In our culture we have fairytales of giants, like “Jack the Giant Killer”, “The Young Giant”, “The Selfish Giant”, and “The Valiant Little Tailor”. Our Bible tells us about races of very large, stout human-like beings, who were on the earth for a very long time. In more recent history, in 1862, J.L. Porter traveled to many of the places that we read about in the Bible. He notes his travels and experiences, and relates to us the places that the giants lived. Just like Josephus who told us that the bones of the giants were still around in his day, we have an eyewitness account of large buildings and tombs in Bashan, home of King Og. What is more curious is that in 1862, a man would take a long journey to look for the places that the giants lived. Considering tales of giants, the story “Jack and the Beanstalk” was written in 1734, and Porter cites works from the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. Doesn’t it seem as if in our last hundred years people have tried to hide the Bible’s accounts of giants? While we would certainly notice if there were ten to fifteen foot tall human-like beings roaming the earth today, aren’t there people finding human type bones of that size in our present time? Interestingly, we have a great affection for David, as his writings and the writings regarding his life and kingship are quite relatable to us. He is not perfect; he was called for an important office when he was young; he eventually became king; then had a series of human failings; but he still sought the Lord. The part that we leave out is that David was a giant hunter. Not only did David kill Goliath, but many other giants as well. If we leave out David being a warrior of giants then we may be missing a key aspect of warfare for our own lives. David also did something we might think strange, but when we investigate we can see that there is more to the subject of Gibeon than we have been taught.
J.L. Porter wrote of his travels to Palestine and Syria in 1865. He published his work in 1882 called The Giant Cities of Bashan and today it is open source material. We want to remember that in 1865 Israel was not a nation. It was called Palestine, and it was generally desolate, populated by nomadic Bedouins and Arabs.
Pg 11-12
HISTORICAL NOTICES.
BASHAN is the land of sacred romance. From the remotest historic period down to our own day there has ever been something of mystery and of strange wild interest connected with that old kingdom. In the memorable raid of the Arab chiefs of Mesopotamia into Eastern and Central Palestine, we read that the " Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim" bore the first brunt of the onset. The Rephaim,—that is, giants,” for such is the meaning of the name—men of stature, beside whom the Jewish spies said long after-wards that they were as grasshoppers (Num. xiii. 33). These were the aboriginal inhabitants of Bashan, and probably of the greater part of Canaan. Most of them died out, or were exterminated at a very early period; but a few remarkable specimens of the race—such as Goliath, and Sippai, and Lahmi (1 Chron.xx.)—were the terror of the Israelites, and the champions of their foes, as late as the time of David;—and, strange to say, traditionary memorials of these primeval giants exist even now in almost every section of Palestine, in the form of graves of enormous dimensions,—as the grave of Abel, near Damascus, thirty feet long ; that of Seth, in Anti-Lebanon, about the same size; and that of Noah, in Lebanon, which measures no less than seventy yards! The capital and stronghold of the Rephaim in Bashan was Ashteroth-Karnaim ; so called from the there goddess there worshipped,—the mysterious " two-horned Astarte." We shall presently see, if my readers will accompany me in my proposed tour, that the cities built and occupied some forty centuries ago by these old giants exist even yet. I have traversed their streets; I have opened the doors of their houses; I have slept peacefully in their long-deserted halls. We shall see, too, that among the massive ruins of these wonderful cities lie sculptured images of Astarte, with the crescent moon, which gave her the name Carnaim, upon her brow.
We will want to keep in mind Porter’s note of Astarte, and Ashteroth-Karnaim for a later reference. Bashan/Ashteroth Karnaim/Carnaim is east of the Sea of Galilee.
