Joshua 9:16

16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!

Joshua 9:16 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 9:16

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 ^F18 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Concord. Ebr. Part. p. 211. No. 932.

Joshua 9:16 In-Context

14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD .

15 Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!

17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.