The Fallible · Synthetic · Study Bible
The Deceit of the Gibeonites
Joshua 9:1–27 — The Deceit of the Gibeonites. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.
1Now when news of this reached all the kings west of the Jordan—those in the hill country, the foothills, and all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites)—
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·hî ḵiš·mō·a‘ kāl- ham·mə·lā·ḵîm bə·‘ê·ḇer hay·yar·dên ’ă·šer bā·hār ū·ḇaš·šə·p̄ê·lāh ū·ḇə·ḵōl ḥō·wp̄ hag·gā·ḏō·wl hay·yām ’el- mūl hal·lə·ḇā·nō·wn ha·ḥit·tî wə·hā·’ĕ·mō·rî hak·kə·na·‘ă·nî hap·pə·riz·zî ha·ḥiw·wî wə·hay·ḇū·sî
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And it came to pass, when all the kings across the Jordan heard — those in the hill country and in the Shephelah and along all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon: the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite —
Where the English smooths the original
Though often at enmity with each other, yet they united against Israel.
The news of the miraculous passage of the Israelites through the Jordan had thrown all the kings of Canaan into such despair, that they did not venture to make any attack upon Israel. But they gradually recovered from their first panic
The whole region of the western portion of Canaan is here described under three divisions: ( a ) the central hills, ( b ) the valleys = the shephelah ( Deuteronomy 1:7 ), ( c ) the seaboard.
All the nations of Canaan are mentioned but the Gergasites; which, according to the Jewish writers, are omitted, because they were but fewGill records the rabbinic explanation for the missing Girgashites; the omission is real, the reason conjectural.
2they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·yiṯ·qab·bə·ṣū yaḥ·dāw peh ’e·ḥāḏ lə·hil·lā·ḥêm ‘im- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ wə·‘im- yiś·rā·’êl
Literal — word-for-word from the original
they gathered themselves together, with one mouth, to make war with Joshua and with Israel.
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One mouth , according to the Hebrew, referring not merely to their opinions, but to the expression of them.
Although divided by separate interests and often at war with each other, a sense of common danger prompted them to suspend their mutual animosities
They gathered themselves together; not actually, as the following history shows; but they entered into a league or confederation to do this.
3But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·yō·šə·ḇê ḡiḇ·‘ō·wn šā·mə·‘ū ’êṯ ’ă·šer yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ‘ā·śāh lî·rî·ḥōw wə·lā·‘āy
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But the dwellers of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
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Their deception of Joshua and the Israelites on this occasion is a curious compensation for what was done by Simeon and Levi to the Hivites long before
Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them.
Gibeon signifies "pertaining to a hill," i. e. built on a hill (compare Gibeah and Geba, towns in the same neighborhood), and describes the site, which is on two of the rounded hills unique to this district.
But the inhabitants of a republic, which included not only Gibeon the capital, but the towns of Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim also, acted differently from the rest.
4acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·ya·‘ă·śū ḡam- hêm·māh bə·‘ā·rə·māh way·yê·lə·ḵū way·yiṣ·ṭay·yā·rū way·yiq·ḥū la·ḥă·mō·w·rê·hem bā·lîm śaq·qîm bā·lîm wə·nō·ḏō·wṯ ya·yin ū·mə·ḇuq·qā·‘îm ū·mə·ṣō·rā·rîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
they — they also — acted with subtlety, and went and got themselves provisioned as envoys, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and split and bound up,
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The "also" serves, apparently, to connect the stratagem of the Gibeonites with that employed by the Israelites before Ai. It hints that the Gibeonites resolved to meet craft with craft.
The verb thus translated does not occur elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. By the alteration of a letter, the Targum, LXX., and some other versions make it mean, “they gat them provision.”
They acted with dexterous policy, seeking the means of self-preservation, not by force, which they were convinced would be unavailing, but by artful diplomacy.
Origen's interpretation here is interesting as a specimen of the theology of the third century. He regards the Gibeonites as the type of men who, though they are enrolled in the Church as believers and have faith in GodPulpit reports Origen's allegory; we record it as a witness to ancient reception, not as the text's plain sense.
5They put worn, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies, and their whole supply of bread was dry and moldy.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
bā·lō·wṯ ū·mə·ṭul·lā·’ō·wṯ ū·nə·‘ā·lō·wṯ bə·raḡ·lê·hem bā·lō·wṯ ū·śə·lā·mō·wṯ ‘ă·lê·hem wə·ḵōl ṣê·ḏām le·ḥem yā·ḇêš hā·yāh niq·qu·ḏîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and worn-out patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry, it had become crumbled-mouldy.
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The Hebrew word translated “mouldy” is the same which is rendered by “cracknels” in 1 Kings 14:3 . This word ( nikuddim ) denotes a kind of crisp cake.
The intensive Pual suggests that they were very much patched. The participle Kal is translated "spotted" in Genesis 30:32, 33, 35 .
bread … dry and mouldy—This must have been that commonly used by travellers—a sort of biscuit made in the form of large rings
the word for "mouldy" signifies pricked, pointed, spotted, as mouldy bread has in it spots of different colours
6They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty with us.”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·yê·lə·ḵū ’el- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ’el- ham·ma·ḥă·neh hag·gil·gāl way·yō·mə·rū ’ê·lāw wə·’el- ’îš yiś·rā·’êl bā·nū wə·‘at·tāh rə·ḥō·w·qāh mê·’e·reṣ kir·ṯū- ḇə·rîṯ lā·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “From a distant land we have come; so now, cut a covenant with us.”
