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.
17 And the children of Israel journeyed and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.
20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
11.
How far away was Gibeon? Jos. 9:16
Depending upon the exact location of the camp of Israel, the city of Gibeon could not have been more than a few hours journey away from the spot where they met Joshua. If Joshua and the Israelites were encamped at the Gilgal which was in the country of Ephraim, they were indeed very close to Gibeon. Even if Joshua led the people back to the Gilgal which was near Jericho, the Gibeonites did not have to travel more than a few hours to reach the camp of Israel. They were indeed neighbors to Israel. The Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim on the third day after they broke camp. When the Israelites got there, they honored their covenant and let the Gibeonites live.
12.
Could the Israelites have broken their oath with justice? Jos. 9:18
No doubt from the standpoint of strict justice the Israelite rulers would be under no obligation to observe the treaty which they had made with the Gibeonites in full faith in the truth of their word. But the princes of Israel shrank back from breaking the oath, which, as is emphatically stated in verse nineteen, they had sworn by Jehovah the God of Israel. They were afraid of bringing the name of the God of Israel into contempt among the Canaanites, which they would have done if they had broken the oath which they had sworn by their God. Some of the Israelites must have wanted to break the covenant, for we read later that Joshua restrained the people and delivered the Gibeonites out of the hand of the children of Israel so that they did not slay them.
13.
What disposition was made of the Gibeonites? Jos. 9:21
Although the rulers of Israel let the Gibeonites live, they did not let them go unpunished. They made them to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation of Israel. Such a phrase indicates that they were forced to do the most servile kind of labor. Their service was evidently largely connected with the offering of sacrifices at the Tabernacle. These sacrifices would demand a great deal of wood for the fire on the altar. They also called for a large quantity of water for the sanitation necessary to the offering of animal sacrifices.
14.
Did the Gibeonites cause them any trouble? Jos. 9:22
As soon as they discovered their error, the princes were bound to do all in their power to ward off from the congregation the danger which might arise from their being drawn away to idolatry, This was the very thing which the Lord had intended to avert by commanding all the Canaanites to be destroyed, They warded off trouble by making the Gibeonites slaves of the sanctuary. Their conduct is never blamed either by the historian or by the history, inasmuch as it is not stated anywhere that the Gibeonites, after being made into temple slaves, held out any inducement to the Israelites to join in idolatrous worship. At a future time God Himself reckoned the attempt of Saul to destroy the Gibeonites as an act of blood guiltiness (2Sa. 21:1 ff.). This latter incident is the only record we have of their bringing any grief to Israel.
15.
What prophecy was thus fulfilled? Jos. 9:23
The Gibeonites were to perform for the congregation the slaves labor of hewing wood and drawing water for the worship of the sanctuary. This was a duty which was performed, according to Deu. 29:11, by the lowest classes of the people. In this way the curse of Noah upon Canaan (Gen. 9:25) was literally fulfilled upon the Hivites of the Gibeonite republic. Their servitude was only a token of the punishment meted out to all the heirs of Canaan. God was indeed fulfilling the promise made through Noah. No word of God is void of power.
16.
How did the Gibeonites know of Gods promise to Moses? Jos. 9:24
God had made the promise to give Canaan to Abrahams seed when Abraham first left Ur of Chaldees. The promise was repeated to Jacob as he fled from Esau. The promise must have been common knowledge not only among the Israelites, but also among the Canaanites themselves. Moses had led the people to the southern border of Canaan forty years earlier. People living in Canaan may have learned of Gods promise to give the land to the Israelites at that time. More recently, Moses had led Israel in the conquest of the kingdoms of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. The Canaanites would certainly see God was giving the land to Israel. Even if the Canaanites did not know of the exact wording of the promise, they would be able to interpret events of history and come to the conclusion that the Israelites were destined to possess the land. Their reference to the fact that it was told to them leads us to believe that they must have heard of the covenant itself.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(16) Their neighbours, and they that dwelt among them.Literally, and that they (the Gibeonites) were dwellers in the midst of him (Israel). (So Jos. 9:7.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. At the end of three days The Gibeonites themselves probably notified Joshua, after three days, that they were dwelling in their vicinity.
This precaution was necessary as a safeguard against a sudden attack by Joshua. They held the pass of Beth-horon, the key of Central and Western Palestine, which a sagacious foe would seek to wrest from their hands.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And so it was that at the end of three days, after they had made a treaty-covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours and that they dwelt among them.’
