Joshua 9:3-5

Joshua 9:3-5

[3] And when the inhabitants  of Gibeon  heard  what Joshua  had done  unto Jericho  and to Ai,  [4] They did work  wilily,  and made as if they had been ambassadors,  and took  old  sacks  upon their asses,  and wine  bottles,  old,  and rent,  and bound up;  [5] And old  shoes  and clouted  upon their feet,  and old  garments  upon them; and all the bread  was dry  and mouldy. 

What does Joshua 9:3-5 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Gibeon stood seven miles south of Bethel. It was "one of the largest towns in the central part of Canaan," [1] larger than Ai ( Joshua 10:2), and possibly the Hivite capital. [1]2 It later became a Levitical town ( Joshua 18:25; Joshua 21:17). The Israelites eventually pitched the tabernacle there, and it remained at that site until Solomon built his temple ( 1 Kings 3:4-5; 1 Chronicles 16:39; 1 Chronicles 21:29). Hivites inhabited Gibeon at the time of the conquest ( Joshua 9:7).
When the leaders of Gibeon learned of the crafty methods the Israelites had used at Jericho and Ai, they determined to use deception too.