Bible Strands
Joshua 9:26
So Joshua did this and delivered them from the hands of the Israelites, and they did not kill the Gibeonites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua acts immediately after the Gibeonites submit to his authority in the preceding verse, finalizing the terms of their treaty at the conclusion of the conquest negotiations.
The words — `וַ/יַּצֵּ֥ל` (va/i.ya.Tzel) translates as "and he delivered," paired with `מִ/יַּ֥ד` (mi./Yad), meaning "from the hand of," describing Joshua's intervention to spare the Gibeonites from Israelite execution.
The thread — The verse records the concrete execution of a sworn covenant, where Joshua's obedience to his word overrides military advantage and permanently assigns the Gibeonites to altar service as detailed in the surrounding narrative.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to acknowledge that treaty obligations bind even victorious leaders, establishing that sworn commitments produce lasting institutional arrangements rather than temporary concessions.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.