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Chapter 9 deals with treachery and dishonesty. When the remaining Kings of Canaan heard what had happened to Ai, the Amorite, they joined together to fight the Israelites. All but the people of Gibeon, they choose to use cunning and deceit rather than war. They dressed up like they had been traveling many months, i.e. wearing worn out cloths, worn out shoes and carrying provisions that were old and moldy.
They told the Israelites that they were from a far country and that they wanted to make a peace treaty with them. Joshua believed them and made a peace treaty with them only to find out three days later that they were actually Canaanites from close by, people whom the Lord had told them to destroy, but now they could not because they had to honor the treaty. So Joshua put a "curse" upon them and put them to work cutting wood and drawing water.
Who were these people and what was the "curse" that Joshua put upon them? They are here called the people of "Gibeon". They were actually "Hivites", one of the nations that God told Moses to destroy. Gibeon was a city 8 miles north of Jerusalem and about 8 miles west of Gilgal which is where Joshua was at this time. Notice Joshua curses them with the "ancient curse of Canaan". Gen. 9:25 says," Cursed be the son of Ham, a slave of slaves shall he be to his brothers." The Hivites were descendants of Canaan.
Actually, the curse could have been considered a blessing. Instead of death, as God had ordered, they became servants for the "House of God", "hewers" of wood for the altar fires and drawers of water for the many rites of purification.
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