Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.
So the five Amorite kings—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon—joined forces together. They marched up with all their armies, surrounded the city of Gibeon, and attacked it.
The writer is describing how five powerful enemy kings united their armies to attack the city of Gibeon because it had made peace with Israel.
📚 Historical Context
This event occurred during Israel's conquest of the Promised Land around 1400 BC. The Gibeonites had tricked Joshua into making a peace treaty with them, which angered the other Canaanite city-states. These five Amorite kings formed a military alliance to punish Gibeon for siding with Israel and to prevent other cities from following suit.
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