Pg 83-84
Moses makes special mention of the strong cities of Bashan, and speaks of their high walls and gates. He tells us, too, in the same connection, that Bashan was called the land of the giants (or Rephaim, Deut. iii. 13); leaving us to conclude that the cities were built by giants. Now the houses of Kerioth and other towns in Bashan appear to be just such dwellings as a race of giants would build. The walls, the roofs, but especially the ponderous gates, doors, and bars, are in every way characteristic of a period when architecture was in its infancy, when giants were masons, and when strength and security were the grand requisites. I measured a door in Kerioth : it was nine feet high, four and a half feet wide, and ten inches thick, —one solid slab of stone. I saw the folding gates of another town in the mountains still larger and heavier. Time produces little effect on such buildings as these. The heavy stone slabs of the roofs resting on the massive walls make the structure as firm as if built of solid masonry; and the black basalt used is almost as hard as iron. There can scarcely be a doubt, therefore, that these are the very cities erected and inhabited by the Rephaim, the aboriginal occupants of Bashan; and the language
of Ritter appears to be true “These buildings remain and eternal witnesses of the conquest of Bashan by Jehovah."
We have thus at Kerioth and its sister cities some of the most ancient houses of which the world can boast and in looking at them and wandering among them, and passing night after night in them, my mind was led away back to the time, now nearly four thousand years ago, when the kings of the East warred with the Rephaim in Ashteroth-Karnaim, and with the Emim in the plain of Kiriathaim (Gen. xiv. 5). Some of the houses in which I slept were most probably standing at the period of that invasion. How strange to occupy houses of which giants were the architects, and a race of giants the original The temples and tombs of Upper Egypt are of great owners! These buildings remain as eternal interest, as the works of one of the most enlightened nations of antiquity ; the palaces of Nineveh are still more interesting, as the memorials of a great city which lay buried for two thousand years; but the massive houses of Kerioth scarcely yield in interest to either. They are antiquities of another kind. In size they cannot vie with the temples of Karnac; in splendour they do not approach the palaces of Khorsabad; yet they are the memorials of a race of giant warriors that has been extinct for more than three thousand years, and of which Og, king of Bashan, was one of the last representatives ; and they are, I believe, the only specimens in the world of the ordinary private dwellings of remote antiquity. The monuments designed by the genius and reared by the wealth of imperial Rome are fast mouldering to ruin in this land; temples, palaces, tombs, fortresses, are all shattered, or prostrate in the dust; but the simple, massive houses of the Rephaim are in many cases perfect as if only completed yesterday.
David had been anointed by Samuel as king. But David was still tending sheep. Saul did not know who David was when David showed up at the battlefield. When David came to the region of the battle between Israel and the Philistines, he heard Goliath taunting the Israelites. We should take into consideration something we noted last week; in Psalm 19 David compares the sun to a giant, joyfully running a journey. Compare David’s words to Goliath’s behavior.
Psalm 19:5 G2532 And G1473 he, G5613 as G3566 a groom G1607 going forth G1537 from out of G3956.3 his nuptial chamber, G1473 G21 shall exult G5613 as G1095.2 a giant G5143 running G3598 a journey.
If the Israelites were trying to eradicate the occupants out of their land, the intimidation of a proud, haughty, giant, leading the enemy army could hold up the battle, causing fear and confusion among the Israelites.
Josephus 6:9:1 Now the Philistines gathered themselves together again no very long time afterward; and having gotten together a great army, they made war against the Israelites; and having seized a place between Shochoh and Azekah, they there pitched their camp. Saul also drew out his army to oppose them; and by pitching his own camp on a certain hill, he forced the Philistines to leave their former camp, and to encamp themselves upon such another hill, over-against that on which Saul's army lay, so that a valley, which was between the two hills on which they lay, divided their camps asunder. Now there came down a man out of the camp of the Philistines, whose name was Goliath, of the city of Gath, a man of vast bulk, for he was of four cubits and a span in tallness, and had about him weapons suitable to the largeness of his body, for he had a breastplate on that weighed five thousand shekels: he had also a helmet and greaves of brass, as large as you would naturally suppose might cover the limbs of so vast a body. His spear was also such as was not carried like a light thing in his right hand, but he carried it as lying on his shoulders. He had also a lance of six hundred shekels; and many followed him to carry his armor. Wherefore this Goliath stood between the two armies, as they were in battle array, and sent out aloud voice, and said to Saul and the Hebrews, "I will free you from fighting and from dangers; for what necessity is there that your army should fall and be afflicted? Give me a man of you that will fight with me, and he that conquers shall have the reward of the conqueror and determine the war; for these shall serve those others to whom the conqueror shall belong; and certainly it is much better, and more prudent, to gain what you desire by the hazard of one man than of all." When he had said this, he retired to his own camp; but the next day he came again, and used the same words, and did not leave off for forty days together, to challenge the enemy in the same words, till Saul and his army were therewith terrified, while they put themselves in array as if they would fight, but did not come to a close battle.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Goliath taunted the Israelites for forty days. God was with David, and as we know David cut off Goliath’s head.
