The trick worked; the Israelites partook of the food of the Gibeonites (even though it was dry and moldy!); this meal was part of the ceremony by which a treaty was ratified.The Masoretic text begins verse 14 “and the men took of their provisions,” which seems to mean, as Good News Translation has it, The men of Israel accepted some food from them. But the Septuagint has “the leaders” (the same word used in verse 15b), which New English Bible Bible de Jérusalem Jerusalem Bible New American Bible prefer. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project An American Translation Revised Standard Version Good News Translation translate the Masoretic text. Therefore accepted some food from them is inadequate as a translation, since the reader does not know (1) that the men of Israel actually ate the food, and (2) that the act of eating was the means by which the treaty was ratified. It will help to translate “The Israelites ate some of their provisions as a sign of fellowship” or “… as a sign that they had agreed to the treaty.”
The reason why the Israelites were deceived is given in verse 14: they did not consult the LORD, as they should have done. This would be done by the use of the sacred lots, the Urim and Thummim (see comments on 7.14). This clause may be translated as a complete sentence: “They agreed to this before they asked the LORD about it.” Or, in chronological order, “They should have consulted the LORD about this, but they did not do so.”
In verse 15 the Hebrew noun means not only “peace” (Revised Standard Version) as the absence of armed conflict, but friendship, thereby guaranteeing their safety (allowed them to live; New English Bible is better: “promising to spare their lives”). If the matter of making a treaty is mentioned in verse 14, then the first sentence of this verse may be translated, “Joshua promised the people of Gibeon that the Israelites would let them live in peace.”
The treaty was ratified also by the leaders of the community,The Hebrew phrase is unusual in this material, and some scholars believe it seems to indicate a different, later, writer. who are not otherwise identified; they gave their solemn promise to keep the treaty. The concept of a solemn promise may be too abstract. One may translate either “took an oath and promised” or “promised with an oath.” Many languages will also have idiomatic ways of describing a binding oath, such as the Hebrew, which frequently uses “place one’s hands between another’s thighs.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .