The Gibeonite Deception

The Gibeonite Deception

Introduction

Joshua chapter nine recounts the event in Jewish history known as the Gibeonite Deception. News of the victories the Israelites had over the Amorites, Jericho, and Ai had spread quickly across Canaan, as far north as Tyre and south as Gaza. (Marchant 183) Though several nations attempted to unite against the conquering Israel, the Gibeonites endeavored to deceive the Israelites in order to formulate a treaty between the two nations.
Confederacy of the Kings

The successful Israelite conquests of Jericho and Ai prompted the nations of Canaan to form a truce against Israel. This union of nations against Israel, called the Confederacy of the Kings, was a unanimous decision as there was unease resulting from the Israelite victories. (Marchant 183-184) Before this time, the Canaanites had merely attempted to hold out against the Israelite aggressors, but they knew that this new power could not go unchecked. (Henry 412) However, there was one nation, the Gibeonites, that decided against this treaty. While the other nations intended to make war upon Israel, the Gibeonites, realizing that “all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were to be cut off … were induced to make peace with them” (Henry 412). In addition to the fact of the Gibeonite withdrawal, the time they chose to secede was incredibly advantageous to the Israelites. Gibeon, the capital of the Hivites, was located in a position to split the confederacy apart geographically. (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown 412) With the loss of the Gibeonites came the loss of a major power for the confederacy.

Deception

Though the Gibeonites planned not to be a part of the battles against Israel, they were still in imminent danger of being defeated by them. Yahweh commanded the Israelites not to create an alliance with any nation living in their vicinity back with Moses. (Millard 230) The Gibeonites knew that the Israelites would conquer all the nations in the surrounding lands. Save for disguising themselves and making Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, believe that their home country lay vast distances away from the Israelites, they knew they would be obliterated. (Henry 412). Their preparations to seek a truce with Joshua show they knew the God of the Israelites forbade treaties with nearby nations but encouraged the people to propose peace towards distant foreigners. (Barton 166)

Truce

The Gibeonites’ plan to make a truce with the Israelites was both carefully planned and slyly accomplished. They arrived at their destination with the guise of an envoy from a distant nation, a detail the Israelites would take pride in. (Henry 412) Their vague response to the question of whence they had journeyed from and their submissiveness in calling themselves the Israelites’ servants illustrates their intent on fooling the Israelites into unknowingly acting against Yahweh’s commands. In addition to their repeated deceptions, their belongings helped in conning the Israelites. They tried to truckle their way into Joshua and the assembly’s pietistic character by their acknowledgment of the God of Israel, though at this time the profession may have been genuine. (Clarke 412)

In the ancient Near East, covenants were used as methods to establish affiliations between nations, and the Gibeonites attempt to obtain a servant’s status in exchange for their survival. The truce was conducted not only by Joshua, but by all the leaders of the congregation, thus applying to all the sects of the Israelites. (Barton 166) The covenant was sanctioned with an oath sworn unto Yahweh and consequently irreversible by the Israelite standards. However, though it was a covenant unto Yahweh, He was not consulted in the rashness of the Israelite leaders, resulting in Israel being deceived. (Henry 413)

Consequences

The Israelites met the discovery of the Gibeonite fraud with disgust. The anger produced towards the Israelite leadership as a result of this misinformed treaty were mainly on the grounds that Yahweh might have been angered or potential plunder had been lost. (Marchant 196) Though the treaty had no basis in truth and could have been resigned, because the elders had both eaten with the Gibeonites and had sworn by Yahweh himself, they were not at all at liberty to rescind. (Clarke 413) In consequence of their deceit, Joshua assigns them to the status they originally labeled themselves as, servants of Israel. Despite the fact that the grace of the Israelites protected the lives that originally deceived them, the work the Gibeonites accomplished thereof was “entirely devoted to God, and thus in the highest manner given to men” (Marchant 197). Though their service was in part a curse to them, they were ultimately blessed as their work as servants was for the glory of Yahweh.

Conclusion

The trickery the Gibeonites displayed was unrighteous in its deliverance, yet it proved to be worthwhile for the Israelites. In addition to the work then being accomplished by the them, the Israelites gained control over four major cities of the Gibeonites. (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown 413) This covenant between the two nations, since it was ratified by Yahweh, continued throughout Israel’s history. Saul, several centuries later, was punished for killing several Gibeonites because the covenant still existed. (Millard 233) Even though this decision was not in accordance with the will of Yahweh, it still resulted in serving His purpose, and the treaty ensuing from the deceit of the Gibeonites was considered a formal oath for subsequent generations.


Works Cited

Barton, John, and John Muddiman, eds. Oxford Bible commentary. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Bethany parallel commentary on the Old Testament from the condensed editions of Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, Brown,

Adam Clarke : three classic commentaries in one volume. Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House, 1985. Print.

Marchant, F. G., ed. Preachers Homiletic Commentary, The. Vol. 5. New York: Baker Group, 1978. Print.

Millard, Alan R., ed. Zondervan Handbook to the Bible Complete Revised and Updated Edition of the Three-Million-Copy Bestseller. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005. Print.