Then after a few days had passed (the regular ‘three days’) the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites in fact ‘lived in the neighbourhood’ and ‘were dwellers in the land’. Note the parallel descriptions of their status which would ensure the point got over to the hearers. It was not the kind of secret that could be kept for long. Soon everyone would know about it. People would be gloating and laughing at the way that the Israelites had been duped. It was too good a story not to pass on.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Deception Discovered and Punished.
v. 16. And it came to pass at the end of three days, after they had made a league with them, that they, v. 17. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now, their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim, v. 18. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel, v. 19. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel; now, therefore, we may not touch them.
v. 20. This we will do to them: we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. v. 21. And the princes said unto them, Let them live, but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. v. 22. And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, “Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you, when ye dwell among us? v. 23. Now, therefore, ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, v. 24. And they answered Joshua, v. 25. And now, behold, we are in thine hand; as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, v. 26. And so he did unto them, v. 27. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord even unto this day,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Ver. 16. Andat the end of three daysthey heard that they were their neighbours Montanus’s opinion of this matter is very probable. The pretended ambassadors of the Gibeonites having informed their countrymen of the success of their stratagem, rejoicings were made, the news of which could not fail to be soon brought to the camp of Israel.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
When we consider the motives for which Gibeon sought the peace of Israel, because as they said, they had , heard of the Lord God of Israel: when we add to this consideration, that the people of Israel, were all of them to a man, led to make peace with them they knew not how: and when we consider yet further, that the Lord gave Israel an account of the Gibeonites, as we read in the next chapter, the most glorious victory Joshua ever had, we cannot but be led to reflect that the hand of God was in it. Dearest Jesus! is it not thus, that thy kingdom is to be extended, and that the Gentiles are to come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy shining? Isa 60:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 9:16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they [were] their neighbours, and [that] they dwelt among them.
Ver. 16. At the end of three days. ] Truth is the daughter of time: falsehood will out at length. Some is so thin, that it may be presently seen through: and some again so closely and covertly carried, that it appeareth not till after a time.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 9:16-21
16 It came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living within their land. 17Then the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. 18The sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. 19But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. 20This we will do to them, even let them live, so that wrath will not be upon us for the oath which we swore to them. Jos 9:21 The leaders said to them, Let them live. So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.
Jos 9:16 at the end of three days This does not necessarily involve three full days (cf. Jos 9:17) because Gibeon was only about nineteen miles from where the Hebrews were camped.
Jos 9:17 This verse lists the names of the Gibeonite confederation.
Jos 9:18 and the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders The basic attitude of the people of God toward her leaders had not changed from the wilderness wandering period (BDB 534, KB 524, Niphal IMPERFECT, cf. Exo 15:24; Exo 16:2; Num 14:2; Num 16:11). Here, however, they are afraid of the consequences of breaking YHWH’s covenant (cf. Jos 9:24; Deuteronomy 7, 27-28).
Jos 9:19 we cannot touch them This is a Qal IMPERFECT NEGATIVE (BDB 407, KB 410) and a Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT (BDB 619, KB 668) used in a metaphorical sense for harm (cf. Gen 26:11; 2Sa 14:10; 1Ch 16:22; Psa 105:15).
Jos 9:20 lest wrath come upon us for the oath which we swore to them Oathtaking was a very serious matter to the Jews (cf. Leviticus 27 and 2Sa 1:1-14 for a very specific reference to this account) because it involved a promise in YHWH’s name (cf. Jos 9:9).
let them live This is repeated twice
1. in Jos 9:20 the VERB (BDB 310, KB 309) is a Hiphil INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE
2. in Jos 9:21 it is a Qal IMPERATIVE but in a JUSSIVE sense
Jos 9:21 They became servants (the phrase, hewers of wood and drawers of water can be metaphorical of menial service [i.e., Deu 29:11] or literal because this is exactly the tasks the Gibeonites performed) of all the tribes and for the tabernacle (cf. Jos 9:27).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Hewers of Wood and Drawers of Water
Jos 9:16-27
The faith of these people was so far rewarded that, while their deception was punished by their reduction to the most menial tasks, yet their lives were spared; and, to a certain degree, they were incorporated with Israel and associated with the service of Gods house. This position made them as unlikely as possible to seduce Israel from loyalty to Jehovah.
The Gibeonites were afterward known as Nethinim-that is, given. See 1Ch 9:2; Ezr 2:43; Ezr 8:20. If in the earlier part of your life you have made some great mistake which threatens to limit your influence for good, do not sit down in despair, but get service out of it. Let it hew your wood and draw your water!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
that they heard: Pro 12:19
Reciprocal: Jos 9:22 – ye dwell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The leaders of Gibeon controlled four towns (Jos 9:17). These towns acted together in many of their dealings, including making the treaty with Israel. The possession of these cities by the Israelites gave God’s people a more secure foothold in central Canaan.
"Here the wilderness motif had been turned upside down, for in the wilderness the leaders were justified, while the congregation was guilty. Here the congregation is justified, while the leaders are at fault." [Note: Butler, p. 104.]
The Israelites considered their oath to the Gibeonites as binding, especially since it was a promise given in the name of Yahweh (Jos 9:19).