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To the men of Israel, to wit, those who used to meet in council with Joshua, to whom it belonged to make leagues, as it here follows, even the princes of the congregation; not the common people
Now therefore make a league with us — Because we are not of this people, whom, as we are informed, you are obliged utterly to destroy.
introduced themselves to the men of Israel (אישׁ, in a collective sense, the plural being but little used
7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’îš- yiś·rā·’êl way·yō·mə·rū ’el- ha·ḥiw·wî ’ū·lay ’at·tāh yō·wō·šêḇ bə·qir·bî wə·’êḵ ʾɛḵ·rōṯ lə·ḵā ḇə·rîṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But the man of Israel said to the Hivite, “Perhaps you are dwelling in my midst; and how can I cut a covenant with you?”
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Literally, Peradventure thou art a dweller in the midst of me; and how shall I make a covenant with thee? The Israelites assume the ownership of Canaan as already theirs.
Among us, i.e. in this land, and so are of that people with whom we are forbidden to make any league or covenant
The name signifies "serpents"; according to a Derash, or mystical exposition, mentioned by Kimchi, the Gibeonites are so called, because they did the work of the serpentGill relays a midrashic wordplay; it is homiletical, not lexical, and we mark it so.
8“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
’ă·nā·ḥə·nū ‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā way·yō·mə·rū ’el- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yō·mer ’ă·lê·hem mî ’at·tem ū·mê·’a·yin tā·ḇō·’ū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And they said to Joshua, “Your servants are we.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and from where do you come?”
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This does not mean altogether, as ver. 9 shows, that the Gibeonites intended by this embassy to reduce themselves to servitude. Their object, as Grotius remarks, was rather to form an alliance on terms of something like equality.
To this is to be noticed that they made no direct reply. They adroitly evaded the question by dwelling on the fact that they were Joshua’s “servants”
for this free and general concession of theirs gave Joshua just cause to suspect that they were of the cursed Canaanites.
9“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt,
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā bā·’ū mə·’ōḏ rə·ḥō·w·qāh mê·’e·reṣ way·yō·mə·rū ’ê·lāw lə·šêm Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā kî- šā·ma‘·nū šā·mə·‘ōw wə·’êṯ kāl- ’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh bə·miṣ·rā·yim
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And they said to him, “From a land very far off your servants have come, for the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard the report of Him, and all that He did in Egypt,
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But their studied address is worthy of notice in appealing to instances of God's miraculous doings at a distance, while they pass by those done in Canaan, as if the report of these had not yet reached their ears.
Even the idolaters for fear of death will pretend to honour the true God, and receive his religion.
The Gibeonites carefully abstain from referring to more recent exploits, as the passage of Jordan, the taking of Jericho and Ai; they mention only those which might have had time to reach them in the “far country”
"I commend their wisdom in seeking peace; I do not commend their falsehood in the manner of seeking it. Who can looke for any better in pagans?" (Bp. Hall.)Pulpit quotes Bishop Hall; the moral verdict is his, not the narrator's.
10and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’êṯ kāl- ’ă·šer ‘ā·śāh liš·nê mal·ḵê hā·’ĕ·mō·rî ’ă·šer bə·‘ê·ḇer hay·yar·dên lə·sî·ḥō·wn me·leḵ ḥeš·bō·wn ū·lə·‘ō·wḡ me·leḵ- hab·bā·šān ’ă·šer bə·‘aš·tā·rō·wṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were across the Jordan — to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth.
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they wisely took no notice of the miracle of dividing the waters of Jordan, to make a passage for the Israelites; nor of the destruction of Jericho and Ai, which were recent things
Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan (see Numbers 21:21, 35 ). Ashtaroth (see Joshua 12:4 ; Joshua 13:31 ; also Deuteronomy 1:4 ).
They very wisely say nothing about the miracles connected with the crossing of the Jordan and the taking of Jericho
11So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.’
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
zə·qê·nê·nū wə·ḵāl yō·šə·ḇê ’ar·ṣê·nū way·yō·mə·rū ’ê·lê·nū lê·mōr qə·ḥū ḇə·yeḏ·ḵem ṣê·ḏāh lad·de·reḵ ū·lə·ḵū liq·rā·ṯām wa·’ă·mar·tem ’ă·lê·hem ’ă·naḥ·nū wə·‘at·tāh ‘aḇ·ḏê·ḵem kir·ṯū- ḇə·rîṯ lā·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
So our elders and all the dwellers of our land said to us, saying, ‘Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “Your servants are we; so now cut a covenant with us.”’
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they were sent off by the elders (the leaders of the republic) and the inhabitants of the land to meet the Israelites, that they might offer them their service, and form an alliance with them.
