Joshua 9:3

9:3 When the residents of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho ¹  and Ai,

Joshua 9:17-23

9:17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities – Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 9:18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. ²  The whole community criticized ³  the leaders, 9:19 but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of ⁴  the Lord God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt ⁵  them! 9:20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” ⁶  9:21 The leaders then added, ⁷  “Let them live.” So they became ⁸  woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided. ⁹ 

9:22 ¹⁰ Joshua summoned the Gibeonites ¹¹  and said to them, “Why did you trick ¹²  us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? ¹³  9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” ¹⁴ 

¹ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.

² tn Heb “by the Lord God of Israel.”

³ tn Or “grumbled against.”

⁴ tn Heb “to them by….”

⁵ tn Or “touch.”

⁶ tn Heb “This is what we will do to them, keeping them alive so there will not be upon us anger concerning the oath which we swore to them.”

⁷ tc Heb “and the leaders said to them.” The LXX omits the words “and the leaders said to them.”

⁸ tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction in the Hebrew text suggests that the narrative resumes at this point. The LXX reads here, “and they will be,” understanding what follows to be a continuation of the leaders’ words rather than a comment by the narrator.

⁹ tn Heb “as the leaders said to them.”

¹⁰ sn Verses 22-27 appear to elaborate on v. 21b.

¹¹ tn Heb “them.”

¹² tn Or “deceive.”

¹³ tn Heb “live in our midst?”

¹⁴ tn Heb “Now you are cursed and a servant will not be cut off from you, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”