Milestone 4: The Gibeonites Delivered from the Sword on the Third Day
(Joshua 9:15–27, with emphasis on vv. 16–17: “At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors… And the sons of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day.”)

Warren Gage presents this episode as another link in his chain of “third day” deliverances from a decree of death. In his reading, the Gibeonites face imminent destruction by the sword of Israel (as Canaanite inhabitants marked for ḥerem, or holy war devotion), but through deception and a hastily sworn covenant, they are spared execution. The discovery of their trick occurs “at the end of three days,” and on that third day Joshua confronts them, curses them, but ultimately confirms their lives—they become servants (woodcutters and water carriers) rather than corpses. Gage interprets this as a third-day deliverance from death to life, with the Gibeonites’ submission foreshadowing Gentile inclusion in salvation through mercy rather than judgment.

From the perspective of the Tanach’s plain text, original context, and Jewish interpretive tradition, this milestone provides no substantive support for a typological foreshadowing of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. The “third day” reference is purely logistical, and the episode lacks the core elements of death, burial, and rising.

1. The “Three Days” Is Travel and Discovery Time, Not a Death-to-Life Transition

• Joshua 9:16–17 describes the sequence: Israel makes the covenant (v. 15), then “at the end of three days” (מִקְצֵה שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים) learns the Gibeonites are nearby neighbors who deceived them. The Israelites then travel and arrive at the Gibeonite cities “on the third day” (בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי).
• This is narrative pacing: the Gibeonites came from nearby cities (Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, Kiriath-jearim—about 20–30 km from Gilgal), so three days is realistic for the deception to be uncovered and the delegation to arrive.
• No one is in a death-like state for three days. The Gibeonites are alive and well throughout; the threat of death is potential and future (what Israel might do upon discovery), not realized.

2. No Actual Death or Burial Occurs—Only a Commuted Sentence

• The leaders of Israel are furious at the deception but feel bound by their oath sworn in Yahweh’s name (v. 18–19). They cannot kill the Gibeonites without violating the covenant and risking divine wrath.
• Joshua pronounces a curse of perpetual servitude (v. 23), but explicitly preserves their lives: “None of you shall be cut off from being slaves” (v. 23 implies ongoing existence). They become temple servants (v. 27), a role that continues into the time of David (see 2 Sam 21).
• Jewish tradition views this positively in some respects: the Gibeonites’ fear of God leads them to seek mercy, and their integration shows the power of an oath and Yahweh’s protection of the covenant. Midrashim (e.g., in Talmud Yevamot 79a) note their descendants include notable converts or temple workers. Nowhere is the episode framed as a resurrection motif.

3. The Theme Is Deception, Oath-Keeping, and Mercy Despite Fraud—Not Resurrection Typology

• The primary lesson in the text is caution in decision-making (Israel failed to inquire of the Lord, v. 14) and the inviolability of oaths, even when sworn under false pretenses.
• The Gibeonites’ deliverance comes from human covenant fidelity, enforced by the fear of God, not a divine third-day intervention that reverses death.
• Contrast with Jesus: actual execution, literal burial in a sealed tomb, supernatural bodily resurrection on the third day. Here, there is no execution, no tomb, no rising from death—only a legal reprieve from a threatened sentence.

4. Continued Pattern of Numerical Coincidence Over Prophetic Substance

• As in previous milestones, a mundane “three days” (travel/reporting delay) is elevated into a resurrection template.
• The Tanach uses “three days” frequently for short journeys or intervals (e.g., Abraham to Moriah, spies in the hills, Joseph’s brothers in custody). It is a standard biblical time marker, not a coded resurrection signal until New Testament authors apply it christologically.

Conclusion on Milestone 4

The Gibeonites’ story is theologically rich: it illustrates the binding nature of oaths, the possibility of mercy for Canaanites who submit, the dangers of acting without divine inquiry, and Yahweh’s sovereignty over human plans. However, it does not depict or foreshadow a Messiah who dies for sins, is buried, and rises bodily on the third day. The “third day” here is incidental chronology, not eschatological pattern. Gage’s typology requires reading the text through a post-resurrection lens that imposes resurrection imagery where the Hebrew text itself gives no warrant.

The pattern we’ve seen across the first four milestones holds firm: creative allegorical connections built on the recurrence of the number three, but lacking the essential sequence of actual death → burial → resurrection that Paul claims is “according to the Scriptures.”

Next is Milestone 5: David Delivered from Death on the Third Day.

Hazan Gavriel ben David. Beit Hashoavah YouTube Channel Hazan Gavriel ben David.