They suggest, that their senate, or the states of their country, their principal men were convened, and that it was the unanimous voice of them, and of the people, that they should go on this embassy
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
12This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But look, it is now dry and moldy.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
zeh laḥ·mê·nū ḥām hiṣ·ṭay·yaḏ·nū ’ō·ṯōw mib·bāt·tê·nū bə·yō·wm ṣê·ṯê·nū lā·le·ḵeṯ ’ă·lê·ḵem hin·nêh wə·‘at·tāh yā·ḇêš wə·hā·yāh niq·qu·ḏîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“This our bread — warm we provisioned ourselves with it from our houses on the day we went out to come to you; and now, look, it is dry and has become crumbled-mouldy.
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pointing to the bread they brought with them, which they pretended was newly baked and took hot out of the oven
The wicked lack no art, nor spare no lies to set forth their policy, when they will deceive the servants of God.
In confirmation of this, they point to their dried provisions, and their torn and mended skins and clothes.
13These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·’êl·leh nō·ḏō·wṯ hay·ya·yin ḥă·ḏā·šîm mil·lê·nū ’ă·šer wə·hin·nêh hiṯ·baq·qā·‘ū wə·’êl·leh śal·mō·w·ṯê·nū ū·nə·‘ā·lê·nū bā·lū mə·’ōḏ mê·rōḇ had·de·reḵ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And these wineskins, which we filled new, and look, they are split; and these our garments and our sandals are worn out from the very great length of the journey.”
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and, behold, they be rent; which were owing to the long use that had been made of them, as they pretended: and these our garments, and our shoes, are become old by reason of the very long journey: quite worn out through length of time and tedious travels.
The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that good mayHenry will not excuse the lie even though it saved their lives; the means stay condemned though the end (peace) was right.
these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
14Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
hā·’ă·nā·šîm way·yiq·ḥū miṣ·ṣê·ḏām wə·’eṯ- lō šā·’ā·lū pî Yah·weh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the men took from their provision, but the mouth of the LORD they did not ask.
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We make more haste than good speed, when we stay not to take God with us, and do not consult him by the word and prayer.
In every business of importance we should take God along with us, and by his word and prayer consult him. Many a time our affairs miscarry, because we ask not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
Instead of inquiring the will of the Lord in this matter through the Urim and Thummim of the high priest ( Numbers 27:21 ), they contented themselves with taking some of the bread that was shown them, and tasting it
However obvious our course may be, we shall do well to take counsel with God by prayer.
15And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·ya·‘aś lā·hem bə·rîṯ šā·lō·wm way·yiḵ·rōṯ lā·hem lə·ḥay·yō·w·ṯām nə·śî·’ê hā·‘ê·ḏāh way·yiš·šā·ḇə·‘ū lā·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And Joshua made peace with them, and cut for them a covenant to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
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That this league was lawful and obliging, appears, 1st, Because Joshua and all the princes, upon the review, concluded it so to be, and spared them accordingly. 2d, Because God punished the violation of it long after, 2 Samuel 21:1 .
Letting them live is the only article of the league that is mentioned, both because this was the main point, and also with special reference to the fact that the Gibeonites, being Canaanites, ought properly to have been destroyed.
The princes of the congregation. Literally, the exalted ones
16Three days after they had made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites learned that they were neighbors, living among them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·hî miq·ṣêh šə·lō·šeṯ yā·mîm ’a·ḥă·rê ’ă·šer- kā·rə·ṯū bə·rîṯ lā·hem way·yiš·mə·‘ū kî- hêm ’ê·lāw qə·rō·ḇîm yō·šə·ḇîm ū·ḇə·qir·bōw hêm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And it came to pass at the end of three days, after they had cut a covenant with them, that they heard that they were near to them, and in their midst they were dwelling.
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Literally, and that they (the Gibeonites) were dwellers in the midst of him (Israel). (So Joshua 9:7 .)
The fraud was soon found out. A lying tongue is but for a moment.
Three days after the treaty had been concluded, the Israelites discovered that they had been deceived, and that their allies dwelt among them
17So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ḇə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl way·yis·‘ū haš·šə·lî·šî bay·yō·wm way·yā·ḇō·’ū ’el- ‘ā·rê·hem wə·‘ā·rê·hem giḇ·‘ō·wn wə·hak·kə·p̄î·rāh ū·ḇə·’ê·rō·wṯ wə·qir·yaṯ yə·‘ā·rîm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the sons of Israel set out and came to their cities on the third day; and their cities were Gibeon and Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim.
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Kirjath-jearim—"the city of forests," now Kuryet-el-Enab [Robinson].
In Gibeon, Solomon asked and received the wisdom which Joshua and Israel at this time did not ask.Ellicott's pointed contrast — Gibeon as the place where Solomon later asked, and Joshua here did not.
It was an inhabited city in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah ( Ezra 2:25 ; Nehemiah 7:29 ).
18But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl wə·lō hik·kūm kî- nə·śî·’ê hā·‘ê·ḏāh niš·bə·‘ū lā·hem Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê yiś·rā·’êl ḵāl hā·‘ê·ḏāh way·yil·lō·nū ‘al- han·nə·śî·’îm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But the sons of Israel did not strike them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel; and the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.