Josephus 6:9:5 But the youth met his antagonist, being accompanied with an invisible assistant, who was no other than God himself. And taking one of the stones that he had out of the brook, and had put into his shepherd's bag, and fitting it to his sling, he slang it against the Philistine. This stone fell upon his forehead, and sank into his brain, insomuch that Goliath was stunned, and fell upon his face. So David ran, and stood upon his adversary as he lay down, and cut off his head with his own sword; for he had no sword himself. And upon the fall of Goliath the Philistines were beaten, and fled; for when they saw their champion prostrate on the ground, they were afraid of the entire issue of their affairs, and resolved not to stay any longer, but committed themselves to an ignominious and indecent flight, and thereby endeavored to save themselves from the dangers they were in. But Saul and the entire army of the Hebrews made a shout, and rushed upon them, and slew a great number of them, and pursued the rest to the borders of Garb, and to the gates of Ekron; so that there were slain of the Philistines thirty thousand, and twice as many wounded. But Saul returned to their camp, and pulled their fortification to pieces, and burnt it; but David carried the head of Goliath into his own tent, but dedicated his sword to God [at the tabernacle].
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
David was a national hero. The reason that God had David kill Goliath after forty days of taunting was that now all of Israel heard of David. People didn’t know David because Samuel anointed him. In fact Saul didn’t even know David. The people knew David because he killed a giant, a mean giant. Even though the army killed thirty thousand Philistines, wounded sixty thousand Philistines, and destroyed the Philistine fortification, David was celebrated more than everyone else. Saul became jealous. Saul set a snare for David.
Josephus 6:10:2 But David had God going along with him whithersoever he went, and accordingly he greatly prospered in his undertakings, and it was visible that he had mighty success, insomuch that Saul's daughter, who was still a virgin, fell in love with him; and her affection so far prevailed over her, that it could not be concealed, and her father became acquainted with it. Now Saul heard this gladly, as intending to make use of it for a snare against David, and he hoped that it would prove the cause of destruction and of hazard to him; so he told those that informed him of his daughter's affection, that he would willingly give David the virgin in marriage, and said, "I engage myself to marry my daughter to him if he will bring me six hundred heads of my enemies supposing that when a reward so ample was proposed to him, and when he should aim to get him great glory, by undertaking a thing so dangerous and incredible, he would immediately set about it, and so perish by the Philistines; and my designs about him will succeed finely to my mind, for I shall be freed from him, and get him slain, not by myself, but by another man." So he gave order to his servants to try how David would relish this proposal of marrying the damsel. Accordingly, they began to speak thus to him: That king Saul loved him, as well as did all the people, and that he was desirous of his affinity by the marriage of this damsel. To which he gave this answer:—"Seemeth it to you a light thing to be made the king's son-in-law? It does not seem so to me, especially when I am one of a family that is low, and without any glory or honor." Now when Saul was informed by his servants what answer David had made, he said,—"Tell him that I do not want any money nor dowry from him, which would be rather to set my daughter to sale than to give her in marriage; but I desire only such a son-in-law as hath in him fortitude, and all other kinds of virtue," of which he saw David was possessed, and that his desire was to receive of him, on account of his marrying his daughter, neither gold nor silver, nor that he should bring such wealth out of his father's house, but only some revenge on the Philistines, and indeed six hundred of their heads, than which a more desirable or a more glorious present could not be brought him, and that he had much rather obtain this, than any of the accustomed dowries for his daughter, viz. that she should be married to a man of that character, and to one who had a testimony as having conquered his enemies.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Saul forgot one thing, God was with David. Maybe at this point Saul heard David had been anointed by Samuel, which would have added to Saul’s dislike for David.
Josephus 6:10:3 When these words of Saul were brought to David, he was pleased with them, and supposed that Saul was really desirous of this affinity with him; so that without bearing to deliberate any longer, or casting about in his mind whether what was proposed was possible, or was difficult or not, he and his companions immediately set upon the enemy, and went about doing what was proposed as the condition of the marriage. Accordingly, because it was God who made all things easy and possible to David, he slew many [of the Philistines], and cut off the heads of six hundred of them, and came to the king, and by showing him these heads of the Philistines, required that he might have his daughter in marriage. Accordingly, Saul having no way of getting off his engagements, as thinking it a base thing either to seem a liar when he promised him this marriage, or to appear to have acted treacherously by him, in putting him upon what was in a manner impossible, in order to have him slain, he gave him his daughter in marriage: her name was Michal.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Saul tries to get David killed by the Philistines. Later David will do the same to Uzziah. Saul was head and shoulders above the people and it may be that Saul came from a line of giants as he was from the mixed tribe of Benjamin.
David and his friends killed six hundred Philistines. Bringing six hundred heads to Saul must have been quite a show, everyone probably heard about David and the deal Saul made with him. There is something else we notice here. This tells us there were far more than one hundred thousand Philistines. Yet despite killing thirty thousand and six hundred Philistines, they keep coming back for battles. How many Philistines must there have been? Josephus and 1 Samuel vary in the telling of this account. We have some Masoretic alterations here as well.
1 Samuel 18:27 (KJV)
27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
1 Samuel 18:27 And David arose, and went, he and his men, and smote among the Philistines a hundred men: and he brought their foreskins, and he becomes the king’s son-in-law, and Saul gives him Melchol his daughter to wife. http://ecmarsh.com/lxx/Kings%20I/index.htm
1 Samuel 18:27 And David arose, and went, he and his men, and killed among the Philistines one hundred men. And he brought their foreskins, and he became the king's son-in-law, and Saul gave him Michal his daughter as a wife. https://studybible.info/CAB/1%20Samuel%2018
Was it six hundred, two hundred, or one hundred? Was it heads or foreskins. Was it men or both men and women? The Greek texts all agree the number was one hundred men, and their foreskins. Although David went with a group of men, so it is possible that David himself killed one hundred and the others collectively killed five hundred. Considering the culture of the time, cutting the head off an enemy was a sure way of knowing who that person was. There are several added verses in this chapter that do not align with the Greek Text, which is far more accurate than the Masoretic text. See Brenton English Septuagint, or Complete Apostles Bible Septuagint, or the Charles Thompson Translation Septuagint.
At the end of Saul’s life he goes out to battle the Philistines again.
Josephus 6:14:7. Now upon the Philistines joining battle, there followed a sharp engagement, and the Philistines became the conquerors, and slew a great number of their enemies; but Saul the king of Israel, and his sons, fought courageously, and with the utmost alacrity, as knowing that their entire glory lay in nothing else but dying honorably, and exposing themselves to the utmost danger from the enemy (for they had nothing else to hope for); so they brought upon themselves the whole power of the enemy, till they were encompassed round and slain, but not before they had killed many of the Philistines Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchisua; and when these were slain the multitude of the Hebrews were put to flight, and all was disorder, and confusion, and slaughter, upon the Philistines pressing in upon them. But Saul himself fled, having a strong body of soldiers about him; and upon the Philistines sending after them those that threw javelins and shot arrows, he lost all his company except a few. As for himself, he fought with great bravery; and when he had received so many wounds, that he was not able to bear up nor to oppose any longer, and yet was not able to kill himself, he bade his armor-bearer draw his sword, and run him through, before the enemy should take him alive. But his armor-bearer not daring to kill his master, he drew his own sword, and placing himself over against its point, he threw himself upon it; and when he could neither run it through him, nor, by leaning against it, make the sword pass through him, he turned him round, and asked a certain young man that stood by who he was; and when he understood that he was an Amalekite, he desired him to force the sword through him, because he was not able to do it with his own hands, and thereby to procure him such a death as he desired. This the young man did accordingly; and he took the golden bracelet that was on Saul's arm, and his royal crown that was on his head, and ran away. And when Saul's armor-bearer saw that he was slain, he killed himself; nor did any of the king's guards escape, but they all fell upon the mountain called Gilboa. But when those Hebrews that dwelt in the valley beyond Jordan, and those who had their cities in the plain, heard that Saul and his sons were fallen, and that the multitude about them were destroyed, they left their own cities, and fled to such as were the best fortified and fenced; and the Philistines, finding those cities deserted, came and dwelt in them.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Saul dies at the hands of the Philistines. The Philistines had giants who could throw javelins so they didn’t need to get close in battle. Once the people living in the area around the Jordan valley heard Saul had died they left their own cities in fear. The Philistines moved into the region. The Philistines lived on the coast and now east of the Jordan valley.
