Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them.
Parallel translations
- KJV And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
- BSB And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
- NKJV So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.
- NASB And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
- NLT Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joshua makes peace and a covenant to let the Gibeonites live, sworn by the leaders of the congregation. A binding oath is made on false pretenses.
Overview
The treaty is ratified with a solemn oath in Yahweh's name, making it irrevocable despite the deception behind it. Israel is now bound by its word even though it was secured by a lie. The episode sets up the tension between honoring a sacred oath and the prohibition on covenants with Canaanites, which the chapter resolves in favor of keeping the oath.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- 2 Sam 21:2The king called the Gibeonites, and said to them (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn to them; and Saul sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah);
- Josh 11:19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle.
- Deut 20:10–11When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.
- Josh 6:22–25Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman and all that she has out from there, as you swore to her.”
- Jer 18:7–8At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;
- Exod 23:32You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- Josh 2:12–19Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 9:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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