Joshua 9:1-2 records how the Canaanite kings ally themselves to fight against Joshua and the Israelites when they hear about their success in Jericho and Ai.
In Joshua 9:1-2, six Canaanite kings form an alliance to resist the Israelites.
During the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land, the Israelites first miraculously entered Jericho and destroyed it (Joshua 6:15-21). In the conquest of Jericho, one Israelite broke God’s command and stole plunder for himself. Consequently, the Israelites lost their next battle, the first time they had suffered a military defeat and loss of life. Their defeat was against soldiers from the city of Ai.
This curse was part of the covenant/treaty between God and Israel. Israel had promised to obey the stipulations of the treaty, and God promised blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience, to which Israel agreed. The cursings were the negative consequences for disobedience of the Suzerain-Vassal style treaty that God entered into with Israel. This current generation of Israelites had just ratified and renewed this treaty with God before entering the Land (Deuteronomy 26:17).
When God revealed the sin of Achan to Joshua and the Israelites, they dealt with the sinner by destroying him, his family, and the plunder he stole (Joshua 7:10-26). God revoked the curse and told Joshua to attack Ai once more. The Israelites battled Ai again and killed all its inhabitants, including its king (Joshua 8).
The news about the Israelite victory over Jericho and Ai spread rapidly and aroused fear among many surrounding Canaanite cities and people groups. They saw the threat of Israel and began to think about preventive measures to protect themselves. Joshua 9:1-2 describes the reaction of all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and the lowland, and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (v.1).
The term Jordan refers to the 156-mile-long river which flows north to south from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan. Thus, the phrase beyond the Jordan refers to the regions west of the Jordan River known as the land of Canaan which would become the land of Israel and Judah. The hill country refers to the central mountain range. The lowland was the foothills between the central mountain range and the coastal plain. The coast of the Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon. Finally, Lebanon is home to famed cedar forests and a vast mountain range. It was a source of valuable lumber for the covenant people of God. When Solomon built the first temple, he commissioned Hiram king of Tyre in Lebanon to furnish the cedar wood for the Temple (1 Kings 5:6-9).
The kings who panicked when they heard about the Israelite victory over Jericho and Ai came from six ethnic groups: the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. According to Genesis 10:15, the Hittites descended from Canaan through Heth. They lived around Hebron (Genesis 23:1-20). Though the main Hittite empire was centered far north of here in modern day Turkey, the Hittites were expanionsists and would settle in other lands like the Hittites in the land of Canaan.
The Amorites appeared as a group that covered five kingdoms in the Ancient Near East: Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon (Joshua 10:5). The Canaanites were an ethnic group that dwelt "by the sea and by the side of the Jordan" (Numbers 13:29). The Perizzites lived in unwalled suburbs both east and west of the Jordan. The mention of this group of people extends from the time of Abraham (Genesis 13:7) to the postexilic times (Ezra 9:1). The Hivites (or Horites) were the peoples of Shechem in the days of Jacob (Genesis 34:2). Later, during the Israelite conquest, they constituted the population of Gibeon (Joshua 9:7). The Jebusites were the occupants of the region later associated with the tribe of Benjamin, especially the city of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:63).
The fear that drove six different nations to form a coalition shows how much the surrounding peoples feared the God of Israel. They were not just afraid of a strong army. They had heard about a God who split seas, destroyed cities overnight, and defeated the most powerful kings in the region (Joshua 2:8-11).
In Deuteronomy, Moses told the Israelites not to mingle with these nations when God brought them to the Promised Land. He firmly declared, "When the LORD your God delivers them [the nations] before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
The reason was that Israel was a holy nation to the LORD (Deuteronomy 7:6). The Israelites were a special people, chosen by God to serve as a priestly kingdom, representing Him everywhere on the earth (Exodus 19:5). They were to avoid making friends with these particular pagan nations so they would not be influenced to follow their detestable practices (Deuteronomy 20:17-18).
The Canaanites engaged in all variety of sinful activities which God did not want the Israelites to emulate. Unfortunately, throughout their history, the Israelites would repeat various cycles of succumbing to exploitative pagan practices/idol worship and then repenting (Judges 2:11-13,1 Kings 11:33,Psalm 106:35-39,Judges 10:10,1 Samuel 7:3-4). The corruptive influence of the neighboring pagans was never fully removed, even after Israel established its kingdom and dominance in the region.
In this conquest, the Israelites were tasked to obey God's command to utterly destroy all the religious sites where the Canaanites served their gods in order not to copy their wicked patterns of worship. Part of this was God's judgement upon the immoral and dehumanizing practices of the pagan peoples who exploited one another. God designed us to love and serve one another (Leviticus 19:18,Micah 6:8), not use and destroy each other. He made clear in Genesis 15 that He was giving the Canaanites time to repent before their judgement, and now their time was full (Genesis 15:16). Judgment had come in the form of the Israelite army (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
The peculiar nature of the Israelites and the greatness of their God prompted the pagan nations to hate them. The hatred of the Jews continued throughout history and is still rampant in the world today. In Matthew 24:9, Jesus told His Jewish disciples that they would be hated by all nations for His name’s sake.
When all these kings heard about the Israelite success in Jericho and Ai, they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel. The prepositional phrase with oneaccord speaks of the unanimous purpose of the Canaanite kings. They formed a coalition to defeat Joshua and the Israelites. In their thinking, the Israelite victory at Jericho might have suggested they were militarily strong. However, the enemy also realized the Israelites were not invincible since they lost their initial battle before the people of Ai. Therefore, they planned to work together as a unified force against Israel for a greater chance of victory.
Joshua 9:1-2
Guile of the Gibeonites
1 Now it came about when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and in the lowland and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, heard of it,
2 that they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel.