Josephus 6:14:8. On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip their enemies that were slain, they got the bodies of Saul and of his sons, and stripped them, and cut off their heads; and they sent messengers all about their country, to acquaint them that their enemies were fallen; and they dedicated their armor in the temple of Astarte, but hung their bodies on crosses at the walls of the city Bethshun, which is now called Scythepolls. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard that they had dismembered the dead bodies of Saul and of his sons, they deemed it so horrid a thing to overlook this barbarity, and to suffer them to be without funeral rites, that the most courageous and hardy among them (and indeed that city had in it men that were very stout both in body and mind) journeyed all night, and came to Bethshun, and approached to the enemy's wall, and taking down the bodies of Saul and of his sons, they carried them to Jabesh, while the enemy were not able enough nor bold enough to hinder them, because of their great courage. So the people of Jabesh wept all in general, and buried their bodies in the best place of their country, which was named Areurn; and they observed a public mourning for them seven days, with their wives and children, beating their breasts, and lamenting the king and his sons, without either tasting meat or drink [till the evening.]
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
The Philistines cut off the heads of Saul and a few of his sons, then sent their body parts all over the region to announce that they killed Saul and his sons. Then they took the armor of Saul and his sons and dedicated it in the temple of Astarte/Ishtar/Ashtaroth. What was left of their bodies hung on the walls outside Bethshun. Bethshun was southeast of the Sea of Galilee, about seventeen miles. When the people of Jabesh-Gilead heard what the Philistines did, they retrieved the bodies. Jabesh-Gilead was east of the Jordan, but north of Bethshun. How could they come against the Philistines? They had men that were very stout in body and mind. Josephus uses this word stout to describe big strong burly men who are also courageous in their minds. They could be heirs of the giants a few generations removed as this characteristic of being stout seems to set them apart from the Israelites.
1 Samuel 31:9-10 (AMP)
9 They cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armor and sent them round about the land of the Philistines to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people.
10 And they put Saul's armor in the house of the Ashtaroth [the idols representing the female deities Ashtoreth and Asherah], and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
1 Samuel 31:9/1 Kings31:9 And they turned him, and stripped off his armour, and sent it into the land of the Philistines, sending round glad tidings to their idols and to the people. 10 And they set up his armour at the temple of Astarte, and they fastened his body on the wall of Baethsam.
In Beth-shan there was a temple of Astarte/Ashtoreth/Ishtar. If we keep in mind that the Philistines were other mixed tribes, meaning several different tribes of the heirs of the Nephilim, we will understand why there were some Philistines east of Jordan and some west, on the coast. The eastern Philistines worshipped the same “goddeses” as the Sidonians, Phoenicians, and the western Philistines, because they were all part of the same group, another kind of chimera with several mixed tribes.
David has more battles with the Philistines and other nations come to help the Philistines.
