Verse 1

Israel Defeats an Amorite Coalition Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho and its king. He also heard how the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them.

Referenced Verses

  • Gen 14:18 : 18 Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.(Now he was the priest of the Most High God.)
  • Josh 6:21 : 21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys.
  • Josh 8:2 : 2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city!”
  • Josh 8:22-29 : 22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua. 24 When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai who had chased them toward the wilderness(they all fell by the sword), all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. 25 Twelve thousand men and women died that day, including all the men of Ai. 26 Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. 27 But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in keeping with the LORD’s orders to Joshua. 28 Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound(it remains that way to this very day). 29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones(it remains to this very day).
  • Josh 9:15-27 : 15 Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community sealed it with an oath. 16 Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities– Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders, 19 but all the leaders told the whole community,“We swore an oath to them in the name of the LORD God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt them! 20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” 21 The leaders then added,“Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided. 22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them,“Why did you trick us by saying,‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? 23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 24 They said to Joshua,“It was carefully reported to your subjects how the LORD your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. 25 So now we are in your power. Do to us what you think is good and appropriate.” 26 Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them 27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the LORD at the divinely chosen site.(They continue in that capacity to this very day.)
  • Josh 11:19-20 : 19 No city made peace with the Israelites(except the Hivites living in Gibeon); they had to conquer all of them, 20 for the LORD determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses.
  • Heb 7:1 : 1 The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.