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they felt the solemn obligations of their oath; and, although the popular clamor was loud against them, caused either by disappointment at losing the spoils of Gibeon, or by displeasure at the apparent breach of the divine commandment, they determined to adhere to their pledge
they were afraid of bringing the name of the God of Israel into contempt among the Canaanites, which they would have done if they had broken the oath which they had sworn by this God
But the Israelites had sworn by the sacred name of Jehovah to spare the Gibeonites. It would have been to degrade that sacred name, and possibly (ver. 20) to bring trouble on themselves, to break that oath under any pretence whatever. If they had been deceived the fault was their own.
All the congregation murmured against the princes — Both from that proneness which is in people to censure the actions of their rulers, and from the desire of the spoil of these cities.
19All the leaders answered, “We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ḵāl han·nə·śî·’îm ’el- way·yō·mə·rū kāl- hā·‘ê·ḏāh ’ă·naḥ·nū niš·ba‘·nū lā·hem Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê yiś·rā·’êl wə·‘at·tāh lō nū·ḵal lin·gō·a‘ bā·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We — we have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel; and now we are not able to touch them.
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Although the covenant was obtained from the Israelites by false pretences, yet, being made in the name of Jehovah, it could not be broken; it was His covenant.
We may not touch them, i.e. not hurt them, as that word is oft used, as Genesis 26:11 Psalm 105:15 Psalm 144:5 ; or not smite them
an oath is a solemn sacred thing, and not to be broken, and a good man will make conscience of it, and keep it, though he has sworn to his own hurt
20This is how we will treat them: We will let them live, so that no wrath will fall on us because of the oath we swore to them.”
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
zōṯ na·‘ă·śeh lā·hem wə·ha·ḥă·yêh ’ō·w·ṯām wə·lō- qe·ṣep̄ yih·yeh ‘ā·lê·nū ‘al- haš·šə·ḇū·‘āh ’ă·šer- niš·ba‘·nū lā·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
This we will do to them: let them live — and let there be no wrath upon us because of the oath we swore to them.”
Where the English smooths the original
Wrath (sc., of God), a judgment such as fell upon Israel in the time of David, because Saul disregarded this oath and sought to destroy the Gibeonites ( 2 Samuel 21:1 .).
This does not establish rash oaths, but shows God's mercy toward his, who would not punish them for their sin.
The original is not quite so strong: "and wrath will not be upon us
21They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
han·nə·śî·’îm way·yō·mə·rū ’ă·lê·hem yiḥ·yū way·yih·yū ḥō·ṭə·ḇê ‘ê·ṣîm ma·yim wə·šō·’ă·ḇê- lə·ḵāl hā·‘ê·ḏāh ka·’ă·šer han·nə·śî·’îm dib·bə·rū lā·hem
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, as the leaders had spoken to them.
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Let them be public servants, and employed in the meanest offices and drudgeries, (such as this was, this one kind being put for all the rest, as it is Deu 29:11 ) for the use and benefit of the congregation
They were devoted to the sanctuary, called at a later period Nethinims = Deo dati, donati , and were bound to discharge menial duties which usually devolved upon the lowest classes.
Thus the Gibeonites became hewers of wood and drawers of water to the congregation, as the princes had said to them, i.e., had resolved concerning them.
22Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by telling us you live far away from us, when in fact you live among us?
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Hebrew — tap a word ↓
yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yiq·rā lā·hem way·ḏab·bêr ’ă·lê·hem lām·māh rim·mî·ṯem ’ō·ṯā·nū lê·mōr lê·mōr rə·ḥō·w·qîm mə·’ōḏ mik·kem ’ă·naḥ·nū wə·’at·tem yō·šə·ḇîm bə·qir·bê·nū
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And Joshua summoned them and spoke to them, saying, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are dwelling in our midst?”
Where the English smooths the original
what is your reason and motive for so doing? what has induced you to act such a deceitful part, to tell such lies and falsehoods, and impose upon us after this manner?
It was the carelessness of the Israelites themselves which betrayed them into this league. It was therefore their duty when they found themselves entrapped into this unlawful covenant, to devise means by which they might respect both their own oath and God's purposes
Probably not only the messengers, but the elders of Gibeon were now present.
23Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·‘at·tāh ’at·tem ’ă·rū·rîm wə·lō- yik·kā·rêṯ mik·kem ‘e·ḇeḏ wə·ḥō·ṭə·ḇê ‘ê·ṣîm ma·yim wə·šō·’ă·ḇê- lə·ḇêṯ ’ĕ·lō·hāy
Literal — word-for-word from the original
“And now, cursed are you; and there shall never be cut off from you a servant, even hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
Where the English smooths the original
you shall feel that curse of bondage and servitude, which is proper to your race by virtue of that ancient decree, Genesis 9:25
the curse was turned into a blessing to the Gibeonites, since though their post and office was mean, yet they had a place in the sanctuary of the Lord, and opportunity of learning the law of God
It is thought that they are to be recognised in the Nethinim of Ezra and Nehemiah, who come after the Levites, singers, and porters in the enumeration of the restored captives ( Ezra 2:43 ).
Literally, as margin, there shall not be cut off from you a servant , as in 2 Samuel 3:29 , and 1 Kings 2:4 . The sense is, "you shall not cease to be servants."
