And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
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 old shoes and clouted upon their feet,.... Which being worn out, were patched with various pieces of leather: and old garments upon them; full of holes and rents, ragged and patched: and the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy; having been kept a long time, and unfit for use; or like cakes over baked and burnt, as the Targum and Jarchi: the...
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