Chapter 9 of Sefer Yehoshua is a chapter of stratagems: on the one hand, the gathering of all the kings of Canaan for a joint offensive against Yehoshua and Israel, and on the other hand, the episode of the Givonim, who came with cunning to make a covenant with Israel. The entire chapter revolves around the question of opening with peace toward the inhabitants of the land, the parameters of making a covenant, and the error of the princes in the oath that they swore. We will proceed according to the order of the pesukim, mainly following the explanations of the Malbim, with the addition of the words of the Ralbag, the Radak, and the holy Alshich.
וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ כָּל־הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן בָּהָר וּבַשְּׁפֵלָה וּבְכֹל חוֹף הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל אֶל־מוּל הַלְּבָנוֹן הַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַפְּרִזִּי הַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי. וַיִּתְקַבְּצוּ יַחְדָּו לְהִלָּחֵם עִם־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְעִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל פֶּה אֶחָד. - And it came to pass, when all the kings who were beyond the Yarden, in the hill country and in the lowland, and along all the coast of the Great Sea toward the Levanon, the Chitti and the Emori, the Kenaani, the Perizzi, the Chivvi, and the Yevusi, heard of it, that they gathered themselves together to fight with Yehoshua and with Israel with one accord.
The Ralbag says: when all the kings beyond the Yarden hear what Yehoshua and Israel did to Yericho and Ai, they act shrewdly and take counsel to join together so that they may aid one another. They understood that Yericho and Ai fell because they fought as individuals; but if all of us, thirty one kings (after we subtract those who were already subdued), fight together, we have a chance. If each one wages an individual battle, a rear guard battle, we will all fall. Therefore they gather to find a plan for how to fight together in a concentrated force against Yehoshua and Israel.
And what exactly did they hear? The Malbim says two things. First, that at Yericho and Ai Yehoshua did not open with peace. He did not check whether it was possible to make peace with them and take them as servants, but rather came and conquered at once. If so, the possibilities of peace are ended, and there is no point in trying to make peace with him. Second, they hear that Yehoshua needed to employ tactics of war, and if he needed tactics, that is a sign that there is a possibility of fighting him and conquering him. We will elaborate on this point below in the words of the Alshich.
"פֶּה אֶחָד" - the Radak says: with one agreement, with one counsel, and as the Targum renders it, "one company," that is, as a single group. Now the verse does not spell out what came of this gathering, but immediately moves on to relate the episode of Givon. And why? Because the episode of the Givonim was a result of the assembly of the nations: this very gathering is what brought the Givonim to come and make peace with us, as we shall see. And some say that the assembly took place before the episode of the Givonim, and the verse juxtaposes the two matters to tell you that the Givonim decided to act with cunning and their king withdrew from the assembly. With this it is resolved why we do not see any outcome of the assembly: there was one who withdrew, namely the king of Givon, who decided as it were to make peace with us, and this dispersed the entire consortium and undermined their counsel.
וְיֹשְׁבֵי גִבְעוֹן שָׁמְעוּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לִירִיחוֹ וְלָעָי. - And the inhabitants of Givon heard what Yehoshua had done to Yericho and to Ai.
Here the Malbim raises a fundamental question. According to the Rambam, when Israel goes out to war against a nation they are obligated to open with peace toward it, and this is an explicit verse in the Torah; and the Rambam holds that this was said even with regard to the seven nations, concerning whom we were commanded "you shall not let any soul live" - and even so one is obligated to open with peace toward them. This is not agreed upon: the Raavad in his glosses disagrees, and Rashi also disagrees, but the Rambam's view is that even toward the seven nations one opens with peace. If so, why did the Givonim need all the cunning? They could have come directly and said: we dwell here, we are of the seven nations, come and let us make peace - and we are obligated to this. Why were the machinations needed, and the argument "perhaps you dwell among us," and the grievance of the people against the princes? Throughout the entire chapter the Malbim holds like the view of the Rambam, that if the nations, even from the seven nations, come to make peace, one is obligated to accept them and it is forbidden to attack them, and according to this the verses will be explained.