24The Gibeonites answered, “Your servants were told clearly that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and wipe out all its inhabitants before you. So we greatly feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we have done this.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
way·ya·‘ă·nū ’eṯ- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yō·mə·rū kî la·‘ă·ḇā·ḏe·ḵā ’êṯ hug·gaḏ hug·gêḏ ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā ’eṯ- ṣiw·wāh ‘aḇ·dōw mō·šeh lā·ṯêṯ lā·ḵem ’eṯ- kāl- hā·’ā·reṣ ū·lə·haš·mîḏ ’eṯ- kāl- yō·šə·ḇê hā·’ā·reṣ mip·pə·nê·ḵem mə·’ōḏ wan·nî·rā lə·nap̄·šō·ṯê·nū mip·pə·nê·ḵem wan·na·‘ă·śêh ’eṯ- had·dā·ḇār haz·zeh
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And they answered Joshua and said, “Because it was surely told to your servants how the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all its inhabitants before you; so we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and we did this thing.
Where the English smooths the original
It was mere fear which drove the Gibeonites to act as they did. They sought for union with God's people, not for its own sake, but to save their lives. Rahab's motives were higher ( Joshua 2:9 ff).
Fear had been their sole motive in seeking an alliance with Israel. Theirs was not the faith, which had prompted Rahab to save the spies.
having heard of the command of God which had been issued through Moses, that all the Canaanites were to be destroyed ( Deuteronomy 7:1 ; Deuteronomy 20:16-17 ), they had feared greatly for their lives
25Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
wə·‘at·tāh hin·nū ḇə·yā·ḏe·ḵā ‘ă·śêh lā·nū bə·‘ê·ne·ḵā kaṭ·ṭō·wḇ wə·ḵay·yā·šār la·‘ă·śō·wṯ
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And now, behold, we are in your hand; as it is good and right in your eyes to do to us, do.”
Where the English smooths the original
We refer ourselves to thee and thy own piety and probity, and faithfulness to thy word and oath; if thou wilt destroy thy humble suppliants, we submit.
Compare the words of Abraham to Sarah, “Behold, thy maid is in thy hand ; do to her as it pleaseth thee” ( Genesis 16:6 ).
Let us, in like manner, submit to our Lord Jesus, and refer ourselves to him, saying, We are in thy hand, do unto us as it seemeth right unto thee.Benson's devotional turn — the Gibeonites' surrender read as a figure of the soul's submission to Christ.
26So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
kên way·ya·‘aś lā·hem way·yaṣ·ṣêl ’ō·w·ṯām mî·yaḏ bə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl wə·lō hă·rā·ḡūm
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And so he did to them, and he delivered them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.
Where the English smooths the original
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 delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
who would have certainly been glad to destroy them.
27On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Hebrew — tap a word ↓
ha·hū bay·yō·wm yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yit·tə·nêm ḥō·ṭə·ḇê ‘ê·ṣîm ma·yim wə·šō·’ă·ḇê ‘aḏ- hay·yō·wm haz·zeh lā·‘ê·ḏāh Yah·weh ū·lə·miz·baḥ ’el- ham·mā·qō·wm ’ă·šer yiḇ·ḥār
Literal — word-for-word from the original
And Joshua gave them that day to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, at the place which He would choose.
Where the English smooths the original
whence they were called Nethinims (1Ch 9:2; Ezr 2:43; 8:20); that is, given, appropriated. Their chastisement thus brought them into the possession of great religious privileges (Ps 84:10).
it also follows from the future יבחר (should, or shall choose), that it was written before the place was definitely fixed, and therefore before the building of Solomon's temple.
It is deserving of notice that the Gibeonites never appear to have betrayed their trust, or enticed Israel into idolatry.
this shows that the writer of this book lived before the building of the temple, or otherwise it, is highly probable he would have expressly mentioned it
The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.
AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.
The chapter is built on a single Hebrew verb: shamaʿ, "to hear." In v. 1 "all the kings across the Jordan" hear (כִשְׁמֹעַ) and gather "with one mouth" (פֶּה אֶחָד, v. 2) to make war; in v. 3 the dwellers of Gibeon hear (שָׁמְעוּ) the very same report and sue for peace. ⚙ The narrator has framed one report and two responses with deliberate symmetry. Matthew Henry names the mystery exactly: "The same sun softens wax and hardens clay" — the kings are hardened to war, Gibeon softened to submission. Keil & Delitzsch observe that the kings had first been "thrown into such despair" by the Jordan-crossing that they dared not strike, and only "gradually recovered from their first panic." Charles Ellicott catches the strange justice in Gibeon's choice: their stratagem is "a curious compensation" — Hivite cities once destroyed by Israel's craft at Shechem (Genesis 34) are here, by a Hivite craft, "saved... from destruction by Israel's sword."
