Joshua 9:17
And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
What's easy to miss is that the discovery of the Gibeonites' deception happened on the third day after the treaty, not that their cities were only reached on the third day of travel. This swift revelation highlights the Israelites' own haste and lack of discernment, as they were meant to seek God's counsel before making such pacts. The immediate discovery underscores a missed opportunity for divine guidance and points to a significant spiritual oversight.
The Israelites, having been tricked by the Gibeonites into making a treaty, discover the deception three days later when they realize their new "allies" live nearby. This verse lists the four main cities belonging to the Gibeonites that the Israelites now possess as a result of the treaty. The immediate aftermath sees the Israelite leaders grappling with the implications of their oath and the people murmuring in protest.
The people of Israel discovered they’d been tricked. Their leaders had sworn an oath to these strangers, and now they had to live with the consequences, even though they felt deceived.
This passage highlights a crucial principle: the sanctity of an oath, even when made under false pretenses. The princes of Israel realized that their oath to the Gibeonites, though secured through deception, was still binding.
Ask a follow-up
Ask Sola things like:
Live chat about Joshua 9:17 is available in the Sola app.
These distant-seeming people weren't just outsmarted; they were terrified. Their elaborate deception stemmed from a deep, existential fear of the God of Israel and His promises.
The Gibeonites' actions, while deceitful, reveal a profound awareness of God's power and His plans for Israel.
This event shows the Israelites' haste and lack of seeking God's counsel, leading to a binding treaty with a deceptive people. The text underscores the solemnity of oaths sworn in God's name, even when made under false pretenses.
c. 1400 BC
Conquest of Canaan Begins
Following God's command, Joshua leads the Israelites into the Promised Land, beginning a period of military campaigns to dispossess the Canaanite inhabitants.
c. 1400 BC— this verse
The Gibeonite Deception
The Gibeonites, fearing the Israelite advance, trick Joshua and the princes into making a peace treaty by pretending to be from a distant land.
c. 1400 BC
Discovery of the Fraud
Three days after making the treaty, the Israelites discover that the Gibeonites live nearby, leading to internal murmuring and debate about the oath.
c. 1400 BC
Gibeonites Become Servants
Joshua upholds the oath made in God's name, sparing the Gibeonites' lives but decreeing they will serve the congregation as woodcutters and water-drawers.
c. 1400 BC
Land Allotment Begins
Later, during the division of the land among the tribes, Gibeon is assigned to Benjamin and Kirjath-jearim to Judah, though the Gibeonites retain their status.
c. 1050 BC
Ark of the Covenant at Kirjath-jearim
The Ark of the Covenant resides at Kirjath-jearim for about twenty years after its return from Philistine captivity, highlighting the sacred significance of this area.
This passage outlines the instruction to offer peace to cities outside of Canaan before attacking them, highlighting the Gibeonites' strategy of feigning distance to avoid this offer and the Israelites' subsequent (though deceived) adherence to a similar principle.
1 Samuel 7:1-2This passage shows the Ark of the Covenant residing in Kirjath-jearim for twenty years after its return from the Philistines, demonstrating the long-term presence and significance of one of the Gibeonite cities within Israelite history.
Psalm 15:4This Psalm describes the righteous person as one who 'swears to his own hurt and does not change,' directly reflecting the difficult but principled decision Joshua and the princes made to uphold their oath to the Gibeonites despite being deceived.
2 Samuel 21:1-2Centuries later, the consequences of this oath are revealed when a famine strikes Israel, and David learns it is due to Saul's violation of the Gibeonites' rights, showing how deeply ingrained their status had become and that past treaties had lasting implications.
Ezra 2:25This verse lists Chephirah and Beeroth among the cities whose inhabitants returned from exile with Zerubbabel, indicating that these Gibeonite cities, despite their initial servitude, remained populated and part of the land.
calvinJoshua 9:16-27: "And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them."
And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
Profectique sunt filii Israel, et venerunt ad urbes ipsorum die tertio. Urbes autem eorum erant Gibeon, Chephirat, Beeroth, Ciriatjearlm.
And…
cambridgeJoshua 9:17: "And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim."
17 . 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 7:29 ). On the w…
What's easy to miss is that the discovery of the Gibeonites' deception happened on the third day after the treaty, not that their cities were only reached on the third day of travel. This swift revelation highlights the Israelites' own haste and lack of discernment, as they were meant to seek God's counsel before making such pacts. The immediate discovery underscores a missed opportunity for divine guidance and points to a significant spiritual oversight.
The Israelites, having been tricked by the Gibeonites into making a treaty, discover the deception three days later when they realize their new "allies" live nearby. This verse lists the four main cities belonging to the Gibeonites that the Israelites now possess as a result of the treaty. The immediate aftermath sees the Israelite leaders grappling with the implications of their oath and the people murmuring in protest.
The Israelites, having been tricked by the Gibeonites into making a treaty, discover the deception three days later when they realize their new "allies" live nearby. This verse lists the four main cities belonging to the Gibeonites that the Israelites now possess as a result of the treaty. The immediate aftermath sees the Israelite leaders grappling with the implications of their oath and the people murmuring in protest.
"And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim." — What's easy to miss is that the discovery of the Gibeonites' deception happened on the third day after the treaty, not that their cities were only reached on the third day of travel. This swift rev…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