Rather, says the Malbim, this is the intent of the verse: "and the inhabitants of Givon heard what Yehoshua had done to Yericho and to Ai" - they heard that there he did not open with peace and did not let any soul live. They said: if so, what point is there in approaching him with offers of peace? For Yehoshua does not relate to this at all, and every place he reaches he kills them all.
And here one must know: the acceptance of peace among the nations depends on three conditions. First, that they pay us tribute. Second, that they be servants to us. Third, that they accept upon themselves the seven Noahide commandments. Only under these three conditions is it possible to make peace even with the seven nations of the land, as it is written, "And it shall be, if it answers you with peace... then all the people found in it shall be tributaries to you and shall serve you." Yet with all this there is a warning in the Torah, "you shall make no covenant with them," and the meaning is to make a covenant in a manner of love, affection, friendship, and attachment - that is not allowed. That they be servants to you and pay tribute - yes; that they keep the seven commandments - yes; but a covenant of friendship and companionship - no. And it was on this very point that they complained against the princes: how could you have accepted the men of Givon in a manner of love and made a covenant with them, when it is said, "you shall make no covenant with them"?
Yet a difficulty remains: according to the Rambam, why did Yehoshua not open with peace at Yericho and at Ai? After all, this is precisely what misled the Givonim. The answer is that there really was an offer of peace from the very outset. Chazal say that even before they crossed the Yarden, Yehoshua sent three "prozdagmaot" or "diyutgmaot" (there are several versions in Chazal), meaning letters, in which he stated: whoever wishes to make peace, let him make peace (meaning acceptance of taxation, servitude, and the seven mitzvot); whoever wishes to fight, let him fight; and whoever wishes to leave, let him leave, and we do not detain him here or condemn him to death. The only one who left was the Girgashi, who turned and went off to Africa, and there is even historical documentation of this, inscriptions known in archaeology in which it is written that they fled from the great conqueror Yehoshua. All the rest chose to remain. It emerges that there is no complaint against Yehoshua at all: he opened with peace from the outset to everyone, through a general proclamation, and they had the opportunity to accept it; he did not need to open with peace anew for each and every city.
The proof for this comes from what is written later in chapter 11: "There was not a city that made peace with Bnei Yisrael, except the Chivi... for it was from Hashem to harden their hearts toward the war." This is stated explicitly according to the view of the Rambam: "there was not a city that made peace" means they had the possibility to make peace, they had a chance to make peace with us, and only the Chivi did so. And why did the rest not make peace? Because it was from Hashem to harden their hearts toward the war, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted us to subdue them and clear them out of the land, since those who remained became thorns in our eyes and pricks in our sides and ultimately brought about the exile. Therefore He hardened their hearts, so that they would fight and Yehoshua would clear them out of the land and the conquest would be complete.
Based on this we understand why the inhabitants of Givon needed cunning: they heard that at Yericho and at Ai he did not approach them with peace, and they concluded that there was no point in offering him peace proposals. What they failed to take into account was that there had been a prior offer, this they did not reckon with, and so they resorted to acting with cunning.
The holy Alshich brings here a wonderful explanation in the name of the Mahariv (apparently he means the Mahariv Rav). Consider: in the war against Ai, Yehoshua fought with stratagems, an ambush of thirty thousand, and an additional ambush of five thousand, drawing the men of Ai out of the city, and setting the city ablaze. There was great military sophistication there, and seemingly all of this was unnecessary: if the cherem had been lifted and Hashem was with them, go and conquer, there is no need for stratagems. Rather, this whole matter was from Hashem, to be carried out through cunning and stratagem, in order to mislead the nations: they would say, look, Bnei Yisrael, they are finished, Hashem is no longer with them. Just see what schemes and stratagems they had to employ in order to fight over Ai. What happened at Yericho, forget it, disregard it; their situation has changed, and they are coming to conquer according to the natural way.