The Gibeonites stage a costume of distance. The keyword is rāḥôq, "far" (vv. 6, 9), and the props are all marked by one rare adjective, bâleh, "worn out" (vv. 4–5): worn sacks, split wineskins "bound up" (Keil: tied shut, not patched), patched sandals, and bread that is niqqudim — "crumbled" or "mouldy," the very word Cambridge identifies as the "cracknels" of 1 Kings 14:3. ⚙ The speech is a masterpiece of selective truth: Jamieson, Fausset & Brown note their "studied address" cites only God's deeds "at a distance" — Egypt, Sihon and Og — while "they pass by those done in Canaan," the recent miracles a true far-traveler could not have heard. Ellicott flags a genuine textual fork: the verb of v. 4 ("set out as envoys," וַיִּצְטַיָּרוּ) "does not occur elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible," and the ancient versions read instead "they provisioned themselves" — a one-letter change matching the Gibeonites' own word in v. 12. The Geneva note is unsparing: "The wicked lack no art, nor spare no lies to set forth their policy, when they will deceive the servants of God."
Verse 14 is the hinge of the whole unit, and it turns on one noun. The coalition spoke "with one mouth" (peh, v. 2); the one mouth Israel fails to consult is the mouth of the LORD (פִּי יְהוָה). "They took of their provision, but the mouth of the LORD they did not ask." ⚙ The men tested the bread with their senses and never put the question to God. Matthew Henry: "We make more haste than good speed, when we stay not to take God with us." Keil specifies the omitted means — the Urim and Thummim of the high priest (Numbers 27:21) — and Benson draws the rule: "Many a time our affairs miscarry, because we ask not counsel at the mouth of the Lord." The treaty is then cut and sworn (v. 15); Keil notes that "letting them live is the only article of the league that is mentioned" — precisely the thing that, for Canaanites, ought never to have been granted.
Three days later the same verb returns — Israel hears (וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ, v. 16) that the "far" allies are near (קְרֹבִים), dwelling in their very midst. The congregation grumbles with the old wilderness verb (וַיִּלֹּנוּ, v. 18), hungry for the spoil. But the leaders will not break the oath sworn "by the LORD, the God of Israel." ⚙ Their reasoning is not superstition about oath-magic but reverence for the Name: Keil explains they feared "bringing the name of the God of Israel into contempt among the Canaanites." Ellicott: "being made in the name of Jehovah, it could not be broken; it was His covenant," and "the law of Jehovah had raised the tone of morality" beyond even many later Christians. The resolution (v. 21) makes the Gibeonites "hewers of wood and drawers of water" — Poole and Cambridge both anchor the phrase in Deuteronomy 29:11 and trace it forward to the post-exilic Nethinim.
Joshua's tribunal throws the chapter's two keywords back in one sentence (v. 22): you said "far" (רְחוֹקִים) when you dwell in our midst (יֹשְׁבִים בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ). The sentence is a curse (אֲרוּרִים, v. 23) — and the voices unanimously hear in it the ancient oracle of Genesis 9:25 on Canaan, "a servant of servants." The wordplay is exact: by the verb kârath they had asked Israel to "cut a covenant" (vv. 6, 11, 15); now by that same verb a servant shall never be "cut off" from them (v. 23). ⚙ Yet John Gill sees the deeper turn: "the curse was turned into a blessing to the Gibeonites, since though their post and office was mean, yet they had a place in the sanctuary of the Lord." The Gibeonites' own confession is pure fear, not faith — Barnes and Cambridge set them beside Rahab, whose "motives were higher." The unit closes etiologically: by the verb nâthan, Joshua "gives" them (וַיִּתְּנֵם, v. 27) — the root of Nethinim, the "given ones" — to the altar "at the place He would choose," a future verb that Keil and Gill read as proof the text predates Solomon's temple.
⚙ Under Sola Scriptura, read against the whole of Joshua, this chapter is the deliberate companion to Rahab (ch. 2) and the inverse of Achan (ch. 7). Three outsiders meet the advancing ḥerem; three are spared the sword. Achan, an Israelite, brings the ban inside the camp by coveting devoted things and dies. Rahab, a Canaanite, comes out of the doomed city by faith in what she had heard (Josh 2:10–11, the same verb that governs Joshua 9) and is grafted into Israel. The Gibeonites, also Canaanites, also moved by what they heard, come by fraud and fear — and are spared, but bound to perpetual altar-service. The text refuses to flatten these into one moral. Israel sins in v. 14 (they did not ask the mouth of the LORD); the Gibeonites sin in vv. 4–13 (deceit); and yet the oath, sworn in the Name, stands so absolutely that God Himself later avenges its breach (the later voices on 2 Samuel 21). The chapter's quiet verdict is that the holiness of God's Name, once invoked, outweighs even the carelessness that invoked it. The deceivers who schemed to live at a distance from God are instead given the one place no Israelite enemy could buy: a permanent station beside His altar. What men meant as a loophole, God bends toward His house.
They lied to live far from the LORD; He answered by binding them forever to His altar — the curse of nearness, which is mercy in disguise.
AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.
The phrase that fixes the Gibeonites' fate (v. 21, repeated vv. 23, 27) is a verbatim Hebrew formula lifted from Moses' covenant assembly. In Deuteronomy 29:11 [Heb. 29:10] the camp ranges "from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water" — the standing idiom for the lowest social rank. ⚙ The rare verb châṭab ("to hew," H2404) occurs in only nine verses and shâʾab ("to draw," H7579) in eighteen; their pairing here is no theme but a quotation of a fixed legal phrase. Poole and Cambridge both cite Deut 29:11 explicitly, and trace the office to the later Nethinim (1 Chr 9:2; Ezra 2:43).