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Joshua 9:1-2 meaning
In Joshua 9:1-2, six Canaanite kings form an alliance to resist the Israelites.
During the Israelite conquest of the Promised Land, the Israelites first miraculously entered Jericho and destroyed it (Joshua 6:15-21). In the conquest of Jericho, one Israelite broke God’s command and stole plunder for himself. Consequently, the Israelites lost their next battle, the first time they had suffered a military defeat and loss of life. Their defeat was against soldiers from the city of Ai.
This curse was part of the covenant/treaty between God and Israel. Israel had promised to obey the stipulations of the treaty, and God promised blessings for obedience and cursings for disobedience, to which Israel agreed. The cursings were the negative consequences for disobedience of the Suzerain-Vassal style treaty that God entered into with Israel. This current generation of Israelites had just ratified and renewed this treaty with God before entering the Land (Deuteronomy 26:17).
When God revealed the sin of Achan to Joshua and the Israelites, they dealt with the sinner by destroying him, his family, and the plunder he stole (Joshua 7:10-26). God revoked the curse and told Joshua to attack Ai once more. The Israelites battled Ai again and killed all its inhabitants, including its king (Joshua 8).
The news about the Israelite victory over Jericho and Ai spread rapidly and aroused fear among many surrounding Canaanite cities and people groups. They saw the threat of Israel and began to think about preventive measures to protect themselves. Joshua 9:1-2 describes the reaction of all the kings who were beyond the Jordan, in the hill country and the lowland, and on all the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon (v.1).
The term Jordan refers to the 156-mile-long river which flows north to south from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. It was the eastern boundary of the land of Canaan. Thus, the phrase beyond the Jordan refers to the regions west of the Jordan River known as the land of Canaan which would become the land of Israel and Judah. The hill country refers to the central mountain range. The lowland was the foothills between the central mountain range and the coastal plain. The coast of the Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea toward Lebanon. Finally, Lebanon is home to famed cedar forests and a vast mountain range. It was a source of valuable lumber for the covenant people of God. When Solomon built the first temple, he commissioned Hiram king of Tyre in Lebanon to furnish the cedar wood for the Temple (1 Kings 5:6-9).
The kings who panicked when they heard about the Israelite victory over Jericho and Ai came from six ethnic groups: the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. According to Genesis 10:15, the Hittites descended from Canaan through Heth. They lived around Hebron (Genesis 23:1-20). Though the main Hittite empire was centered far north of here in modern day Turkey, the Hittites were expanionsists and would settle in other lands like the Hittites in the land of Canaan.
The Amorites appeared as a group that covered five kingdoms in the Ancient Near East: Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon (Joshua 10:5). The Canaanites were an ethnic group that dwelt "by the sea and by the side of the Jordan" (Numbers 13:29). The Perizzites lived in unwalled suburbs both east and west of the Jordan. The mention of this group of people extends from the time of Abraham (Genesis 13:7) to the postexilic times (Ezra 9:1). The Hivites (or Horites) were the peoples of Shechem in the days of Jacob (Genesis 34:2). Later, during the Israelite conquest, they constituted the population of Gibeon (Joshua 9:7). The Jebusites were the occupants of the region later associated with the tribe of Benjamin, especially the city of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:63).
The fear that drove six different nations to form a coalition shows how much the surrounding peoples feared the God of Israel. They were not just afraid of a strong army. They had heard about a God who split seas, destroyed cities overnight, and defeated the most powerful kings in the region (Joshua 2:8-11).
In Deuteronomy, Moses told the Israelites not to mingle with these nations when God brought them to the Promised Land. He firmly declared, "When the LORD your God delivers them [the nations] before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
The reason was that Israel was a holy nation to the LORD (Deuteronomy 7:6). The Israelites were a special people, chosen by God to serve as a priestly kingdom, representing Him everywhere on the earth (Exodus 19:5). They were to avoid making friends with these particular pagan nations so they would not be influenced to follow their detestable practices (Deuteronomy 20:17-18).
The Canaanites engaged in all variety of sinful activities which God did not want the Israelites to emulate. Unfortunately, throughout their history, the Israelites would repeat various cycles of succumbing to exploitative pagan practices/idol worship and then repenting (Judges 2:11-13, 1 Kings 11:33, Psalm 106:35-39, Judges 10:10, 1 Samuel 7:3-4). The corruptive influence of the neighboring pagans was never fully removed, even after Israel established its kingdom and dominance in the region.
In this conquest, the Israelites were tasked to obey God's command to utterly destroy all the religious sites where the Canaanites served their gods in order not to copy their wicked patterns of worship. Part of this was God's judgement upon the immoral and dehumanizing practices of the pagan peoples who exploited one another. God designed us to love and serve one another (Leviticus 19:18, Micah 6:8), not use and destroy each other. He made clear in Genesis 15 that He was giving the Canaanites time to repent before their judgement, and now their time was full (Genesis 15:16). Judgment had come in the form of the Israelite army (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
The peculiar nature of the Israelites and the greatness of their God prompted the pagan nations to hate them. The hatred of the Jews continued throughout history and is still rampant in the world today. In Matthew 24:9, Jesus told His Jewish disciples that they would be hated by all nations for His name’s sake.
When all these kings heard about the Israelite success in Jericho and Ai, they gathered themselves together with one accord to fight with Joshua and with Israel. The prepositional phrase with one accord speaks of the unanimous purpose of the Canaanite kings. They formed a coalition to defeat Joshua and the Israelites. In their thinking, the Israelite victory at Jericho might have suggested they were militarily strong. However, the enemy also realized the Israelites were not invincible since they lost their initial battle before the people of Ai. Therefore, they planned to work together as a unified force against Israel for a greater chance of victory.