Based on this, "And it was when all the kings heard... that they gathered together to fight" - what did they hear? The war of Ai. They said: this is by way of the sword, by force and military might, so let us come with even greater might and subdue them; if they come by natural means, we can overcome them. And so it indeed was, and they all gathered, except the inhabitants of Givon. And this is "And they too acted with cunning": the Givonim were the only ones who grasped that the entire war of Ai was cunning, meant to bring down all the kings. For to fight king after king would take a long time, and therefore it is preferable to gather them all in one place and strike a single blow and finish the story. The men of Givon understood that this was Yehoshua's stratagem, that he was fighting ostensibly by the natural way in order to lure the kings into the trap, to draw them to the honey and then strike them all at once.
Note the precision: "to fight with Yehoshua and with Yisrael" - the name of Hashem is not mentioned here at all. For from their perspective there is Yehoshua and there is Yisrael, and that is all, Hashem has abandoned them: for did you not see what happened at Ai, they needed cunning and military tactics, so Hashem is not with them, and we are fighting flesh and blood. And who did remember the capabilities of Bnei Yisrael? The Givonim. "And the inhabitants of Givon heard what Yehoshua had done to Yericho and to Ai" - they remembered Yericho too, that the walls sank into the ground miraculously at the sound of shofarot. Is Hashem not with them? If Hashem is not with them, how did they conquer Yericho? Ai is not proof of weakness, quite the opposite: it was cunning, meant to draw in all thirty one kings and strike them with a single blow. And if this is cunning, "and they too acted with cunning," we too will act with cunning.
וַיַּעֲשׂוּ גַם־הֵמָּה בְּעָרְמָה וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיִּצְטַיָּרוּ וַיִּקְחוּ שַׂקִּים בָּלִים לַחֲמוֹרֵיהֶם וְנֹאדוֹת יַיִן בָּלִים וּמְבֻקָּעִים וּמְצֹרָרִים. - And they too acted with cunning, and they went and disguised themselves as envoys, and they took worn sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins worn and split and bound up.
The Givonim lived a distance of three days from Ai, and they understood that they were next in line, and therefore they saw a need to preempt the calamity. And what is "too," what does it come to include? There are several approaches in Chazal and the commentators. We saw the approach of the Alshich in the name of the Mahariv, and there are others. The Radak says that "too" comes to include the sons of Yaakov, of whom it is said "and they answered... with deceit and spoke," and there the victims were the Chivi; they said: the sons of Yaakov came to us with cunning, "be circumcised and become like us," so we too will act with cunning against you. Another interpretation the Radak brings, and so too the Malbim explained: it comes to include the men of Yericho and Ai, who employed stratagems against Yisrael in order to protect themselves from them, Yericho shut up tightly, and the men of Ai employing stratagems to pursue us, and these too act with cunning, except that their cunning is in order to make peace with us.
A further explanation: "too" comes to include the cunning of Yisrael, for they thought that Yisrael, through cunning, was bringing down Yericho and Ai, as if sending offers of peace and then striking. And even though they knew that in the end their cunning would become known, what would that avail them? After the covenant had already been sealed, it would not be comfortable for Yisrael to breach it, and it was upon this that they built, and on this point they were right. And there is a derasha of Chazal: "they too" - that even in the time of Moshe there were Kenaanim who came with cunning, and Moshe made a covenant of peace with them and made them hewers of wood and drawers of water; "they too" - that the Givonim acted like those who came in the time of Moshe Rabbeinu. And some say it comes to include that even with their bodies they acted with cunning, for they walked facing the sun so that their faces would be darkened, as if they were worn from travel.
