Joshua 9:1-10

1 The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan - in the hills, in the foothills, and all along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon; these were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

2 They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.

3 But the people of Gibeon, who were Hivites, heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

4 and they decided to deceive him. They went and got some food and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and patched-up wineskins.

5 They put on ragged clothes and worn-out sandals that had been mended. The bread they took with them was dry and moldy.

6 Then they went to the camp at Gilgal and said to Joshua and the Israelites, "We have come from a distant land. We want you to make a treaty with us."

7 But the Israelites said, "Why should we make a treaty with you? Maybe you live nearby." ¹

8 They said to Joshua, "We are at your service." Joshua asked them, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

9 Then they told him this story: "We have come from a very distant land, sir, because we have heard of the Lord your God. We have heard about everything that he did in Egypt

10 and what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan: King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. ²

Joshua 9:1-10 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 9

This chapter gives an account of the combination of the several kings of Canaan against Israel, Jos 9:1,2; and of the craftiness of the Gibeonites, pretending they were ambassadors from a far country, and desired to enter into a league with Israel, which they obtained, Jos 9:3-15; but when it was discovered who they were, it occasioned a murmuring among the people, Jos 9:16-18; which the princes quelled by proposing to make them hewers of wood, and drawers of water, Jos 9:19-21; in order to which Joshua summoned them before him, and chided them for beguiling them; and after they had made their excuse, he ordered them to the service the princes proposed, and so peace in the congregation of Israel was preserved, Jos 9:21-27.

Cross References

• 1. 9.7Exodus 23.32; 34.12;Deuteronomy 7.2.
• 2. 9.10Numbers 21.21-35.