The elders of Israel Joshua 9:18, tasting what was offered them by the Gibeonites, pledged themselves according to the usage of Eastern nations to peace and friendship with them. They credited the story at once, instead of seeking the direction of God in the matter. The rendering of the margin is not to be preferred to that of the text.At the mouth of the Lord - i. e. by the Urim and Thummim Exodus 28:30. read more
Chephirah (Kefir) is situated eight or nine miles west of Gibeon, and was an inhabited city in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah Ezra 2:25; Nehemiah 7:29.Beeroth (Birch), about eight miles north of Jerusalem. Kirjath-jearim, i. e. “city of woods,” is identified by Robinson with the modern Kuriet el Enab, nine miles from Jerusalem on the road to Jaffa (and by Conder with Soba). The town was numbered among those belonging to Judah, and was in the northern boundary of that tribe. Beyond this city the... read more
Joshua 9:7-8. The men of Israel said to the Hivites That is, the Gibeonites, who were Hivites, Joshua 11:19. Peradventure you dwell among us That is, in this land, and so are of that people with whom we are forbidden to make any league or covenant. They said We are thy servants We desire a league with you upon your own terms; we are ready to accept of any conditions. Joshua said, From whence come ye? For this free and general concession gave him cause to suspect that they were... read more
Joshua 9:9. Because of the Lord thy God Being moved thereunto by the report of his great and glorious nature and works. Thus they gave them hopes that they would embrace their religion. In Egypt They cunningly mention those things only which were done some time ago, and say nothing of dividing Jordan, or the destruction of Jericho and Ai, as if they lived so far off that the fame of those things had not yet reached them. read more
Joshua 9:14. The men That is, the princes. Their victuals That they might examine the truth of what they said. Asked not at the mouth of the Lord As they ought to have done upon all such weighty occasions. So they are accused of rashness and neglect of their duty. For though it is probable, if God had been consulted, he would have consented to the sparing of the Gibeonites; yet it should have been done with more caution, and an obligation upon them to embrace the true religion. In every... read more
Joshua 9:15. Joshua made a league with them to let them live Not merely, it seems, to spare their lives, which, supposing them to belong to a far country, they had no warrant to take away, but to let them continue in the enjoyment of their effects; the word life in Scripture being frequently of equal signification with prosperity. That this league was lawful and obliging, appears, 1st, Because Joshua and all the princes, upon the review, concluded it so to be, and spared them accordingly.... read more
Joshua 9:18. All the congregation murmured against the princes Both from that proneness which is in people to censure the actions of their rulers, and from the desire of the spoil of these cities. read more
Victory in central Canaan (8:1-9:27)Now that the Israelites had removed the cause of their defeat, God promised Joshua victory over Ai. He added that on this occasion the Israelites could keep the plunder for themselves (8:1-2).Even with God’s assurance of victory, Joshua planned the attack thoroughly. One company of soldiers was to draw the men of Ai out of the city to fight, then a second company would come out of hiding to attack Ai from the rear (3-9). The plan worked perfectly. When the... read more
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah . App-4 . God. Hebrew Elobim. App-4 . read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 9:7
Compare the marginal references. read more