The Gibeonites trick Joshua and the leaders of the camp into making a treaty with them by claiming to be from far away. They heard about all the amazing things God has done for the Israelites and knew they couldn’t defeat them, or even survive them, so they resorted to subterfuge. The Israelites are commanded not to make a treaty with anyone in Canaan, but they believed the Gibeonite envoy and didn’t check in with God before signing a treaty. A little while later they came up to the Gibeonite cities and found out that they had just sworn an oath not to harm them.
The people were kind of pissed at their leaders, but no one would violate the oath they made to God not to harm the Gibeonites. Joshua made them wood cutters and water carriers, which I guess made an unpleasant lower class for them to occupy, but it’s better then the alternative. A little later some other allied nations come and attack the Gibeonites, but Joshua actually brings the army to their aid and wipes out the other army. In the process he stops the sun and moon in the sky for a day.
They conquer all of southern Canaan down into the Negev.
No other treaty problems came up as God hardened all the other tribes to fight the Israelites. The only places in Canaan left with non-Israelites still alive in them were Gaza, Gath, which we think is kind of by Jerusalem and Ashdod, which is just a little north of modern-day Gaza along the coast.
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