Redundancy?

So the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” And they became gatherers of firewood and labor to draw water for the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them.  Joshua 9:21  NASB

Had spoken – Read it slowly.  The leaders tell the people to let the Gibeonites live, punishing their duplicity by proclaiming that they will be “choppers” of wood and “gatherers” of water.  So far the narrative makes perfect sense.  But then the text continues, “just as the leaders had spoken to them.”  If the pronoun “them” refers to the people of Israel, this is absolute redundancy.  The leaders have just said precisely what they said.  Why repeat the phrase?  If the pronoun refers to the Gibeonites, the problem gets worse.  There is no record of the leaders ever saying this to the Gibeonites in the past.  What in the world is accomplished by repeating these words?  The plain reading is that the leaders told the people that the Gibeonites should be allowed to live but they would be forever cursed (see verse 23) to be servants who would gather firewood and draw water for the entire congregation—and this is what happened “just as the leaders had spoken” to Israel.  But the initial communication with the people doesn’t say that they will be punished by being assigned the daily tasks of wood gatherers and water drawers.  It simply says, “Let them live.”  There is no text that relegates the Gibeonites to this role until Joshua makes the announcement after the leaders speak.  The ambiguity of the pronoun makes the statements unintelligible.

Of course, rabbinic commentators rush to fix the problem, postulating that before this announcement to the general public the leaders had already told the Gibeonites that they would be servants of the people.  It’s a nice attempt but without textual justification, especially since Joshua seems to alter the punishment just two verses later.  But aside from the textual problem, there’s another more significant issue here.  Since the leaders have refused to abort the vow, they in effect allow the Gibeonites to become part of Israel.  Perhaps this was the intention.  Assimilation into the populace, no harm done.  But now they actually set up a second class category.  The Gibeonites will be allowed to live but they will be servants.  Two verses later we find Joshua cursing the Gibeonites with perpetual servitude.  This only exacerbates the situation.  Now Israel has an officially sanctioned pagan culture residing within its population under the protection of the vow but treated as slaves.  Israel becomes the Egyptian Pharoah!  And down the line this mistake eventually allows idolatry to creep back into the culture.  And that results in the destruction of the Kingdom.  The grammatical problem is nothing compared to the political/social problem.

So . . . read it slowly.  It might seem like nothing more than a report of the decision about how to handle the Gibeonites, but under the surface lurks kingdom-destructive forces.  You have to wonder why Israel could make such a serious mistake, especially since they had at their disposal nearly direct connection with YHVH.  What we do learn is this: tiny choices not in alignment with God’s intentions have enormous consequences.  שְׁמַ֖ע יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל (Sh’ma Israel) means a lot more than just audio reception.

Topical Index: Gibeonites, servants, curse, assimilation, Sh’ma Israel, Joshua 9:21