Joshua 9:15
in Joshua 9And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
KJV
And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
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This verse in Joshua 9
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAnd he, being as yet ignorant of localities and not knowing anything of the inhabitants, did not see through their deceit, nor did he enquire of God but readily believed them. So sacred was one's promised word held in those days that no one would believe that others could try to deceive. Who could find fault with the saints in this, namely, that they should consider others to have the same feelings as themselves and suppose no one would lie because truth was their own companion?
This site's exposition
And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them
on Joshua 9:15-16
Joshua makes peace and the leaders swear by the LORD, which verses 18 and 19 give as the reason nothing can be undone. Joshua covers the ground from Gilgal to Gibeon in one night march at 10:9, which is how near the distant land was.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
31 ), and the God of Israel a more merciful God than to order it so. Satis est prostrasse leoni--It is enough to have laid the lion prostrate. And besides, the reason of the law is the law; the mischief designed to be prevented by that law was the infecting of the Israelites with their idolatry, Deut. vii.
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To let them live - That is, they should not destroy them. That this league was lawful and obliging, appears, 1. Because Joshua and all the princes, upon the review concluded it so to be, and spared them accordingly.
And Joshua made peace with them,....
How the matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of all sides, by giving these Gibeonites their lives because they had covenanted with them, yet depriving them of their liberties because the covenant was not fairly obtained,
The thing was not done with much formality, but in short, 1. They agreed to let them live, and more the Gibeonites did not ask. In a common war this would have been but a small matter to be granted; but in the wars of Canaan, which were to make a general destruction, it was a great favour to a Canaanite to have his life given him for a prey, Jer. xlv.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Joshua made peace with them - Joshua agreed to receive them into a friendly connection with the Israelites, and to respect their lives and properties; and the elders of Israel bound themselves to the observance of it, and confirmed it with an oath. As the same words are used here as in Jos 9:6, we may suppose that the covenant was made in the ordinary way, a sacrifice being offered on the occasion, and its blood poured out before the Lord. See on Gen 15:10 (note), etc.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard--This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (Jos 10:2).
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the men took of their provisions. They accepted their words. They trapped them with their mouths, 10 The men of Yisroel were taken in by their trick. as it is said, “But if he did not set an ambush.” 11 Shemos:13.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֨עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָהֶ֤ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| שָׁל֔וֹם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | |
| וַיִּכְרֹ֥ת | vaiyikhrot | and he made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לָהֶ֛ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| בְּרִ֖ית | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| לְחַיּוֹתָ֑ם | lechaiyotam | to let live them | H2421 → | 282 times |
| וַיִּשָּׁבְע֣וּ | vaiyishaveu | and they swore an oath | H7650 → | 186 times |
| לָהֶ֔ם | lahem | to <the> them | ||
| נְשִׂיאֵ֖י | nesiei | [the] leaders of | H5387 → | 134 times |
| הָעֵדָֽה׃ | haedah | the congregation | H5712 → | 149 times |
וַיַּ֨עַשׂand he made
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
לָהֶ֤םto <the> them
lahem
יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙Joshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
שָׁל֔וֹםpeace
shalomH7965 →
וַיִּכְרֹ֥תand he made
vaiyikhrotH3772 →288 times
לָהֶ֛םto <the> them
lahem
בְּרִ֖יתa covenant
beritH1285 →284 times
לְחַיּוֹתָ֑םto let live them
lechaiyotamH2421 →282 times
וַיִּשָּׁבְע֣וּand they swore an oath
vaiyishaveuH7650 →186 times
לָהֶ֔םto <the> them
lahem
נְשִׂיאֵ֖י[the] leaders of
nesieiH5387 →134 times
הָעֵדָֽה׃the congregation
haedahH5712 →149 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
6 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 21:2At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal…
it leads to
- Joshua 9:3–21
But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- 2 Kings 10:16
saying, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD!” So he had him ride in his chariot.
- Luke 9:54–55
When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- Genesis 15:16
In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
- 1 Samuel 14:44
And Saul declared, “May God punish me, and ever so severely, if you, Jonathan, do not surely die!”
- Joshua 9:3–21
Through
Joshua 11:19No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle.
it leads to
- Joshua 9:3–27
But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- Joshua 9:3–27
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.10.67-68; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.