They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
The Gibeonites heard of Israel's victories and chose peace instead of war, whereas other peoples were hardened by the same tidings. The same report that softens one heart hardens another; it becomes life to the wise and death to the proud.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 9:3-14
And they did work wilily,.... Acted craftily, dealt in much cunning and subtlety; our version leaves out a very emphatic word, "also"; they also, as well as other nations, acted a cunning part, but in a different way; they did not enter into consultations and alliances with others, how to defend themselves, but made use of a stratagem to make peace, and enter into a...
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