Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.

JOSHUA 9:23KJV
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Joshua 9:23 (KJV)

What does Joshua 9:23 mean?

Joshua 9:23 records Joshua declaring that the Gibeonites are now cursed and will always serve as slaves, specifically as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of God. This verse sets the permanent status of the Gibeonites as servants to Israel, with their work directly supporting Israel’s worship practices.

Joshua is speaking to the Gibeonites after discovering they had tricked Israel into making a peace treaty by pretending to be from a distant land. Instead of destroying them, Joshua assigns them a lowly but necessary role: providing wood and water for the sanctuary. This decision both punishes their deception and integrates them into Israel’s religious life in a humble way.

The Hebrew behind Joshua 9:23

  • cursed (אָרוּר, ’arur): This word means to be under a curse or ban, often implying being set apart for misfortune or servitude. Joshua’s use of this word marks the Gibeonites’ new, diminished status.
  • bondmen (עֶבֶד, ‘eved): This term means servant or slave. Joshua’s declaration makes it clear that the Gibeonites will have no freedom but will always serve Israel in this capacity.
  • hewers (חֹטֵב, ḥotev) and wood (עֵץ, ‘etz): The phrase “hewers of wood” refers to the hard, menial labor of chopping and gathering wood, a basic but essential task for temple service.
  • drawers (שָׁאַב, sha’av) and water (מַיִם, mayim): “Drawers of water” describes the labor of fetching and carrying water, another humble but vital job, especially for the rituals in the house of God (בַּיִת אֱלֹהִים, bayit Elohim).

Why Joshua 9:23 matters

  • Joshua 9:23 explains why the Gibeonites were not destroyed like other Canaanite groups but instead became a permanent servant class within Israel, tied to religious service.
  • The verse clarifies that their punishment was not just social but specifically connected to supporting Israel’s worship, showing both justice and mercy in Joshua’s leadership.
  • This verse connects to the broader story of Israel’s conquest and the importance of honesty, as well as the seriousness of vows and the consequences of deception.

Where else these words appear

“hewers” Hebrew H2404 · used in 9 verses

  • Deuteronomy 19:5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:
  • Joshua 9:21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
  • Psalms 144:12 That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:

“drawers” Hebrew H7579 · used in 18 verses

  • Genesis 24:11 And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.
  • Genesis 24:44 And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.
  • 1 Samuel 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.

“cursed” Hebrew H779 · used in 52 verses

  • Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
  • Numbers 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
  • Joshua 6:26 And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.