Sermon Tone Analysis

(1) And then, as soon as the kings heard who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the Shephelah and in all the coast of the great sea opposite of Lebanon--the Hittites and Amorites, the Canaanites the Perizzites the Hivites and the Jebusites-- (2) they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord,

(3) while the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho to Ai, (4) and they acted-- also they-- with wisdom/cunning,

and they went

and they sent ambassadors,

and they took old/worn-out sacks for their donkeys and leather bottles of wine--old/worn-out and torn and patched together--and old/worn-out clothes [were] on them,

while all of the bread of their provisions was dry.

It was crumbs.

(6) And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal,

and they said to him and to the man of Israel,

"From a far land we have come,

and now cut a covenant with us."

(7) And the men of Israel said to the Hivites,

"Perhaps in my midst you are living,

and how can I cut a covenant with you?"

(8) And they said to Joshua,

"Your slaves/servants [are] we."

And Joshua said to them,

"Who are you,

and from where do you come?"

(9) And they said to him,

"From a land very far we have come-- your slaves/servants-- because of the name of Yahweh your God,

because we have heard his reputation and all that he did in Egypt (5:1-2) and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who [were] beyond the Jordan-- to Sihon the King of Heshbon and to Og King of Bashan who [was] in Ashtaroth."

(11) And our elders and all the inhabitants of our land said to us, saying,

"Take in your hand provisions for the road,

and go to meet them,

and you shall say to them,

"Your slaves/servants [are] we,"

And now cut with us a covenant.

(12) This [is] our bread.

Hot it was when we took it as provision from our houses on the day of our going to go to you,

and now, LOOK!

It is dry, and it is crumbs.

(13) And these [are] the leather bottles of wine which we had filled new, and LOOK!

They have torn/burst.

And these are our clothes and our sandals.

They are worn out from the length of the very long road."

(14) And the men took from their provisions,

and the mouth of Yahweh they did not seek/request."

(15) And Joshua made peace for/with them,

and he cut for/with them a covenant to let them live,

and the leaders of the community swore [an oath] for/with them,

(16) and then, at the end of the days after they had cut for/with them a covenant, they heard that near [are] they to him,

and in his midst they are living,

(17) and the sons of Israel set out,

and they went to their cities on the third day.

Now their cities were Gibeon and the Kephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim,

(18) and the sons of Israel didn't strike them

because the leaders of the community had sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel,

and all of the community murmured against the leaders,

(19) and all the leaders said to all the community,

"We have sworn to them by Yahweh the God of Israel,

and now we are not able to touch them.

(20) This we will do to them:

We will let them live,

so that fury may not be on us because of the oath that we swore to them,

(21) And the leaders said to them,

"Let them live,"

and they were choppers of wood and drawers of water for all the community,

just as the leaders had spoken concerning them.

(22) And Joshua called/summoned to them,

and he said to them, saying,

"Why did you deceive/betray us, saying,

"Far are we from you very,"

and you in our midst [are] living,

(23) and now, cursed [are] you,

and a slave/servant and chopper of wood and drawers of water shall not be cut off from you for the house of my God.

(24) And they answered Joshua,

and they said,

"Because it was certainly told in detail to your slaves/servants that Yahweh your God had commanded Moses his slave/servant to give to you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from your face/presence,"

and we were very afraid for our lives from your face/presence,

and (then) we did this thing,

and now, LOOK!

We [are] in your hand.

According to [what is] the good and according to [what is] the right in your eyes to do to us, do.

(26) And he did to them thus:

He rescued them from the hand of the sons of Israel,

and they did not kill them,

(27) And Joshua made them on that day choppers of wood and drawers of water for the community and for the altar of Yahweh until this day at the place that he would choose.

(1) And then, as soon as the kings heard who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the Shephelah and in all the coast of the great sea opposite of Lebanon--the Hittites and Amorites, the Canaanites the Perizzites the Hivites and the Jebusites-- (2) they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord,

(3) while the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho to Ai, (4) and they acted-- also they-- with cunning,

Imagine that you're a Canaanite king, and you've heard the report about what Joshua and the Israelites have been doing.

They wiped out Jericho, and after an initial setback, did the same to Ai.

They killed everyone, hung the kings, and made the cities a desolation.

If I'm a king, I'm nervous.

If they'd simply conquered these two cities, and moved in to them, I'd maybe try telling myself that it's time to greet my new neighbors.

Maybe bring over a cake.

But people who conquer cities, only to destroy them, have some larger goal in mind.

They aren't going to be content with what they've done.

AJ begins chapter 9 by very deliberately creating a contrast between two different responses to what Joshua has been doing.

In verses 1-2, AJ describes the first group.

All the kings of the land, hearing about Joshua, have joined together with one accord to fight him.

They've put aside whatever differences they have-- whatever century-old grudges-- to unite against their common enemy.

Perhaps the Canaanites' problem to this point has been a lack of numbers.

Maybe they've lost to these escaped slaves because they've been overwhelmed numerically.

Maybe if they join together, they will crush Israel.

These kings then disappear until chapter 10.

Why does AJ tell us about these kings, when they play no further role in chapter 9? I think the answer is, AJ has given us this to help us view the second group differently.

In verse 3, again, we read this:

(3) while the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho to Ai, (4) and they acted-- also they-- with cunning/shrewdness/foresight,

When the Gibeonites heard about what Joshua did, they drew a completely different conclusion.