Joshua 9:3-6 meaning

Joshua 9:3-6 records how the Gibeonites form a plan to preserve themselves by deceiving the Israelites.

The previous section describes how six Canaanite kings united themselves to form a large military alliance to fight against the Israelites (Joshua 9:1-2). In this section, the Gibeonites use ragged clothing and old equipment to deceive the Israelites, causing them to think they had come from afar so they could grant them protection from an Israelite attack.

The text begins by saying, When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted craftily and set out as envoys. The Gibeonites descended from “the remnant of the Amorites” (2 Samuel 21:2). Their city was in the highland region west of the Jordan River. It was about 7 miles southwest of Ai and 18 miles west of the Israelite camp at Gilgal. Since the Gibeonites were nearby, they heard about the destruction of Jericho and Ai and feared for their lives.

Contrary to the other surrounding ethnic groups that unified themselves as a force to combat Israel, the Gibeonites took a different approach. They resorted to a shrewd trick. They formed a delegation and loaded their donkeys with worn-out sacks and wineskins worn-out, torn, and mended. They also put worn-out and patched sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes on themselves. All the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. The Gibeonites wore these ragged costumes to create the illusion that they came from a distant country and had endured a challenging journey.

Next, the Gibeonites went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, a town west of the Jordan River near Jericho. They addressed him and the men of Israel as follows: ‘We have come from a far country; Now, therefore, make a covenant with us.’ A covenant describes a contract, a treaty, or an alliance between two or more parties. It is a formal agreement that binds the parties together in a relationship based upon a mutual consensus. The Israelites had a covenant/treaty with God.

The Gibeonites realized they were powerless. They could not fight against the Israelites, so they sought an alliance with them. They deceived God’s people by telling them they were from a distant land—We have come from a far country—when, in fact, they lived about 5.5 miles north of Jerusalem in the highlands region. They supported their lies with old items to look like hungry and exhausted travelers because they did not want the Israelites to destroy them. But why did the Gibeonites deliberately say they lived from a distant land? How could that lie spare them?

The Gibeonites may have heard or knew about Yahweh and the stipulations in the Mosaic Law. They may have heard that there were other ethnic groups who traveled with the Israelites safely who were not natural-born Hebrews, but strangers who had been accepted into the community (Exodus 12:38, Leviticus 19:33-34, Numbers 32:12).

In Deuteronomy, God prescribed regulations concerning how His covenant/treaty people would conduct themselves in war against their enemy. He instructed them to offer terms of peace to certain cities before attacking them.

The only nations that were to be destroyed without mercy were the Canaanite nations whom God had placed under judgment; their window for repentance had shut (Genesis 15:16). Their removal would help the Israelites avoid being corrupted into practicing the dehumanizing and exploitative idolatry of those specific nations (Deuteronomy 7:1-2, 20:10-18). But as for the cities outside of these groups, the Israelites were to offer peace first, if they would yield.

Based upon this knowledge, the Gibeonites went to Israel to secure a peace treaty instead of waiting for them to reach their land. Such an agreement would allow the enemy to live among Israel and remain safe.