Joshua 9:3

3 But when the inhabitants of ¹Gibeon heard what Joshua had done ²to Jericho and ³to Ai,

Joshua 9:3 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 9:3

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 ( Joshua 9:17 ) ; see ( Joshua 10:2 ) ; no mention is made of any king over them, perhaps they were governed by elders, ( Joshua 9:11 ) . Though an Arabic writer ^F8 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 Patricides, p. 30. apud Hottinger. Smegm. Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 507.

Joshua 9:3 In-Context

1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this,

2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,

4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended,

5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly.

Cross References

• 1. Joshua 10:2, 10, 12; 2 Samuel 21:1, 2; 1 Kings 3:4, 5; 1 Kings 9:2
• 2. Joshua 6:21, 24
• 3. Joshua 8:26, 28