Josephus 7:4:1
1. When the Philistines understood that David was made king of the Hebrews, they made war against him at Jerusalem; and when they had seized upon that valley which is called The Valley of the Giants, and is a place not far from the city, they pitched their camp therein; but the king of the Jews, who never permitted himself to do any thing without prophecy, and the command of God and without depending on him as a security for the time to come, bade the high priest to foretell to him what was the will of God, and what would be the event of this battle. And when he foretold that he should gain the victory and the dominion, he led out his army against the Philistines; and when the battle was joined, he came himself behind, and fell upon the enemy on the sudden, and slew some of them, and put the rest to flight. And let no one suppose that it was a small army of the Philistines that came against the Hebrews, as guessing so from the suddenness of their defeat, and from their having performed no great action, or that was worth recording, from the slowness of their march, and want of courage; but let him know that all Syria and Phoenicia, with many other nations besides them, and those warlike nations also, came to their assistance, and had a share in this war, which thing was the only cause why, when they had been so often conquered, and had lost so many ten thousands of their men, they still came upon the Hebrews with greater armies; nay, indeed, when they had so often failed of their purpose in these battles, they came upon David with an army three times as numerous as before, and pitched their camp on the same spot of ground as before. The king of Israel therefore inquired of God again concerning the event of the battle; and the high priest prophesied to him, that he should keep his army in the groves, called the Groves of Weeping, which were not far from the enemy's camp, and that he should not move, nor begin to fight, till the trees of the grove should be in motion without the wind's blowing; but as soon as these trees moved, and the time foretold to him by God was come, he should, without delay, go out to gain what was an already prepared and evident victory; for the several ranks of the enemy's army did not sustain him, but retreated at the first onset, whom he closely followed, and slew them as he went along, and pursued them to the city Gaza (which is the limit of their country): after this he spoiled their camp, in which he found great riches; and he destroyed their gods.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Word got out that David was King over Israel. Now the Philistines will try to prove David. But David has an ace up his sleeve. He relies on direction from Yahweh.
2 Kings 5:17 And the Philistines heard that David was anointed king over Israel; and all the Philistines went up to seek David; and David heard of it, and went down to the strong hold. 18 And the Philistines came, and assembled in the valley of the giants.
19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? and wilt thou deliver them into my hands? and the Lord said to David, Go up, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thine hands. 20 And David came from Upper Breaches, and smote the Philistines there: and David said, The Lord has destroyed the hostile Philistines before me, as water is dispersed; therefore the name of that place was called Over Breaches. 21 And they leave there their gods, and David and his men with him took them.
Now the Philistines’ reinforcements came to help. David asks Yahweh what to do next.
2 Kings 5:22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and assembled in the valley of Giants. 23 And David enquired of the Lord: and the Lord said, Thou shalt not go up to meet them: turn from them, and thou shalt meet them near the place of weeping. 24 And it shall come to pass when thou hearest the sound of a clashing together from the grove of weeping, then thou shalt go down to them, for then the Lord shall go forth before thee to make havoc in the battle with the Philistines. 25 And David did as the Lord commanded him, and smote the Philistines from Gabaon as far as the land of Gazera.
David was a giant slayer. He consulted the Lord when he went into battle and the Lord directed him. Yahweh intervened for the Israelites as well. David also consulted the Lord for the nation.
The story of the Gibeonites is interesting. The Israelites were suffering a famine because Saul did not honor the oath of Joshua with Gibeon.
Josephus 7:12:1 1. After this, when the country was greatly afflicted with a famine, David besought God to have mercy on the people, and to discover to him what was the cause of it, and how a remedy might be found for that distemper. And when the prophets answered, that God would have the Gibeonites avenged whom Saul the king was so wicked as to betray to slaughter, and had not observed the oath which Joshua the general and the senate had sworn to them: If, therefore, said God, the king would permit such vengeance to be taken for those that were slain as the Gibeonites should desire, he promised that he would be reconciled to them, and free the multitude from their miseries. As soon therefore as the king understood that this it was which God sought, he sent for the Gibeonites, and asked them what it was they should have; and when they desired to have seven sons of Saul delivered to them to be punished, he delivered them up, but spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan. So when the Gibeonites had received the men, they punished them as they pleased; upon which God began to send rain, and to recover the earth to bring forth its fruits as usual, and to free it from the foregoing drought, so that the country of the Hebrews flourished again…….
