Joshua 9:3-15

Deceit of the Gibeonites Joshua 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? Joshua 9:3

According to Josephus, it was 40-50 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 (Joshua 9:17). It was something of an independent republic (1) with elders (Joshua 9:11), (2) with no kingsince none is mentioned, (3) and with a name as a royal city (Joshua 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? Joshua 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 Joshua 10:2), and was inhabited by Hivites, who were a brave people (Joshua 10:7; Joshua 11:19). It was afterwards allotted to the tribe of Benjamin and set apart as a Levitical town (Joshua 18:25; Joshua 21:17). After the destruction of Nob by Saul, the Tabernacle was removed thither; and there it remained until the building of Solomon's temple (1 Chronicles 16:39; 1 Chronicles 21:29; 1 Kings 3:4-5; 2 Chronicles 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? Joshua 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 (Mark 2:22). The Gibeonites wore old shoessandals made of hide or palm-leaves and papyrus stalks (cf. Mark 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 1 Kings 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? Joshua 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 2 Kings 4:38; Hosea 4:15; Hosea 9:15; Hosea 12:11; Amos 4:4; Amos 5:5; cf. 1 Samuel 7:16; 1 Samuel 10:8; 1 Samuel 11:14-15; 1 Samuel 13:7-9). This is a spot alluded to in Deuteronomy 11:30, beside the plains of Moreh, and near the site of Abraham's first altar (Genesis 12:6-7). There is a spot called Jilgiliah, a few miles from Bethel.

7.

Why did the Israelites question the Gibemites? Joshua 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? Joshua 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 (Joshua 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? Joshua 9:10

Ashtaroth was an ancient city of Asia and lay east of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 1:4; Joshua 12:4; Joshua 13:12; Joshua 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? Joshua 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.