Deuteronomy 29:11 · Joshua 9:21 · Joshua 9:23 · Joshua 9:27
basis: rare shared lexemes H2404 châṭab (in only 9 vv) and H7579 shâʼab (in 18 vv), the fixed phrase 'hewers of wood and drawers of water,' verbatim from Deuteronomy 29:11; also shared H6086 ʻêts and H4325 mayim
The dry, speckled bread the Gibeonites display (vv. 5, 12) is described by the rare noun niqqudim (H5350), literally "things marked with points." Cambridge notes it is "the same word which is rendered by 'cracknels' in 1 Kings 14:3" — the hard, dotted journey-biscuit Jeroboam's wife carries to the prophet Ahijah. ⚙ The word appears in only three verses of the Hebrew Bible, and its co-occurrence with lechem ("bread") in both passages makes this a true verbal link, not a coincidence of subject. The versions even disagree on its sense (mouldy vs. crumbled), but the lexeme is the same hard travel-fare in both texts.
1 Kings 14:3 · Joshua 9:5 · Joshua 9:12
basis: rare shared lexeme H5350 niqqud (in only 3 vv), with H3899 lechem; the same word translated 'cracknels' in 1 Kings 14:3 (per the Cambridge Bible note)
Joshua's sentence in v. 23 — "cursed (אֲרוּרִים) ... a servant (עֶבֶד) ... hewers of wood and drawers of water" — is read by Poole, Barnes, Gill, and Keil as the literal outworking of Genesis 9:25, where Noah declares, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." ⚙ The link rests on two shared lexemes the Verifier confirms — ʼârar ("to curse," H779) and ʻebed ("servant," H5650) — joining a single curse-and-servitude motif across the two passages. This is structural/thematic, not a quotation: it is a shared pattern (curse → servitude on Canaan's line), widely held since antiquity, that the chapter enacts upon the Gibeonite Hivites.
Genesis 9:25 · Joshua 9:23
basis: shared lexemes H779 ʼârar (curse) and H5650 ʻebed (servant) carrying one curse-and-servitude motif; no quotation claim, so tiered structural
The leaders refuse to break the oath even after the deceit is exposed (vv. 15, 18–20), and Henry, Ellicott, and Gill all read the episode through Psalm 15:4, which describes the citizen of Zion as one "who sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not." ⚙ The shared verb shâbaʿ ("to swear," H7650, in 175 verses) ties the two texts; the connection is one of pattern, not quotation. Joshua's leaders model the very integrity the psalm praises — keeping a costly, ill-advised oath because it was sworn in the Name. Keil reports Calvin's striking judgment that "the sacred name of God is of greater worth than all the riches of the world."
Psalm 15:4 · Joshua 9:15 · Joshua 9:19
basis: shared lexeme H7650 shâbaʻ (to swear); a shared motif (the binding oath kept to one's own hurt), not a quotation — explicitly invoked by Henry, Ellicott, and Gill
The leaders' stated fear in v. 20 — "lest wrath be upon us because of the oath" — finds its grim confirmation generations later. Nearly every voice (Benson, JFB, Barnes, Keil) points forward to 2 Samuel 21:1, where a three-year famine in David's reign is traced to Saul's slaughter of these very Gibeonites in violation of Joshua's oath. ⚙ Flag: the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme between Joshua 9:18 and 2 Samuel 21:1 in the index — the link is wholly thematic and rests on the named identity of the Gibeonites and the explicit memory of "the oath" across the historical books. Because the connection cannot be verified verbally and depends on the historian's editorial cross-reference, we record it as flagged: the theology is sound and ancient, but it must be argued from narrative continuity, not asserted from a verbal tie.
2 Samuel 21:1 · Joshua 9:18 · Joshua 9:20
basis: Verifier finds NO shared original-language lexeme between Joshua 9:18 and 2 Samuel 21:1; the connection is thematic/narrative only (the named Gibeonites and the remembered oath), argued by the commentators, not verbally confirmed
The Gibeonites plead they came "because we have heard the fame of Him, and all that He did in Egypt" (v. 9) — the same confession Rahab makes in Joshua 2:10, "we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea... and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites." ⚙ The Verifier confirms the shared lexemes shâmaʿ ("to hear," H8085) and Mitsrayim ("Egypt," H4714): two Canaanite outsiders, Rahab and Gibeon, are spared after rehearsing the identical catalogue of YHWH's deeds. The structural parallel is exact — the renown of YHWH precedes the conquest and converts enemies into suppliants — though the motives diverge sharply (Rahab's faith, Gibeon's fear; so Barnes and Cambridge).
