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Joshua 9

Israel’s failure to seek YHWH’s counsel leads to a deceptive covenant whose oath still binds its leaders.

The people of Gibeon send envoys to Joshua at Gilgal with worn clothes and moldy bread, pretending to come from a distant land. Other kings are gathering to fight Israel; Gibeon seeks a covenant to survive. Israel’s leaders inspect the provisions without asking YHWH for counsel and swear to spare them. When the deception comes to light, the leaders uphold their oath, and Joshua assigns the Gibeonites to forced labor for the congregation and YHWH’s altar.

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1When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country, and in the lowland, and on all the shore of the great sea in front of Lebanon, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard of it
2they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.
3But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
4they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and old, torn-up and bound up wineskins,
5and old and patched sandals on their feet, and wore old garments. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy.
6They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. Now therefore make a covenant with us.”
7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you live among us? How could we make a covenant with you?”
8They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”
9They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of his fame, all that he did in Egypt,
10and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
11Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take supplies in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them. Tell them, “We are your servants. Now make a covenant with us.”’
13These wineskins, which we filled, were new; and behold, they are torn. These our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”
14The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from the LORD’s mouth.
15Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them.
17The children of Israel traveled and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim.
18The children of Israel didn’t strike them, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. All the congregation murmured against the princes.
19But all the princes said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Now therefore we may not touch them.
20We will do this to them, and let them live; lest wrath be on us, because of the oath which we swore to them.”
21The princes said to them, “Let them live.” So they became wood cutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes had spoken to them.
22Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you live among us?
23Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you will never fail to be slaves, both wood cutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
24They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25Now, behold, we are in your hand. Do to us as it seems good and right to you to do.”
27That day Joshua made them wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the LORD’s altar to this day, in the place which he should choose.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Joshua 9:9The envoys appeal to YHWH’s fame and his acts in Egypt while concealing where they live.
Joshua 9:24The Gibeonites explain that fear of destruction under YHWH’s command through Moses drove their deception.
Joshua 9:14The narrator identifies the decisive failure: Israel’s leaders examine the evidence without seeking counsel from YHWH.
Where this chapter reaches

Deuteronomy supplies the commands concerning the land’s inhabitants and the place God would choose, while Exodus recounts the deeds in Egypt that the envoys mention. In 2 Samuel, the same oath to the Gibeonites stands behind judgment for Saul’s violence against them.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about the evidence Israel’s leaders examined and the counsel they failed to seek?

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How does the leaders’ response to discovering the deception shape your understanding of promises made before God?

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Questions people ask about Joshua 9

Why did the Gibeonites deceive Joshua?

The Gibeonites say they feared for their lives because they had heard that YHWH commanded Moses to give Israel the land and destroy its inhabitants. They used worn belongings and moldy bread to pose as distant travelers, hoping to secure a covenant that would spare them.

Why did Joshua keep the treaty with the Gibeonites?

Israel’s leaders had sworn by YHWH, the God of Israel, to let the Gibeonites live. After discovering the fraud, they said that killing them would bring wrath because of that oath. Despite the congregation’s complaints, Joshua protected the Gibeonites from being killed and imposed forced labor.

What does the curse on the Gibeonites mean in Joshua 9?

Joshua connects the curse with enduring slavery: some of the Gibeonites would remain wood cutters and water carriers for the house of his God. The closing verse assigns this labor to the congregation and YHWH’s altar. Their lives are spared, but the deception results in lasting servitude.

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Joshua · 24 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).