The Gibeonite Deception

When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted with craftiness. They prepared provisions and took old sacks for their donkeys, along with old, torn, and mended wineskins. They wore patched sandals and old garments, and all the bread they carried for their food was dry and moldy. They traveled to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and told him and the men of Israel that they had come from a distant country to make a covenant (Joshua 9:3-6). The men of Israel questioned whether the strangers lived among them, but the Gibeonites told Joshua they were his servants. When Joshua asked who they were and where they came from, they replied that they had come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord. They pointed to their dry bread, which they claimed was hot when they left home, and their worn clothes as evidence of a long journey.

The men of Israel took some of their provisions but did not ask counsel from the mouth of the Lord. Joshua made peace with them and entered into a covenant to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them (Joshua 9:14-15). Three days after the treaty was made, the Israelites heard that the Gibeonites were actually their neighbors and lived near them. The Israelites traveled to their cities, including Gibeon and Chephirah, but they did not attack them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn an oath by the Lord God of Israel (Joshua 9:16-18).

The congregation grumbled against the leaders, but the leaders maintained that they could not touch the Gibeonites because of the oath. Joshua then called for the Gibeonites and asked why they had deceived the Israelites. They answered that they were afraid for their lives because they had heard the Lord commanded Moses to give the Israelites the land and destroy its inhabitants. Joshua spared them from death but made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord (Joshua 9:22-27). The text does not say how many Gibeonites were involved in the deception.