Deception by the People of Gibeon
Joshua 9When 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 they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they 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 wine skins, and old and patched sandals on their feet, and wore old garments. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. They 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 y’all make a covenant with us.”
The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Maybe you live near us? How could we make a covenant with you?”
They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
Joshua said to them, “Who are y’all and where do y’all come from?”
They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of YHWH your God, for we have heard of ʜɪꜱ fame, all that ʜᴇ did in Egypt, and 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. Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Y’all take supplies in y’all’s hand for the journey, and go to meet them. Y’all tell them, “We are y’all’s servants. Now make a covenant with us.”’ This our bread we took hot for our supplies out of our houses on the day we went out to go to y’all. But now, look, it is dry, and has become moldy. These wine skins that we filled were new, but look, they are torn. These our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”
The men sampled their provisions, but did not ask counsel from YHWH’s mouth. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them to let them live. The leaders of the congregation swore to them. Three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived near them. The children of Israel traveled and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. The children of Israel didn’t strike them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by YHWH, the God of Israel. All the congregation grumbled against the leaders. But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by YHWH, the God of Israel. Now therefore we may not touch them. This is what we will do this to them: we will let them live so that no wrath will be on us, because of the oath which we swore to them.” The leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became wood cutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the leaders had spoken to them.
Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why did y’all deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from y’all,’ when y’all live near us? Y’all are now under a curse, and some of y’all will never cease being slaves: wood cutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were told-told how YHWH your God commanded ʜɪꜱ slave Moses to give y’all all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before y’all. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of y’all, and that is why we did this thing. Look, now we are in your hand. Do to us as it seems good and right to you to do.”
So that is what he for them: he delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not kill them. That day Joshua made them wood cutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of YHWH to this day, in the place which he should choose.