"And they disguised themselves as envoys" - several explanations. The Malbim explains it as a term of tzirim, emissaries, an envoy and a messenger, as in "and an envoy is sent among the nations," an envoy coming from a distant land. And there is a difference between "tzir" (envoy) and "shaliach" (messenger) or "malach": the envoy is sent in order to return with a response, when I want to know what the other side replied I send an envoy. And perhaps this is similar to the hinge (tzir) of a door, which turns and returns, and likewise the pangs (tzirei) of childbirth, in which the womb opens and closes, the envoy must go and also return. Here they send envoys in order to receive Yehoshua's response to the peace proposal, and they present themselves as if they are emissaries of their country who must bring back a reply to the people of their country. A further explanation the Radak brings based on Targum Yonatan, who understood the reish as a dalet, as if it were written "and they provisioned themselves," from the term zevada, a provision-bag, what a person takes with him as a load of food for the road, that they took provisions for the journey.
"Split and bound" - Rashi explains that "bound" (metzorarim) is a term meaning split, as in "ancestral pangs" (tzir): every grain of wheat has a split down its middle, like a sunken groove. And the Metzudat David explains that when the wineskin bursts, similar to a person whose bag tore today but who still has something to put in it and it is large, he ties a knot at the place of the tear, and by this whatever he puts in the bag does not fall out. That is "split and bound": they split, and afterward he bound and tied the place of the split.
וּנְעָלוֹת בָּלוֹת וּמְטֻלָּאוֹת בְּרַגְלֵיהֶם וּשְׂלָמוֹת בָּלוֹת עֲלֵיהֶם וְכֹל לֶחֶם צֵידָם יָבֵשׁ הָיָה נִקֻּדִים. - And worn out and patched shoes on their feet, and worn out garments upon them, and all the bread of their provision was dry and crumbly.
Part of the act was that they came in worn out and patched shoes, as though from all the travel and walking the shoes had aged and become patched, having taken on several shades. And the Malbim in Sefer Yechezkel explains that the intent is torn into patches, into piece after piece, what we today call patches. "The bread of their provision" - the bread of provision for the road. And what is "was dry and crumbly (nikudim)"? The Radak brings one explanation, and so too Rashi, that it is from the word moked (hearth), meaning well baked, and so Yonatan renders it "kisnin": this expression indicates types of foods that are nibbled - rugelach is not kisnin, but a biscuit is; anything that is nibbled is called kisnin - meaning it was baked well, that it was in the oven a long time until it dried out and now it is nibbled. Others explain that "nikudim" is from the word "speckled and spotted" (nakod vetalu), that the bread was moldy and had spots of mold on it, red green and black, spot after spot, like the wording "streaked, speckled and spotted." And the Ralbag explains that nikudim are crumbs, that the bread crumbles from great age into fine crumbs, that their bread was already crumbled from being so dried out.
וַיֵּלְכוּ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶה הַגִּלְגָּל וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו וְאֶל־אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ רְחוֹקָה בָּאנוּ וְעַתָּה כִּרְתוּ־לָנוּ בְרִית. - And they went to Yehoshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and they said to him and to the men of Israel: We have come from a distant land, and now make a covenant with us.
וַיֹּאמֶר אִישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־הַחִוִּי אוּלַי בְּקִרְבִּי אַתָּה יוֹשֵׁב וְאֵיךְ אֶכְרָת־לְךָ בְרִית. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ עֲבָדֶיךָ אֲנָחְנוּ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵיהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ מִי אַתֶּם וּמֵאַיִן תָּבֹאוּ. - And the men of Israel said to the Chivvi: Perhaps you dwell in my midst, and how can I make a covenant with you? And they said to Yehoshua: We are your servants. And Yehoshua said to them: Who are you, and from where do you come?
The Malbim has a wonderful approach here, and he opens with a difficulty that cries out from the verses, and it is interesting that the commentators did not address it. At first they turn to Yehoshua and to the men of Israel - and this is understood, one who wishes to approach someone speaks with the leader. But the answer comes from "the men of Israel," and Yehoshua is silent and does not respond. And then, when the people of Israel asked them a question, they do not answer the people but turn exclusively to Yehoshua: "We are your servants." And then it is specifically Yehoshua who asks: "Who are you, and from where do you come?"
