Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 9:26
And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
26. delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel ] who would have certainly been glad to destroy them.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 26. And so did he unto them] That is, he acted according to justice and mercy: he delivered them out of the hands of the people, so that they slew them not – here was mercy; and he made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and to the altar of God – here was justice. Thus Joshua did nothing but what was good and right, not only in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of the Lord.
How long the Gibeonites were preserved as a distinct people after this, we know not. That they existed in the time of David, is evident from the circumstance mentioned on Jos 9:19. They are not mentioned after the captivity; and it is probable that they were nearly annihilated by the persecution raised up against them by Saul. Some suppose that the Gibeonites existed under the appellation of Nethinim; but of this there is no decisive proof; the Nethinim were probably slaves of a different race.
ON what we meet with in this chapter, we may make the following observations.
1. The Gibeonites told lies, in order to save their lives. No expediency can justify this, nor are we called to attempt it. The Gibeonites were heathens, and we can expect nothing better from them. See Clarke on Jos 2:24.
2. They did not profit by their falsity: had they come in fairly, sought peace, and renounced their idolatry, they would have had life on honourable terms. As it was, they barely escaped with their lives, and were utterly deprived of their political liberty. Even the good that is sought by unlawful means has God’s curse on it.
3. We need not be solicitous for the character of the Gibeonites here; they are neither our models, nor believers in the true God, and therefore pure religion is not concerned in their prevarication and falsity.
4. We see here of what solemn importance an oath was considered among the people of God; they swore to their own hurt, and changed not. When once they had bound themselves to their Maker, they did not believe that any changing circumstances could justify a departure from so awful an obligation. Thus, reader, shouldst thou fear a lie, and tremble at an oath.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
So as was said Jos 9:23, and so as here follows.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And so did he unto them,…. What was good and right, he showed them favour, and did them justice:
and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not; who were so incensed against them for imposing on them in the manner they did, that they were ready many of them to draw their swords and slay them; and would have done it, had it not been for the interposition of Joshua, and the orders he gave to the contrary.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
“ And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. He made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and indeed for the altar of the Lord,” (assigning them) “ to the place which God would choose,” viz., for the altar. (to the place) is grammatically dependent upon (he “gave them”). It by no means follows, however, that Joshua sent them there at that very time, but simply that he sentenced them to service at the altar in the place which would be chosen for the sanctuary. From the words “ unto this day,” it no doubt follows, on the one hand, that the account was written after the fact had taken place; but, on the other hand, it also follows from the future (should, or shall choose), that it was written before the place was definitely fixed, and therefore before the building of Solomon’s temple.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
26. And delivered them The people were clamorous for their blood. Joshua shows his great courage and fidelity to his convictions by resisting the pressure of the outraged and excited populace, who in mobocratic madness would have swept away a weaker ruler.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And so did he to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of YHWH, to this day, in the place which he should choose.’
It is quite clear that the people of Israel as a whole were incensed at the way in which they had been tricked and probably wished to carry out The Ban on Gibeon, destroying the people and their cities. But Joshua’s move was enough to assuage their anger somewhat so that they were willing to allow them to live. They would grudgingly recognise the force of the treaty-covenant.
Thus the Gibeonites were granted the position as bondmen in the lowest position in society. They would ‘be hewers of wood and drawers of water’ (i.e. would do all menial tasks) to the whole of Israel, losing their cities and their possessions and accepting drudgery. Within this they would also be hewers of wood and drawers of water ‘for the altar of YHWH’. That does not mean that they entered the Tabernacle, only that they did the necessary menial work with regard to it (actually caring for the Tabernacle itself was not seen as menial work. It was seen as a huge privilege).
“To this day, in the place which he should choose.” When this was written this was still their task. They served as servants to the servants of the Tabernacle wherever YHWH chose for it to be set up (Deu 12:5).
One problem for the future will be in knowing when the term Gibeonite means one of these people, or one of those who took over Gibeon from them. Gibeonite may not always refer to a member of the original Canaanite group, who lost their rights to Gibeon. It was in fact set apart as a Levitical city (Jos 21:7). It is an interesting question as to whether Gibeonites became, and were included in, the Nethinim (‘those given’). In 1Ch 9:2 the priests, the Levites and the Nethinim are described as placed in their inheritance. Thus the Nethinim were seen as lower levels of Temple servants.
(The term Nethinim probably means more than the Gibeonites, and is to be seen as including all slaves separated to this service. They were described as given by David and the princes for the service of the Levites – Ezr 8:20 – as the Levites had been given by God (‘as a gift’ – Nethunim) for the service of the priests (Num 3:9; Num 8:19). Thus David presumably added to their number from prisoners-of-war, as did Solomon – Ezr 2:43-58. Note their foreign names. This being so their presence is full explained without needing to invent such an account as that of the Gibeonites. That account is described because it happened. Who indeed would invent an account which made such fools of Israel?).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Here, surely, I behold my Jesus, delivering me from the hand of every enemy, and rebuking Satan, who stands to accuse me. Zec 3:1-2 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 9:26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
Ver. 26. And delivered them out of the hands of the children of Israel. ] Whose fingers even itched, as they say, after the pillage of those great cities: but Joshua staved them off.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9:26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the {m} hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
(m) Who were minded to put them to death for fear of God’s wrath.