Contradictions and Paradoxes in Joshua 9:27

Check out Contradictions Catalog of Joshua 9:27 for the comprehensive list of verses that contradicts Joshua 9:27. Some key contradictions and paradoxes are described below.

According to the author of the Book of Joshua, Joshua made some people help with cutting wood and carrying water for the community and the special place where they worshiped God. These helpers did this work from that day and kept doing it for a long time.

Joshua 9:27: And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose. [made: Heb. gave, or, delivered to be]

Contradiction with Exodus 23:32

This verse commands not to make covenants with the inhabitants of the land, yet Joshua 9:27 involves the Gibeonites being allowed to live and serve, contradictory to the command to avoid covenants.

Exodus 23:32: Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

Contradiction with Deuteronomy 7:2

The Israelites are instructed to utterly destroy the inhabitants of the land and make no covenant with them. In Joshua 9:27, the Gibeonites are spared and made servants, which contradicts the command to destroy and not make covenants.

Deuteronomy 7:2: And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Contradiction with Deuteronomy 20:16-17

God commands to not leave anything that breathes alive in certain cities, which contrasts with Joshua allowing the Gibeonites to live and become servants.

Deuteronomy 20:16-17: But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

Contradiction with Numbers 33:55

This verse warns that inhabitants who are not driven out will be a constant problem, which conflicts with Joshua 9:27 where the Gibeonites remain among the Israelites.

Numbers 33:55: But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them [shall be] pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.

Contradiction with Judges 2:2

This verse reiterates the command not to make a covenant with the inhabitants, and their presence would lead to problems, conflicting with Joshua's actions in 9:27 to make the Gibeonites hewers of wood and drawers of water.

Judges 2:2: And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?

Paradox #1

The moral conflict in this verse arises from the ethical issue of exploiting others by making them perpetual laborers or servants, which clashes with the values of compassion and equality. It highlights the tension between fulfilling practical needs and adhering to moral principles of treating others with dignity.

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