To understand this, says the Malbim, one must know that making a covenant among the ancient nations - and part of this holds true even in our times - took one of three forms, and one must distinguish between a covenant made between kings and a covenant made between the peoples themselves. The first form: two peoples that share a common border make a covenant with each other, that I will not take from your resources and I will not enter and plunder parts of your land, and the border will remain a border of peace, so that neither will harm the other. Such a covenant is between the peoples themselves, each with his neighbor, that each will not disturb or harm his neighbor.
The second form: a covenant between peoples who are not neighbors, and its content is that they will help one another against the oppressing enemy with an army, a battalion, chariot and horse, and also that they will have freedom to trade, each within his fellow's borders - what is called a defense treaty or a trade agreement. Just as we today have a defense treaty with America, that if they are attacked we will come to their aid, and also if it were the reverse - which is not so common - they would come to our aid. And the trade covenant establishes that we may trade with one another, and sometimes that there will be no taxation between the countries and all sorts of commercial matters; such a covenant existed between Chiram and Shlomo. This covenant can even be with more distant peoples, not necessarily a neighbor sitting on the border, but it is a covenant between the kings: the king of Israel makes a covenant with that king, that "my horses are as your horses and my chariots as your chariots," that I will come to assist him, and also that they may conduct trade between them. On the other hand, such a covenant would not be made with very distant countries. We do not have such a covenant with Australia, for by the time soldiers are sent here they would have already wiped us out; this is not by planes but an army marching on foot, and it could take half a year. And trade too - would they in the ancient nations come from Australia to trade with us? It emerges that this refers to peoples who are not too distant, but also not necessarily on the border.
The third form: a covenant in matters of religion and faith, that one people accepts the faith and religion of the other people and they make a covenant over this, like the Kuzari who accepted the religion of Israel. In such a covenant distance has no significance at all, and even if he be in Australia - what does it matter, they are coming to accept our religion. And this too is not a covenant between the kings but between the peoples, for the people must accept the religion; what would it help for the king to accept our religion, the entire people must agree to accept it.
And now we will understand the verses. The envoys at first come to the entire people: "And they said to him and to the men of Israel: We have come from a distant land, and now make a covenant with us." A covenant made with the entire people is essentially that we will not harm you and you will not harm us, and such a covenant is generally made between close peoples - between us and Jordan, you will not enter into me and I will not enter into you; between us and Lebanon, you will not penetrate into me, you will not dig tunnels, and I will not bombard. And immediately astonishment arises: you come from a distant land, and from a distant land one does not make a covenant of mutual neighborly protection of one another's rights, for we are not neighbors at all, and there is no interest here whatsoever.
And therefore "And the men of Israel said to the Chivvi: Perhaps you dwell in my midst, and how can I make a covenant with you?" The people answer them with good sense. Says the Malbim: the term "perhaps" (ulai) is said when the matter is more likely to be so, in contrast to "lest" (pen) which is something distant; "perhaps" means there is about ninety percent likelihood that it is so. Israel says to them: reason suggests that you dwell in our midst, for if not, why would you need to make a covenant with the entire people? A covenant with the entire people is made only when two nations dwell in proximity to one another. And if it were a covenant of distant peoples - that the kings would make, and you would need to speak only with Yehoshua and not with the people. And if you are speaking with the entire people, apparently you are our neighbor - and how can I make a covenant with you, for I am warned by "you shall not make a covenant with them"?
And some say that Yehoshua and the men of the army suspected them because they did not first come to inquire after their welfare, but immediately came and said "make a covenant with us," and this aroused suspicions: what exactly do they want? And the Radak brings from the Midrash: what is "the Chivi," were they in fact Chivites? Rather, they performed the deed of a chivya, that is, a snake - for they deceived Israel just as the snake deceived Chava. Of whom it is said that he trapped and fed, that is, he trapped him with his mouth and deceived him with his words.
וַיִּקְחוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים מִצֵּידָם וְאֶת־פִּי יְהֹוָה לֹא שָׁאָלוּ. - And the men took of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the mouth of Hashem.
"And the men took of their provisions" - as it were, they were trapped by them, they trapped them with their mouths.
Yehoshua, though at first he hesitated and asked where they were from and clarified details, here accepts them. The commentators bring several reasons for this. First - he saw that the heads of the army placed their trust in them, and when you see that everyone believes, this draws you too to believe; there is a concept of peer pressure. Astonishing experiments have been done showing how much a person is drawn after the opinion of those around him - and certainly we are not speaking here about great people. Once they took a whole class, showed them questions of logic, and told everyone to say something that was not correct; and you see how one who was not in on the arrangement looks and wonders at first, and when he is asked he falls in line with everyone, even though he sees the opposite. At first the matter is puzzling in his eyes, but what can he do, everyone says the right one is bigger, and I will say it is the left one? They will say to me: what, do you not see well? And indeed with things that are very obvious to the eye a person does not deny, but with subtle things that can be discerned - a person nevertheless falls in line with those around him. And so Yehoshua saw that all the heads of the army placed their trust in them, and shall only I doubt?
Second - he saw that their words were spoken with humility and with recognition of Hashem's miracles, and that they were coming to draw near. And incidentally, to this day this is a well-known method of all kinds of charlatans and swindlers: when they want to deceive heads of yeshivos, Torah scholars and bnei Torah, they always come with the tactic of "I am coming to draw close, I want to fulfill Hashem's mitzvos," since they know that here they are received with two hands and with open arms; he wants to put on tefillin, he wants to keep Shabbos - everything. And thus little by little he acquires the trust, and afterward comes the sting. Here Yehoshua saw that they were coming with humility and recognizing Hashem's miracles, and there was here a virtue in drawing them close and showing them the miracles of Hashem. Third - he thought that they had converted as a complete conversion, and if so, I am commanded not to push them away. Fourth - there was in this a sanctification of Hashem's name in relation to the other nations, that they would see how a distant nation that heard the report from a faraway place came to attach itself to the inheritance of Hashem. There is in this a sanctification of Hashem's name, and this is the hope that the world will be perfected under the kingdom of Shakai, for which we wait - and behold, here this process is already beginning.
וַיַּעַשׂ לָהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שָׁלוֹם וַיִּכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית לְחַיּוֹתָם וַיִּשָּׁבְעוּ לָהֶם נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה. - And Yehoshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live, and the princes of the congregation swore to them.
Even though according to the Rambam, as we mentioned, they were obligated to accept them - for even if they are of the seven nations, since they come to take upon themselves the seven Noahide commandments they are obligated to accept them - nevertheless they did not act here according to the law. First, the Rambam says that you are obligated to accept them if they come to make peace, but all this is on condition that it be for tribute and servitude, and here they did not take upon themselves either tribute or servitude, and Yehoshua makes peace with them without conditions. Second, he made a covenant with them, and making a covenant is forbidden in any case, for we said that making a covenant is a way of love and affection, and about this the Torah said "you shall not make a covenant with them."
And even so, note, Yehoshua did not err here a complete error, but was careful and made with them "a covenant to let them live" - not a covenant of love and peace, but a covenant that they would not kill them. On this covenant alone the princes of the congregation swore, and they did not take upon themselves other matters, such as that we would not enslave them, and as we will see later that they indeed enslaved them. And if you will say: but they made a covenant with them, how do they go back on it? The answer: we did not go back on it, the entire covenant was to let you live, and that is all; I did not obligate myself not to enslave you.
וַיְהִי מִקְצֵה שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים אַחֲרֵי אֲשֶׁר־כָּרְתוּ לָהֶם בְּרִית וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ כִּי־קְרֹבִים הֵם אֵלָיו וּבְקִרְבּוֹ הֵם יֹשְׁבִים. - And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were near to them, and that they dwelt among them.
