Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
Now when Adonizedec, the king of Jerusalem, heard that Joshua had captured the city of Ai and completely destroyed it, just as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were now living among them,
The writer is setting up a story where the king of Jerusalem becomes alarmed after hearing about Joshua's military victories and Gibeon's peace treaty with Israel.
📚 Historical Context
In the biblical narrative, Joshua led the Israelites in their conquest of the Promised Land after their exodus from Egypt, as God fulfilled His covenant promises to give them this territory. Adonizedek, the king of Jerusalem, learned of Joshua's decisive victories over Jericho and Ai, where the Israelites completely destroyed those cities and their rulers, which heightened regional tensions. This news also included the fact that the Gibeonites, a nearby Canaanite group, had cleverly secured a peace treaty with Israel by deception, making them allies and potentially exposing other kings to threat.
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