Joshua 9:1-2. The First League of the Canaanite Kings 1. _And it came to pass_ Thus "that spring morning" did Israel "consecrate Palestine unto the Lord, and take sea and lake, mountain and valley the most hallowed spots in their history as witnesses of their covenant." It was probably on this occa... [ Continue Reading ]
The Embassy of the Gibeonites 3. _of Gibeon_ This city was the head of the four towns occupied by the Hivites, the other three being Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim (Joshua 9:17). It appears to have been a sort of independent republic, since we hear of elders there (Joshua 9:11), but not of a... [ Continue Reading ]
_they did work wilily_ Rather, THEY ALSO DID WORK WILILY. They had heard what Joshua had done in the case of Jericho and Ai, and the stratagems he had em ployed, and now they also resolved to do something and to meet craft with craft. "Thei thouзten felli," Wyclif. _made as if they had been_ Or, as... [ Continue Reading ]
_old shoes_ "and ful olde shoon," Wyclif, i.e. _sandals_, made of (1) hide, or (2) palm-leaves and papyrus stalks. Comp. Mark 6:9. _clouted_ i.e. PATCHED, "sowid with patchis," Wyclif; from clout, A. S. _cleot, clút_, "a patch," properly a swelling from a blow, connected with Du. _klotsen_, to stri... [ Continue Reading ]
_unto the camp at Gilgal_ Where was this Gilgal? (i) According to some it was the Gilgal, of which we have already heard (Joshua 5:10), in the Jordan valley, whither Joshua had returned after his successful expedition against Ai, in order thence to undertake fresh enterprises, and where the women, c... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Hivites_ Comp. Jos 11:19; 2 Samuel 21:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who are ye_?] To this is to be noticed that they made no direct reply. They adroitly evaded the question by dwelling on the fact that they were Joshua's "servants" (comp. Genesis 32:4; Genesis 50:18).... [ Continue Reading ]
_we have heard the fame of him_ Comp. Joshua 2:10; Joshua 6:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to Og, king of Bashan_ They prudently omit all mention of the late capture of Jericho and Ai, lest the revelation of what had recently occurred should betray them.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the men took of their victuals_ "thei token thanne of the meetis of hem," Wyclif. "The men" here denote the elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes. Comp. Joshua 9:18-21. Some think it means they took and tasted of their provisions by way of test to see if their story was true, so Keil and Rosenm... [ Continue Reading ]
_on the third day_ A three days" journey it might well be "according to the slow pace of eastern armies and caravans." Stanley's _S. & P_. p. 209. _Chephirah_ "a village," afterwards allotted to Benjamin (Joshua 18:26). It was an inhabited city in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah... [ Continue Reading ]
_had sworn unto them_ The remembrance of the league was kept up through the whole course of the subsequent history. A terrible trial befell the nation because Saul had massacred certain of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1-2; 1 Samuel 22:18-19), and David remained faithful to the vow which Joshua had ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_hewers of wood and drawers of water_ "trees thei kutten and watris thei beren," Wyclif. They were devoted to the sanctuary, called at a later period _Nethinims = Deo dati, donati_, and were bound to discharge menial duties which usually devolved upon the lowest classes. Comp. Deuteronomy 29:10-11,... [ Continue Reading ]
_ye are cursed_ Comp. Genesis 9:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Lord thy God commanded_ See Deuteronomy 7:1-2. _we were sore afraid_ Fear had been their sole motive in seeking an alliance with Israel. Theirs was not the faith, which had prompted Rahab to save the spies.... [ Continue Reading ]
_we are in thine hand_ Compare the words of Abraham to Sarah, "Behold, thy maid _is in thy hand_; do to her as it pleaseth thee" (Genesis 16:6).... [ Continue Reading ]
_delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel_ who would have certainly been glad to destroy them.... [ Continue Reading ]
_made them that day_ It is deserving of notice that the Gibeonites never appear to have betrayed their trust, or enticed Israel into idolatry.... [ Continue Reading ]