And why the repetition, "they were near to them" and "they dwelt among them," is it not the same thing? The Malbim says: after they made the covenant there is no longer a possibility to retract, the covenant was made, and it became clear that they dwell among them - and not like the Girgashi, who at first was near and afterward distanced himself and went off to Africa. And if so, from the standpoint that they are near to them and still dwell here - it was forbidden to make a covenant with them; and from the standpoint that they dwell among them - one is obligated to take tribute from them and that they be your servants.
וַיִּסְעוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־עָרֵיהֶם בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי וְעָרֵיהֶם גִּבְעוֹן וְהַכְּפִירָה וּבְאֵרוֹת וְקִרְיַת יְעָרִים. וְלֹא הִכּוּם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־נִשְׁבְּעוּ לָהֶם נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה בַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּלֹּנוּ כָל־הָעֵדָה עַל־הַנְּשִׂיאִים. - The children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day, and their cities were Givon, HaKefirah, Be'erot, and Kiryat Ye'arim. And the children of Israel did not smite them, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by Hashem, the God of Israel; and the whole congregation murmured against the princes.
Israel go to check the sources, and they discover that the Givonim are here, not far away at all, only three days' distance, and their cities are Givon, HaKefirah, Be'erot, and Kiryat Ye'arim. If so, they deceived us, and it is fitting to smite them. After all, we are in the midst of a conquest, and "you shall not let any soul live"; and since they did not accept upon themselves tribute and servitude as we said, "you shall not let any soul live" still applies to them. It was only the oath of the princes (that the princes would not smite them) that prevented Israel from being able to smite them, and therefore "the whole congregation murmured against the princes."
וַיֹּאמְרוּ כָל־הַנְּשִׂיאִים אֶל־כָּל־הָעֵדָה אֲנַחְנוּ נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ לָהֶם בַּיהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַתָּה לֹא נוּכַל לִנְגֹּעַ בָּהֶם. זֹאת נַעֲשֶׂה לָהֶם וְהַחֲיֵה אוֹתָם וְלֹא־יִהְיֶה עָלֵינוּ קֶצֶף עַל־הַשְּׁבוּעָה אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּעְנוּ לָהֶם. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵיהֶם הַנְּשִׂיאִים יִחְיוּ וַיִּהְיוּ חֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וְשֹׁאֲבֵי־מַיִם לְכָל־הָעֵדָה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבְּרוּ לָהֶם הַנְּשִׂיאִים. - And all the princes said to the whole congregation: We have sworn to them by Hashem, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. This we will do to them, and let them live, so that there be no wrath upon us because of the oath which we swore to them. And the princes said to them: Let them live; and they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, as the princes had spoken to them.
וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיְדַבֵּר אֲלֵיהֶם לֵאמֹר לָמָּה רִמִּיתֶם אֹתָנוּ לֵאמֹר רְחוֹקִים אֲנַחְנוּ מִכֶּם מְאֹד וְאַתֶּם בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ יֹשְׁבִים. וְעַתָּה אֲרוּרִים אַתֶּם וְלֹא־יִכָּרֵת מִכֶּם עֶבֶד וְחֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וְשֹׁאֲבֵי מַיִם לְבֵית אֱלֹהָי. - And Yehoshua called for them and spoke to them, saying: Why did you deceive us, saying, We are very far from you, when you dwell among us? And now you are cursed, and there shall never cease to be of you servants, hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
וַיַּעֲנוּ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיֹּאמְרוּ כִּי הֻגֵּד הֻגַּד לַעֲבָדֶיךָ אֵת אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֶת־מֹשֶׁה עַבְדּוֹ לָתֵת לָכֶם אֶת־כָּל־הָאָרֶץ וּלְהַשְׁמִיד אֶת־כָּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ מִפְּנֵיכֶם וַנִּירָא מְאֹד לְנַפְשֹׁתֵינוּ מִפְּנֵיכֶם וַנַּעֲשֵׂה אֶת־הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה. וְעַתָּה הִנְנוּ בְיָדֶךָ כַּטּוֹב וְכַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינֶיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת לָנוּ עֲשֵׂה. - And they answered Yehoshua and said: Because it was clearly told to your servants how Hashem your God commanded Moshe His servant to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and we did this thing. And now, behold, we are in your hand; do to us as it seems good and right in your eyes to do.
