Joshua 9:3
And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
And when the inhabitants of Gibeon,.... A large and royal city, a metropolitan one, which had three others belonging to it, and under it, mentioned Joshua 9:17; see Joshua 10:2; no mention is made of any king over them, perhaps they were governed by elders, Joshua 9:11. Though an Arabic writer {h} says, the king of Gibeon wrote to Joshua, and desired security, and sent him large gifts, whom having preserved in safety, Joshua placed on his throne: when these
heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai; had taken the one in a miraculous way, and the other by a stratagem, and had burnt them both, destroyed the inhabitants, plundered their substance, and slew both their kings, all which struck them with terror.
{h} Patricides, p. 30. apud Hottinger. Smegm. Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 507.