And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
The princes joined Joshua in this treaty, treating them as partners in government, not underlings. An oath by the God of Israel sealed it, but the whole mischief lay in haste: they examined the bread by taste and sight alone, never reasoning whether stale provisions proved a distant home. Sense without understanding made fools of them.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 9:15-21
And Joshua made peace with them,.... Upon the report the princes made of having examined what they had said, and which they found to be true, particularly concerning their victuals: and made a league with them, to let them live; and not destroy them as he did the Canaanites, and was ordered to do; they being supposed not to belong to them by the representation...
Gibeon was no small settlement but the capital of the Hivites, a large independent city six miles northwest of Jerusalem, commanding a rocky height where El Jib now stands. It led a confederacy of neighboring towns in what amounted to a republican state, which is why its treaty with Joshua carried such weight.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 9:3-15