That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.
They were terrified because Gibeon was a large and important city, like one of the royal capital cities. It was even bigger than Ai, and all its men were strong warriors.
The writer is describing how the enemies of Israel were filled with fear because Gibeon, a powerful city with mighty warriors, had joined Israel's side.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs during Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land after the Israelites had defeated Jericho and Ai. The Gibeonites had tricked Israel into making a peace treaty with them, which terrified the other Canaanite kings because they realized they were losing a major military ally to Israel. Gibeon was strategically important as a fortified city that controlled key trade routes.
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