Gibeon (ancient city)
The people of this hill town tricked Joshua into a peace treaty by pretending they lived far away.
A mile off the road, under the southern edge of the village of al-Jib, lie the remains of Gibeon. The Israelites had just destroyed Jericho and Ai, and they were under orders to spare no Canaanite city in the land. So Gibeon sent ambassadors who claimed to come from a distant, powerful country. No one consulted God about it. A treaty was signed. Then the Israelites learned the truth. Gibeon was three days' walk away. These were neighbors. Joshua had been deceived, and he kept the letter of his promise anyway. The Gibeonites were allowed to live, but as servants. They were made woodcutters and water carriers, and the text says they were cursed to work forever in those trades. The Book of Joshua describes the place they saved with a lie as a large city, like one of the royal cities.
This is the first of 3 parts. The rest runs about 3 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.
the Hivite people of Gibeon sent ambassadors to trick Joshua and the Israelites into making a treaty with them
Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nearby, on the same roads
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- Horvat Mazad 8.1 mi On one small hill west of Jerusalem, a Jewish ritual bath was later cut through by Muslim graves facing Mecca.
- Khirbet Badd 'Isa 10.1 mi Someone hid a hundred and forty-seven coins in a building here, and the newest one was struck four years before the revolt that emptied the village.
- Tel Hadid 15.9 mi Two clay tablets found on this hill record business deals from 698 and 664 BCE, and the names on them belong to people deported here from Mesopotamia.
- Qula 18.9 mi A defense tower still standing here was built by Crusader knights, out of stones taken from something older still.
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