וַיַּעַשׂ לָהֶם כֵּן וַיַּצֵּל אוֹתָם מִיַּד בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא הֲרָגוּם. - And he did so to them, and delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them.
And if the oath alone prevented Israel from smiting them, why does it say "and he delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them"? They need no deliverance at all, since in any case Israel cannot slay them because of the oath. The Malbim explains: had they not now accepted upon themselves the tribute and the servitude, the people would have slain them, because then it would be understood that the oath does not take effect: the oath we swore to you was on condition that you be to us for tribute and servants, and if you do not fulfill this, we may slay you. This is the meaning of "and he did so to them": he made them for tribute and servants, and then "they did not slay them." For otherwise they would have said that the oath is no longer in force and we may slay them, and there would have been no survival for the Givonim. It emerges that what saved the Givonim was precisely the tribute and the servitude.
וַיִּתְּנֵם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא חֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וְשֹׁאֲבֵי מַיִם לָעֵדָה וּלְמִזְבַּח יְהֹוָה עַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחָר. - And Yehoshua made them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of Hashem, to this day, at the place which He would choose.
Seemingly this contradicts verse 23, where he made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God alone, while here you say for the congregation and for the altar, which was the very claim of the princes at the outset. The Radak too addresses the difficulty, and the Malbim follows his approach: since at that time the House of Hashem was not in its place, therefore "he made them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation": "on that day," that is, before the Mikdash was built and while the Mishkan was not yet in its place, they served the congregation. But afterward, once the seven years of conquest and the seven years of division were completed, they would already be in the category of hewers of wood for the altar of Hashem. This is what is written, "to this day" (until the day on which the book was written) "at the place which He would choose": at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, would choose a place for His dwelling, there you will be hewers of wood and drawers of water, and you will no longer belong to the congregation. It emerges that only in the initial stages did they serve the congregation, and afterward the matter was for the Mikdash of Hashem. And as the Radak says: when the Mishkan was in Gilgal, in Shiloh, in Nov, in Givon, and in the eternal House (this is "the place which Hashem would choose") in all these places they served as hewers of wood and drawers of water for the needs of the sacred service.
Chapter 9 opens with the gathering of the kings, who read the war of Ai as a sign of weakness and that Hashem was not with Israel, and so they assembled a concentrated force to fight against Yehoshua and Israel. The people of Givon alone remembered the miracle of Yericho and understood that all the stratagem at Ai had been nothing but cunning meant to draw the kings into a single blow, and so they preferred to make peace, except that they erred and thought that Yehoshua does not begin with an offer of peace, not knowing that three letters had already been sent to all the inhabitants of the land. Hence the ruse: the worn out garments, the patched sandals, the dry bread and the split wineskins, and the claim "we have come from a distant land." The Malbim explains the entire exchange according to the three types of covenants, and from this comes the people's suspicion, "perhaps you dwell in my midst." Yehoshua, who saw the faith of the army commanders, their submission and their recognition of Hashem's miracles and the sanctification of the Name in the matter, made a covenant with them, but was careful and made a "covenant to let them live" only. After three days the truth became known, and the people complained against the princes; and what actually saved the Givonim was their acceptance of tribute and servitude, for through this the oath was fulfilled, and from that moment they became hewers of wood and drawers of water, at first for the congregation, and ultimately for the altar of Hashem at the place He would choose.