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
The Gibeonites were Canaanites/Hivites. But remember who lived in that land many years before? Shem, Eber, and Abraham. Remember how strange it was that we saw Shem starting a school in the region, and he and Abraham living among the Canaanites? We surmised that it would be better to evangelize the heirs of the Nephilim so they would worship Yahweh, rather than letting them worship fallen angels. The Gibeonites lied about who they were so that Joshua would not kill them. They believed the word of Yahweh given to the heirs of Jacob. Joshua then made them servants of Israel as wood cutters and water-bearers. David asks the prophets what to do and the prophets say God would have the Gibeonites avenged. Really? Yahweh wants to avenge an evil nation? No, not an evil nation, a nation that knew Him. People groups are not as black and white as we have been taught, therefore we see the mercy of Yahweh. It is interesting to note that God sent rain to recover the earth and free it from drought. The healing of their land depended on amending the broken oath.
Josephus 5:1:16 16. But the Gibeonites, who inhabited very near to Jerusalem, when they saw what miseries had happened to the inhabitants of Jericho; and to those of Ai, and suspected that the like sore calamity would come as far as themselves, they did not think fit to ask for mercy of Joshua; for they supposed they should find little mercy from him, who made war that he might entirely destroy the nation of the Canaanites; but they invited the people of Cephirah and Kiriathjearim, who were their neighbors, to join in league with them; and told them that neither could they themselves avoid the danger they were all in, if the Israelites should prevent them, and seize upon them: so when they had persuaded them, they resolved to endeavor to escape the forces of the Israelites. Accordingly, upon their agreement to what they proposed, they sent ambassadors to Joshua to make a league of friendship with him, and those such of the citizens as were best approved of, and most capable of doing what was most advantageous to the multitude. Now these ambassadors thought it dangerous to confess themselves to be Canaanites, but thought they might by this contrivance avoid the danger, namely, by saying that they bare no relation to the Canaanites at all, but dwelt at a very great distance from them: and they said further, that they came a long way, on account of the reputation he had gained for his virtue; and as a mark of the truth of what they said, they showed him the habit they were in, for that their clothes were new when they came out, but were greatly worn by the length of thee they had been on their journey; for indeed they took torn garments, on purpose that they might make him believe so. So they stood in the midst of the people, and said that they were sent by the people of Gibeon, and of the circumjacent cities, which were very remote from the land where they now were, to make such a league of friendship with them, and this on such conditions as were customary among their forefathers; for when they understood that, by the favor of God, and his gift to them, they were to have the possession of the land of Canaan bestowed upon them, they said that they were very glad to hear it, and desired to be admitted into the number of their citizens. Thus did these ambassadors speak; and showing them the marks of their long journey, they entreated the Hebrews to make a league of friendship with them. Accordingly Joshua, believing what they said, that they were not of the nation of the Canaanites, entered into friendship with them; and Eleazar the high priest, with the senate, sware to them that they would esteem them their friends and associates, and would attempt nothing that should be unfair against them, the multitude also assenting to the oaths that were made to them. So these men, having obtained what they desired, by deceiving the Israelites, went home: but when Joshua led his army to the country at the bottom of the mountains of this part of Canaan, he understood that the Gibeonites dwelt not far from Jerusalem, and that they were of the stock of the Canaanites; so he sent for their governors, and reproached them with the cheat they had put upon him; but they alleged, on their own behalf, that they had no other way to save themselves but that, and were therefore forced to have recourse to it. So he called for Eleazar the high priest, and for the senate, who thought it right to make them public servants, that they might not break the oath they had made to them; and they ordained them to be so. And this was the method by which these men found. safety and security under the calamity that was ready to overtake them.
The Gibeonites were fearful; and now, under an oath with Joshua and Israel, that the Israelites would not kill them. The surrounding nations went to war with the Gibeonites, and Joshua and the Israelites had to defend them. Interestingly the Lord brought large hail and a longer day so the Israelites could win this battle.