Joshua 2:10 · Joshua 9:9
basis: shared lexemes H8085 shâmaʻ (heard) and H4714 Mitsrayim (Egypt); a shared 'we have heard what the LORD did' pattern linking Rahab and Gibeon, structural rather than a quotation
When Israel reaches the Gibeonite towns (v. 17) the narrator names the whole tetrapolis: "Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim." ⚙ Three of these four names recur, in the same cluster, in the rolls of those who came back from Babylon eight centuries later (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29). The Verifier confirms the link rests on genuinely rare proper nouns: Kᵉphîyrâh (Chephirah, H3716, in only 4 verses), Bᵉʼêrôwth (Beeroth, H881, in only 6), and Qiryath Yᵉʻârîym (Kiriath-jearim, H7157, in 19). Cambridge notes of Kiriath-jearim that "it was an inhabited city in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29)." The connection is not a quotation but the persistence of the same towns — the deceivers' republic, bound to the altar, endures as part of the restored community after the very judgment (exile) that the broken-oath wrath foreshadowed. Because the tie is carried by recurring rare place-names rather than a textual citation, we keep it structural.
Joshua 9:17 · Ezra 2:25 · Nehemiah 7:29
basis: rare shared proper-noun lexemes H3716 Kᵉphîyrâh (in only 4 vv) and H881 Bᵉʼêrôwth (in only 6 vv), plus H7157 Qiryath Yᵉʻârîym; the same four-city cluster recurs in the post-exilic returns (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29) — toponymic recurrence, not a quotation, so tiered structural
AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.
The Gibeonites' surrender (v. 25) — "behold, we are in thy hand; as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do" — was read devotionally by the older expositors as a figure of the soul casting itself on the Savior. Joseph Benson turns it directly: "Let us, in like manner, submit to our Lord Jesus, and refer ourselves to him, saying, We are in thy hand, do unto us as it seemeth right unto thee. Only save our souls." Matthew Henry presses the same on v. 22–27: "Let us, in like manner, submit to our Lord Jesus... and we are assured that him that cometh to Him, he will in nowise cast out." ⚙ This is a typological/applicatory reading, not the text's plain claim: the Gibeonites surrender to Joshua (Yᵉhôshûaʿ), whose very name — "YHWH saves" — the New Testament gives in its Greek form as Jesus (Hebrews 4:8). Sinners doomed under the ban find life by throwing themselves, undefended, on the mercy of the one who saves and keeps oath.
Joshua 9:25 · Hebrews 4:8 · John 6:37
The deceivers are cursed to perpetual service "for the house of my God" and "for the altar of the LORD" (vv. 23, 27). John Gill sees the gospel shape in it: "the curse was turned into a blessing to the Gibeonites, since though their post and office was mean, yet they had a place in the sanctuary of the Lord... and were an emblem and pledge of the reception of the Gentiles into the church of God." ⚙ Far-off Canaanites, who lied to keep their distance, are instead brought permanently near the altar — a figure the New Testament makes explicit of all the nations: "ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13), Gentiles "given" (cf. the Nethinim, the "given ones") to serve in God's house. The typology is applicatory, drawn by analogy of the nearness-motif, not asserted by the text itself; it reads the Gibeonites' fate as a pledge of the ingathering of the nations.
Joshua 9:23 · Joshua 9:27 · Ephesians 2:13
The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.
Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:
⚙ Honesty notes specific to Joshua 9. (1) Voices are verbatim. Every voice excerpt is a contiguous substring of the raw public-domain commentary supplied for that verse, trimmed only at the ends; nothing is paraphrased, modernized, or stitched. (2) Two genuine textual cruxes are flagged, not resolved. The verb in v. 4 ("set out as envoys," וַיִּצְטַיָּרוּ) is a hapax legomenon; the ancient versions (LXX, Vulgate, Targum, Syriac) read instead "they provisioned themselves," a one-consonant change matching v. 12. And niqqudim (vv. 5, 12) is rendered "mouldy" by the LXX but "crumbled / in fragments" by Aquila, Symmachus, and the Vulgate; the gloss is honestly uncertain. (3) The Joshua 9:18 → 2 Samuel 21:1 thread is flagged. The Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme between those verses; the famine-for-broken-oath connection is thematic and narrative, argued by the commentators from the named identity of the Gibeonites, not asserted from a verbal tie. The Joshua 9:17 → Ezra 2:25 / Nehemiah 7:29 thread, by contrast, rests on genuinely rare shared place-names (Chephirah H3716, Beeroth H881), but because it is toponymic recurrence and not a textual quotation we tier it structural, not verbal. (4) Per directive, the Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 thread does not apply — this unit is Joshua 9, which does not contain 1:5. (5) The Christ readings are marked applicatory/typological, not the text's plain sense. Both are drawn by the older expositors (Henry, Benson, Gill) by analogy — the surrender to Joshua/Jesus and the bringing-near of strangers — and we label them widely-held, to be tested, not proven. The New Testament resonance of the burst wineskins (v. 13, Mark 2:22) is likewise our own ⚙ observation of a shared household image, not a verbal link and not a claim made by any of the PD commentators in this unit. (6) Strong's data is sourced (Berean/Strong's) and not contradicted; where a surface form carried no Strong's number in the input (e.g., bare prepositions לְךָ, לָהֶם), no lexical claim is made about it. (7) The repeated wordplay on kârath ("to cut" a covenant / a servant "cut off," vv. 6, 11, 15, 23) and on shamaʿ ("to hear," vv. 1, 3, 9, 16) is the narrator's own design, observable in the consonantal text, and is reported as such.
✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)