properly · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute
said
וַיֹּאמְר֤וּvai.yo.me.Ru
H559
to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
congregation
הָ֣עֵדָ֔הha.'e.Dah
H5712
a stated assemblage (specifically · definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
sworn
נִשְׁבַּ֣עְנוּnish.Ba'.nu
H7650
to seven oneself · verb, niphal perfect, 1st person common plural
LORD
בַּֽיהוָ֖הba.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · preposition + proper noun, a title
God
אֱלֹהֵ֣י'e.lo.Hei
H430
gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
may
נוּכַ֖לnu.Khal
H3201
to be able · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common plural
touch
לִנְגֹּ֥עַlin.Go.a'
H5060
properly · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Ecclesiastes 8:2 I counsel thee to keep the king’s commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God.
Joshua 9:20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to h…
Jeremiah 4:2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in hi…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 9:15-21
Here is, I. The treaty soon concluded with the Gibeonites, Jos 9:15. The thing was not done with much formality, but in short, 1. They agreed to let them live, and more the Gibeonites did not ask. In a common war this would have been but a small matter to be granted; but in the wars of Canaan, which were to make a general destruction, it was a great favour to a Canaanite to have his life given him for a prey, Jer 45:5. 2. This agreement was made not by Joshua only, but by the princes of the congregation in conjunction with him. Though Joshua had an extraordinary call to the government, and extraordinary qualifications for it, yet he would not act in an affair of this nature without the couns…
the children of Israel smote them not--The moral character of the Gibeonites' stratagem was bad. The princes of the congregation did not vindicate either the expediency or the lawfulness of the connection they had formed; but they felt the solemn obligations of their oath; and, although the popular clamor was loud against them, caused either by disappointment at losing the spoils of Gibeon, or by displeasure at the apparent breach of the divine commandment, they determined to adhere to their pledge, "because they had sworn by the Lord God of Israel." The Israelitish princes acted conscientiously; they felt themselves bound by their solemn promise; but to prevent the disastrous consequences o…
We have sworn unto them - Although the Israelites were deceived in this business, and the covenant was made on a certain supposition which was afterwards proved to have had no foundation in truth, and consequently the whole engagement on the part of the deceived was hereby vitiated and rendered null and void; yet, because the elders had eaten with them, offered a covenant sacrifice, and sworn by Jehovah, they did not consider themselves at liberty to break the terms of the agreement, as far as the lives of the Gibeonites were concerned. That their conduct in this respect was highly pleasing to God is evident from this, that Joshua is nowhere reprehended for making this covenant, and sparing…
The Church Fathers
We can ask why the Hebrews thought that they should keep the oath made to the Gibeonites, even though the oath was made thinking they had come from a distant land, as they, lying, had told them. The Gibeonites knew that the Hebrews would wage war on them if they knew that they lived in that land that had been promised to them and that they would get it on property if they killed their inhabitants. The Israelites swore to respect them for having lied saying that they came from a distant land. But after knowing that they lived there, where, according to the divine precept, they had to make war on everyone they met, they did not want to break the oath, and, although they knew they had lied, they preferred to respect their lives, because of the oath, although They could naturally tell them that they had sworn an oath, believing that they were coming from a distant land. Knowing the truth, they should have fulfilled the Lord's command over them, making war against them as others. God approved this behavior and did not get angry with the Israelites, who had forgiven them, even though they had not consulted him about who they were and that is why they were able to deceive them. Therefore, we can think that very timely feared God in the midst of his people, although they wanted to deceive men to save his life. That is why the Lord did not get angry with them when they made the oath or when they were spared, to do justice to the Gibeonites themselves, as men of his people, punishing the house of Saul, as the book of the Kings says (Cf 2R 21,1-8). And since the oath was kept, although it had been done in favor of men who had lied, so that the Israelite decision was inclined to clemency, it did not displease God. Because if, on the contrary, they had sworn that they would kill some who believed that they were Gibeonites, that they lived in the promised land and that they had come to them from distant lands, we should not think that they should be exterminated because of fulfilling the oath, since by a feeling of clemency similar to forgiveness, the holy man David, even after swearing that he would kill Nabal, knowing certainly who he was the one he had to kill, preferred to forgive him and not fulfill the oath in a more serious matter, thinking that it pleased God more if he did not do what he had sworn to do, moved by anger to hurt him, than if he did.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Alliance — A treaty between nations, or between individuals, for their mutual advantage. Abraham formed an alliance with some of the Canaanitish princes (Gen. 14:13), also with Abimelech (21:22-32). Joshua and…
Gibeon — Hill-city, “one of the royal cities, greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty” (Josh. 10:2). Its inhabitants were Hivites (11:19). It lay within the territory of Benjamin, and became a…
Slave — Jer. 2:14 (A.V.), but not there found in the original. In Rev. 18:13 the word “slaves” is the rendering of a Greek word meaning “bodies.” The Hebrew and Greek words for slave are usually rendered…
Alliances · .By oaths — .By oaths
Contracts · 21:2-6; — 21:2-6;
Covenant · Sacred — Sacred
Covenants · The Jews: Regarded, as sacred — The Jews: Regarded, as sacred
Gibeonites · Israel: Spared on account of their oath — Israel: Spared on account of their oath
Joshua · .Makes a treaty with the Gibeonites — .Makes a treaty with the Gibeonites
Magnanimity · the Israelites — the Israelites
Oath · The Israelites confirm the covenant with the Hivites — The Israelites confirm the covenant with the Hivites
Oaths · The Jews: Generally respected the obligation of — The Jews: Generally respected the obligation of
But all the princes said to all the congregation,.... That is, all the princes that went to Gibeon addressed all the Israelites that were there:
we have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel; by the Word of the Lord God, as the Targum; an oath is a solemn sacred thing, and not to be broken, and a good man will make conscience of it, and keep it, though he has sworn to his own hurt: and
now therefore we may not touch them; neither take away their lives nor their substance.
John Calvin on Joshua 9:16–end
Joshua 9:16-27
16. And it came to pass, at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.
16. Post tres autem dies a foedere cum illis inito audierunt, quod pro-pinqui essent ipsis, et in medio ipso-rum habitarent.
17. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
17. Profectique sunt filii Israel, et venerunt ad urbes ipsorum die tertio. Urbes autem eorum erant Gibeon, Chephirat, Beeroth, Ciriatjearlm.
18. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congr…
"The Israelites smote them not," sc., with the edge of the sword, "because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them," sc., to let them live (Jos 9:15); but, notwithstanding the murmuring of the congregation, they declared that they might not touch them because of their oath. "This (sc., what we have sworn) we will do to them, and let them live (החיה, inf. abs. with special emphasis instead of the finite verb), lest wrath come upon us because of the oath." Wrath (sc., of God), a judgment such as fell upon Israel in the time of David, because Saul disregarded this oath and sought to destroy the Gibeonites (Sa2 21:1.).
But how could the elders of Israel consider themselves bound by the…
Israel was not entitled to break this treaty even though the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites into making it. Breaking a covenant sworn by an oath in the presence of the Lord would have made light of God’s name and honor (cp. Gen 27:30-38).
Rashi on Joshua 9:14
And the men took of their provisions. They accepted their words. They trapped them with their mouths,10The men of Yisroel were taken in by their trick. as it is said, “But if he did not set an ambush.”11Shemos 21:13.
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