Josephus 5:1:17. But the king of Jerusalem took it to heart that the Gibeonites had gone over to Joshua; so he called upon the kings of the neighboring nations to join together, and make war against them. Now when the Gibeonites saw these kings, which were four, besides the king of Jerusalem, and perceived that they had pitched their camp at a certain fountain not far from their city, and were getting ready for the siege of it, they called upon Joshua to assist them; for such was their case, as to expect to be destroyed by these Canaanites, but to suppose they should be saved by those that came for the destruction of the Canaanites, because of the league of friendship that was between them. Accordingly, Joshua made haste with his whole army to assist them, and marching day and night, in the morning he fell upon the enemies as they were going up to the siege; and when he had discomfited them, he followed them, and pursued them down the descent of the hills. The place is called Bethhoron; where he also understood that God assisted him, which he declared by thunder and thunderbolts, as also by the falling of hail larger than usual. Moreover, it happened that the day was lengthened that the night might not come on too soon, and be an obstruction to the zeal of the Hebrews in pursuing their enemies; insomuch that Joshua took the kings, who were hidden in a certain cave at Makkedah, and put them to death. Now, that the day was lengthened at this time, and was longer than ordinary, is expressed in the books laid up in the temple.
The Works of Flavius Josephus.
Thunderbolts and large hail helped Joshua and the army, plus Joshua prayed and Yahweh lengthened the day.
Joshua 10:10-14 (KJV)
10 And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
11 And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
12 Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
14 And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.
Why would the Lord do the most remarkable miracle that Joshua is known for (lengthening the day), when Joshua is helping a group of people that are mixed human giants and who lied to Joshua? The Gibeonites however believed the word of Yahweh to Israel. Remember, the land was allotted to Shem and his heirs, Semites, and Jacob’s heirs the Israelites. Noah pronounced a curse on anyone taking his brothers land, and Canaan was warned but ignored the warning. Yet there was a school of worship in the region, run by Shem.
Jasher 88:60 And the Lord confounded them before the children at Israel, who struck them with a terrible slaughter in Gibeon, and pursued them along the way that goes up to Beth Horon to Makkedah; they fled from before the children of Israel. 61 And while they were fleeing, the Lord sent on them hailstones from heaven, and more of them died by the hailstones than by the slaughter of the children of Israel. 62 The children of Israel pursued them, and they still struck them in the road, going on and smiting them. 63 And when they were smiting, the day was declining toward evening and Joshua said in the sight of all the people, Sun, stand still on Gibeon, and you moon in the valley of Ajalon, until the nation shall have revenged itself on its enemies. 64 The Lord listened to the voice of Joshua, and the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens, and it stood still six and thirty moments, and the moon also stood still and hurried not to go down a whole day. 65 And there was no day like that, before it or after it that the Lord listened to the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.
Lumpkin, Joseph. Enoch, Jubilees, Jasher: Banned from the Bible (p. 344). Fifth Estate. Kindle Edition.
The Gibeonites are interesting. Is it possible that they were worshippers of Yahweh? They believed Jacob’s heirs were to drive out the inhabitants according to Yahweh. Their fear shows humility, even if they went about securing their future the wrong way. Later Solomon used the Gibeonites/Hivites to build the temple. We know that according to Moses if an alien is willing to live in the land under the laws of Israel, they are allowed to stay. Nonetheless, this is an interesting situation and Yahweh honored the oath when Saul broke it. Israel suffered until David made it right. But there is more.
After this, David brings the ark to Gibeon. Gibeon is five miles from Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 16:37-40 (KJV)
37 So he left there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark continually, as every day's work required:
38 And Obededom with their brethren, threescore and eight; Obededom also the son of Jeduthun and Hosah to be porters:
39 And Zadok the priest, and his brethren the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,
40 To offer burnt offerings unto the LORD upon the altar of the burnt offering continually morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the LORD, which he commanded Israel;
The ark is now in Gibeon. The Priests of Zadok (Shem/Melchizedek) will minister before the Lord at Gibeon. It seems the Lord had a plan for the people who lived in Gibeon. Not only that, Solomon worships at Gibeon and receives a visit from the Lord.
David is not done fighting giants. We will look at a few more giants next week. Let’s end with Solomon in Gibeon and consider that this was the place to sacrifice to the Lord until the temple was built. Gibeon was honorable to the Lord.
1 Kings 3:3-15 (KJV)
3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
5 In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.
7 And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
9 Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
11 And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
12 Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
