1. Now when all these [things] were heard of, all the kings beyond the Jordan, who dwelt in the mountains and in the plains, in the places near the sea and on the shore of the great sea — these too who dwelt beside Libanus, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Pherezite and the Hevite, and the Jebusite — 2. gathered themselves together, that they might fight against Joshua and Israel with one mind and one resolve. 3. But those who dwelt in Gabaon, hearing all that Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4. and cunningly devising, took for themselves provisions, laying old sacks upon [their] asses, and wine-skins rent and sewn up again, 5. and very old shoes, which for a token of age had been patched with clouts, [and being] clothed in old garments: the loaves also, which they carried for the journey, were hard and broken into fragments. 6. And they went on to Joshua, who then abode in the camp at Galgala [Gilgal], and said to him, and at the same time to all Israel: We have come from a far country, desiring to make peace with you. And the men of Israel answered them, and said: 7. Perhaps you dwell in the land which is owed to us by lot, and [then] we cannot enter into a covenant with you. 8. But they [said] to Joshua: We are thy servants. To whom Joshua said: Who are you? and whence have you come? 9. They answered: From a very far country thy servants have come, in the name of the Lord thy God. For we have heard the fame of his power, all the [things] which he did in Egypt, 10. and to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, Sehon king of Hesebon and Og king of Basan, who was in Astaroth. 11. And our elders, and all the inhabitants of our land, said to us: Take in [your] hands provisions for the longest journey, and go to meet them, and say: We are your servants; enter into a covenant with us. 12. Lo, these loaves — when we went out from our houses to come to you, we took [them] hot; now they are become dry, and broken up by exceeding age. 13. These skins of wine we filled new; now they are burst and undone. The garments and shoes with which we are clothed, and which we have on [our] feet, by reason of the length of the longer way are worn and almost consumed. 14. They took therefore of their provisions, and consulted not the mouth of the Lord. 15. And Joshua made peace with them, and, a covenant being entered into, promised that they should not be slain; the princes of the multitude also swore to them. 16. But three days after the covenant was made, they heard that [the Gabaonites] dwelt near, and would be among them. 17. And the children of Israel moved the camp, and came into their cities on the third day, the names of which are these: Gabaon, and Caphira, and Beroth, and Cariathiarim. 18. And they smote them not, because the princes of the multitude had sworn to them in the name of the Lord the God of Israel. Therefore all the common people murmured against the princes. 19. Who answered them: We have sworn to them in the name of the Lord the God of Israel, and therefore we cannot touch them. 20. But this we will do to them: Let them indeed be reserved that they may live, lest the wrath of the Lord be stirred up against us, if we should be forsworn; 21. but let them so live, as to hew wood and carry water for the use of the whole multitude. And as they were speaking these [things], 22. Joshua called the Gabaonites, and said to them: Why would you deceive us by fraud, that you should say: We dwell very far off from you, whereas you are in the midst of us? 23. Therefore you shall be under a curse, and there shall not fail from your stock [one who is] a hewer of wood and a carrier of water into the house of my God. 24. They answered: It was told to us thy servants, that the Lord thy God had promised his servant Moses that he would deliver to you the whole Land, and
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[that he would deliver to you the whole Land, and] destroy all its inhabitants. We feared therefore greatly, and provided for our lives, compelled by dread of you, and entered upon this counsel. 25. But now we are in thy hand: do to us what seems good and right to thee. 26. So Joshua did as he had said, and delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, that they should not be slain. 27. And he decreed in that day that they should be in the service of all the people, and of the altar of the Lord — hewing wood and carrying water — until the present time, in the place which the Lord should choose.
COMMENTARY
A double Gibeonite war could be constituted: one, of the Israelites against the Gabaonites themselves; the other, of the same [Israelites] on behalf of them. Of the former [is] the discourse here; of the latter — which will also be called the Adonizedekite [war] — [in] the following chapter. And the former indeed was waged not with arms, nor with hand and blood, but was seized, turned aside, and impeded, by [the Gabaonites] themselves, against whom it should have been waged, by a certain guile. But there are two parts of the chapter. In the former, the preparation of very many Kings for war against the Israelites is delivered (vv. 1 and 2). In the latter, the seizure and turning-aside of the Gibeonite war (as I have already indicated); which contains as it were seven things done:
I. There is the trepidation and fear of the Gabaonites (v. 3). II. Their crafty counsel for obtaining peace (v. 4 and following). III. The covenant struck with them incautiously by the Israelites (v. 14). IV. The detection of the whole guile (vv. 16, 17, 18). V. The murmuring of the Israelite common people because of that striking of the covenant (v. 19). VI. The composing and settling of the murmur (vv. 19, 20, 21). VII. The punishment of the Gabaonites themselves (v. 22, to the end of the chapter). But in the former part it is to be noted that those Kings who had prepared war against Israel are described in a twofold [way].
First. From the places in which they dwelt — which [are] a fourfold [set of] regions of the Canaanite land: 1. Mountainous. 2. Level or champaign [plains]. 3. Maritime, which are toward [the shore] of the great sea, that is, of the Mediterranean shore. 4. Those which are over against Libanus, or beside Libanus, concerning which above (ch. 1 and ch. 5, in the Commentary). Then, they are described by the names of six peoples. For there are: 1. the Hittites, in Greek χατταῖν [chattaïn]; 2. the Amorites; 3. the Canaanites; 4. the Pherezites; 5. the Hevites, in Greek εὐαῖοι [euaioi]; 6. the Jebusites. The seventh in Canaan was the people of the Gergesites, as appeared above (ch. 3, v. 10; and Gen. 15; Deut. 7) — [but] in this place, and sometimes elsewhere, omitted, because [it was] small, as Abulensis says (q. 3). Yet the Septuagint here enunciated it, before the Jebusites, in the sixth place. But beautifully concerning this passage [does] Origen [treat in] homily 9: “The history of the deeds,” he says, “is manifest, and needs no explanation, because it was evidently fulfilled; yet from these visible [things] which were done, let us contemplate the wars and triumphs which our Lord JESUS the Savior waged — although in him too we see these fulfilled visibly. For the kings of the earth, the senate and the people, and the Roman Princes came together to storm the name of JESUS, and Israel with [it]. For they decreed by their laws that there should be no Christians. Every city, every order, assails the name of the Christians. But just as then all those kings, coming together against JESUS, could do nothing, so neither shall the princes, or those contrary powers, be able to obtain [this] — that the race of the Christians be not more widely and profusely propagated. For it is written that, by how much the more they humbled them, by so much the more did they become more numerous, and grew exceedingly strong. And we trust that not only shall our visible enemies and adversaries not be able to prevail against us, but also that swiftly — our Lord JESUS conquering — Satan shall be crushed under the feet of his servants. For with him as leader his soldiers shall always conquer, so that we may say, as it is written in Esdra: ‘Because from the Lord is the victory; and I [am] thy servant; blessed art thou, God of truth.’ Whom may we too always invoke, that he give us the victory in CHRIST JESUS our Lord, to whom is glory and dominion. Amen.”