"The ’oath’ was made in the name of the Lord. Consequently fidelity was owed, not to the Gibeonites, but to the Lord. The form of the oath called on the Lord to punish the Israelites if they failed to keep their agreement (cf. Jos 9:18-20). This explains why Israel felt bound to the treaty even though it had been made under false pretenses (cf. Gen 27:35; Psa 15:4)." [Note: Madvig, p. 299.]
Ancient Near Easterners regarded all treaties as sacred agreements. [Note: Davis and Whitcomb, p. 63.] If Israel had violated this oath she would have brought great reproach on herself and her God. Israel’s leaders were wise not to break their promise. [Note: See F. Charles Fensham, "The Treaty Between Israel and the Gibeonites," Biblical Archaeologist 27:3 (1964):98-100.] Later in Israel’s history King Saul put some of the Gibeonites to death in his misguided zeal, and God sent a famine on Israel as punishment (2Sa 21:1-2).
The reason God forbade His people from allowing the Canaanites to live and become incorporated into Israel was that they might lead the Israelites into idolatry. The leaders of Israel therefore punished the Gibeonites for their deception in a way designed to minimize the possibility of their doing this. They made them servants in the tabernacle. This plan undoubtedly reinstated the leaders in the good favor of the Israelites. Nevertheless this was not a wise move because the Lord wanted only authorized Israelites to assist in tabernacle worship. By bringing these foreigners into tabernacle service, the leaders of Israel violated the holiness of God (cf. Num 3:10; Eze 44:7).
"Servants should be taken in the most pejorative sense here. As woodcutters and water carriers the Gibeonites will perform only menial services (see Deu 29:11)." [Note: Woudstra, p. 164.]
"They are foreigners permitted to live, but their very presence is a living lesson for both Israel and for foreigners. Foreigners learn that they cannot trick their way into the people of Yahweh, even with pious confessions of faith. Israel learns the supreme danger which threatens its life and leadership when decisions are made without consulting Yahweh and when the Mosaic law [sic] is not followed." [Note: Butler, pp. 104-5.]
This action partially fulfilled Noah’s prophecy concerning the Canaanites in Gen 9:25. The Gibeonites received tasks in the service of the tabernacle where, hopefully, they would have had exposure to the best spiritual influences. The Gibeonites never led the Israelites into idolatry, as far as the text records, but their presence in the tabernacle displeased the Lord (Eze 44:7).
Some commentators regarded the Gibeonites as sincere converts to Yahweh rather than as enemies of Israel, as the following quotation illustrates.
"So there really are exact parallels between Rahab the individual and the Gibeonites the corporate unit. Rahab (plus her family) was the only individual saved out of Jericho. The Gibeonites were the only people saved out of the land. Rahab believed, left Jericho and came among the people of God. The Gibeonites were the only people in the land who turned to God, and they flowed on through all the years of Jewish history." [Note: Schaeffer, p. 151. See pp. 148-151 for his defense of this view. See also Hess, p. 179.]
Were the Gibeonites genuine converts to Yahweh who were sympathetic with the Israelites’ cause or enemies who believed the best way to survive was to yield rather than resist? Most commentators have concluded that they were enemies and that their craftiness (Jos 9:4) extended to their profession of the fear of Yahweh. There are no direct statements in Scripture that indicate that the Gibeonites were converts as Rahab was. Their motivation is simply not clear enough for us to make a dogmatic judgment, though I think the majority of interpreters is correct. [Note: For some parallels between this chapter and others in Deuteronomy and Kings, see Peter J. Kearney, "The Role of the Gibeonites in the Deuteronomic History," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 35:1 (1973):1-19.]
Unbelievers usually oppose believers as we seek to carry out God’s purpose for us in the world. They sometimes resort to deception to become part of the fellowship of God’s people for their own selfish advantages. Some of these advantages are a good reputation, business contacts, or finding a spouse.
"’This account,’ as O. v. Gerlach says, ’is a warning to the Church of God of all ages against the cunning and dissimulation of the world, which often seeks for a peaceable recognition on the part of the kingdom of God, and even for a reception into it, whenever it may be its advantage to do so.’" [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 95.]
If God’s people make covenants with unbelievers, we may end up disobeying God, as Israel did (cf. 2Co 6:14-18). We need to seek the will of God before we make these commitments. We should look for it in prayer (Jas 1:5; Jas 4:2-3; Jas 4:15) and in Scripture (2Ti 3:16-17; cf. Num 27:21). We should also consult other godly people who understand God’s ways and can help us avoid overlooking important scriptural revelations that are pertinent (Pro 11:14). If we do make an unwise commitment, we should make the best of the situation, if breaking the covenant would be contrary to God’s will (e.g., marriage to an unbeliever, et al.).