Joshua 9 24

Joshua 9:24 kjv

And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

Joshua 9:24 nkjv

So they answered Joshua and said, "Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.

Joshua 9:24 niv

They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.

Joshua 9:24 esv

They answered Joshua, "Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you ? so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing.

Joshua 9:24 nlt

They replied, "We did it because we ? your servants ? were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this.

Joshua 9 verses

Joshua 9 24 Meaning

The Gibeonites explain to Joshua that their deceptive actions stemmed from overwhelming fear. They had certainly been informed that the Lord, Israel's God, commanded Moses to give all the land of Canaan to Israel and to utterly destroy all its inhabitants. This knowledge of Israel's divine mission to annihilate the existing populations led them to devise their scheme to save their lives.

Joshua 9 24 Context

Joshua chapter 9 immediately follows Israel's resounding victories at Jericho and Ai, which instilled great fear throughout Canaan. The inhabitants of Gibeon, a major city, heard of these conquests and Israel's method of "utter destruction" (herem), mandated by their God. Fearing annihilation as promised by God and executed by Israel, the Gibeonites concocted an elaborate deception, pretending to be from a very distant land. They sought a peace treaty with Israel, despite God's explicit command not to make covenants with the people within Canaan. Joshua and the leaders, without consulting the Lord, made an oath with them. Verse 24 is the Gibeonites' justification for their deceit when their proximity and identity are exposed. It highlights their awareness of God's severe judgment on Canaan and Israel's role as its executor. Historically, God's command to annihilate the Canaanites (the herem) was a divine judgment on nations whose wickedness had reached its full measure (Gen 15:16; Lev 18:24-28), and also served to prevent Israel from being corrupted by their idolatrous and immoral practices.

Joshua 9 24 Word analysis

• And they answered Joshua and said,: This indicates an immediate response from the Gibeonites, directly addressing the accusations or questions posed by Joshua regarding their identity and deception (cf. Jos 9:22-23).
• 'Because it was certainly told your servants: The Hebrew term הֻגַּד (huggaḏ), a Hiph'il perfect, indicates a certainty and clarity in the communication. It signifies that the information was reliably transmitted or known, not just a vague rumor. "Your servants" is a humble, subservient address, recognizing Joshua's authority.
• that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses:
  • the Lord your God (YHWH Eloheykha): This demonstrates the Gibeonites' understanding and acknowledgment of Israel's unique, powerful covenant God. They correctly identify Him as YHWH, the specific God of Israel, not a generic deity.
  • commanded (צִוָּה - tziwwāh): This is a strong, authoritative verb (Pi'el perfect), indicating a direct and forceful divine decree, not a suggestion. The Gibeonites knew this was God's non-negotiable will.
  • His servant Moses: The Gibeonites accurately recognized Moses as God's chosen intermediary through whom these definitive commands were delivered, showing precise knowledge of Israel's foundational narrative.
• to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you;:
  • to give you all the land: This refers to the divinely promised inheritance of Canaan to Israel, a promise reiterated throughout their history. The Gibeonites were aware of Israel's ultimate objective.
  • and to destroy all the inhabitants (לְהַשְׁמִיד - lehašmiḏ): The verb 'to destroy' (שׁמד - shamad, Hiph'il infinitive construct) signifies complete annihilation or eradication. This highlights the severity of the herem (devotion to destruction) command for the Canaanite nations, which directly threatened the Gibeonites' existence. "All the inhabitants" includes them.
  • from before you: This idiom means "from your presence," indicating their utter removal, defeat, and displacement by Israel.
• therefore we were greatly afraid for our lives because of you,:
  • therefore: Connects their knowledge directly to their action; the command was the reason for their fear and subsequent deception.
  • greatly afraid (יָרֵאנוּ מְאֹד - yārēʾnū məʾōḏ): The addition of 'məʾōḏ' ("very much," "greatly") emphasizes the extreme terror and dread that seized them. This fear was existential, a matter of survival. It also testifies to the pervasive fear Israel, and more so Israel's God, inspired in Canaan.
  • for our lives (נַפְשֹׁתֵינוּ - nafšōṯēynū): The stakes were their very souls, their individual existence. This emphasizes the desperation that drove their actions.
  • because of you: Their fear was specifically directed at Israel as the instruments of God's command.
• and have done this thing.': "This thing" refers to their calculated and intricate deception: disguising themselves as distant travelers, providing old provisions, and negotiating a peace treaty with Israel.

• Words-group Analysis:
  • "certainly told your servants that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses": This phrase underlines the precision and source of the Gibeonites' information. It suggests a widespread knowledge—whether through intelligence, rumor, or perhaps divine intent—of God's specific decrees for Israel concerning the land. Their fear was not irrational but based on solid intelligence about God's plan.
  • "to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you": This pairing explicitly shows the Gibeonites understood the dual nature of God's command: positive for Israel (receiving the land) and negative for the current inhabitants (utter destruction). They grasped the total, unsparing nature of God's judgment against the Canaanites, which motivated their desperate plea.
  • "therefore we were greatly afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing": This reveals the cause-and-effect. Their overwhelming terror of annihilation, spurred by the true understanding of God's holy war directives, directly led them to cunningly deceive Israel. It highlights their will to survive in the face of absolute threat, valuing their lives over honesty, thereby showing humanity's complex reactions to overwhelming divine judgment.

Joshua 9 24 Bonus section

• The Gibeonites' knowledge of God's specific command through Moses suggests that the reputation of YHWH, His acts in the wilderness, and His directives for Israel were not only well-known among their neighbors but also explicitly understood. This divine renown was part of God's strategy to bring fear upon the nations and pave the way for Israel's conquest.
• Their confession implies they grasped the divine rationale behind the destruction: not just conquest for land, but judgment on the inhabitants. This also makes their plea for peace through deception even more compelling, as they fully expected complete annihilation under God's mandate.
• The irony of this verse is that the Gibeonites saved their lives by lying, forcing Israel into an oath they regretted but upheld, demonstrating the sanctity of oaths, even those made under duress or deception, from a divine perspective. This later had significant implications in Israelite history, particularly in the days of King David (2 Sam 21).
• While the Gibeonites were not one of the "seven nations" explicitly targeted by the most stringent herem laws (Deut 7:1), their proximity and the blanket command "destroy all the inhabitants of the land" (Jos 9:24) suggests they considered themselves unequivocally destined for destruction if they did not act.

Joshua 9 24 Commentary

Joshua 9:24 offers a profound glimpse into the Gibeonites' worldview and the impact of Israel's conquest. Their explanation validates God's active involvement in the conquest of Canaan and the spreading fear of His name throughout the land. The Gibeonites correctly understood that Israel's campaign was divinely mandated, specifically the dual purpose of possessing the land and obliterating its wicked inhabitants. Their extreme fear, clearly articulated, highlights the terror the nations felt when confronted by Israel's God, revealing that God’s reputation had indeed preceded Israel (as stated by Rahab in Jos 2). Though their actions were deceptive, their reasoning acknowledges the righteousness of God's command for judgment upon the Canaanites. Their desperate attempt to preserve life, albeit through trickery, inadvertently leads to a unique outcome where justice (through their servitude) is mixed with mercy (through preservation of their lives via the inviolable oath).