Joshua 9:24

“And they answered Joshua, and said, because it was certainly told thy servants, etc.] Or “it was told”, told f153; not only certainly, told, but frequently told them, they had often heard of it by one means or another: how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land; all the land of Canaan, no part excepted; they had heard much of the Lord God of Israel, and of Moses, what character he bore, and of the commands of the Lord to him; they seem to have knowledge of God, and faith in him as to his promises and threatenings, believing they would be fulfilled: and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; as the gift of the land of Canaan to Israel…”

“It was mere fear which drove the Gibeonites to act as they did. They sought for union with God’s people, not for its own sake, but to save their lives. Rahab’s motives were higher (Joshua 2:9 ff). Hence, she was adopted into Israel; the Gibeonites remained forever bondsmen of Israel. return to 'Top of Page' Footnotes: Copyright Statement These files are public domain. Bibliographical Information Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Joshua 9". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bnb/joshua-9.html. 1870. StudyLight.org © 2001-2026 Powered by Lightspeed Technology”

“9:24-25 The response of the Gibeonites amounted to a statement of faith in the Lord: They acted deceptively because they believed that God would enable Israel to conquer Canaan.”

“the Lord: Exo 23:31-33; Num 33:51, Num 33:52, Num 33:55, Num 33:56; Deu 7:1, Deu 7:2, Deu 7:23, Deu 7:24, Deu 20:15-17 we were sore: Exo 15:14-16; Job 2:4; Mat 10:28 Joshua 9:25”

“The Gibeonites offered this excuse for their conduct, that having heard of the command of God which had been issued through Moses, that all the Canaanites were to be destroyed ( Deu 7:1; Deu 20:16-17), they had feared greatly for their lives, and readily submitted to the resolution which Joshua made known to them. Joshua 9:26”