Deuteronomy 20:11

Deu 20:11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that is] found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

Ver. 11. And open unto thee.] As Tournay in France did to our Henry VIII, with ten thousand pound sterling for the citizens’ redemption; yet was it ever till then counted so invincible, that this sentence was engraven over one of the gates, Iannes ton me a perda ton pucellage, thou hast never lost thy maidenhead. {a}

{a} Speed’s Hist of Engl., 1001.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20:11 forced labor: Involuntary service was pressed upon prisoners of war and sometimes on Israelites (1 Kgs 5:13-18; 9:15, 21; 12:18).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

If it accept peace.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

11. tributary] Heb. la-mas. Mas means a body of forced labourers, e.g. of Israelites in Egypt, Exo_1:11, or of Solomon’s levies for work in Lebanon and upon his buildings, 1Ki_5:13 (27), Deu_9:15; but frequently of the Canaanite peoples surviving among Israel, J, Jos_16:10; Jos_17:13, Jdg_1:30; Jdg_1:33; Jdg_1:35; while both J and P say that the Gibeonites who were admitted to league with Israel upon their statement that they had come from a distance, were, on the discovery of their fraud, condemned to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. Such forced labour was recognised as the natural fate of the defeated, Isa_31:8.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace,.... Comply with the terms of peace offered:

and open unto thee; the gates of the city and its garrisons, and deliver all into their hands:

then it shall be that all the people that is found therein; some having made their escape before the surrender of the city:

shall be tributaries unto thee: pay a yearly tax imposed upon them, as the Moabites sometimes did, and which was paid in lambs and rams with the wool, Kg2 3:4

and they shall serve thee; not as slaves, or be in continual bondage and servitude; but upon occasion be called out to any public service, as joining them against their enemies, rebuilding palaces and cities, or repairing walls of cities, and the like; and in general acknowledge their dominion over them, and their own subjection to them, by paying an annual tribute, or sending gifts unto them; thus the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, became the servants of David, Sa2 8:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Tribute. This was usually imposed by the victor, to defray the expenses of the war, and to prevent its breaking out again. The kings of Moab had to pay 100,000 rams, and as many sheep, to the kings of Juda, 4 Kings iii. 4. Hiram gave 120 talents of gold to Solomon, by way of tribute, 3 Kings ix. 15. Josue and Solomon condemned some of the Chanaanites to manual labour, 2 Paralipomenon viii. 8.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By their purses, and by their labours too, as appears from 1Ki 9:15; 2Ch 8:7,8

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. If… answer of peace,… tributaries — If the city opened its gates and peacefully surrendered, all the inhabitants were to be spared, but they were to be tributaries of the Israelites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee; literally, shall be to thee for tribute and service. The word rendered by "tribute" ( denotes properly tribute service, service rendered as a tribute, whether for a season or in perpetuity. (cf. Gen_49:15; Jud 1:30, 33, 35; 1Ki_5:13 1Ki_9:21; Isa_31:8 Authorized Version, "discomfited

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

כל העם הנמצא בה ALL THE PEOPLE THAT IS FOUND THEREIN [SHALL BE TRIBUTARIES] — all: even if you find in it persons belonging to the seven nations which you have been commanded to exterminate, you are allowed to keep them alive (Sifrei Devarim 200:2).

למס ועבדוך [ALL THE PEOPLE … SHALL BE] TRIBUTARIES [UNTO THEE], AND THEY SHALL SERVE THEE — You must not accept their surrender until they take upon themselves both the payment of tribute and servitude (one alone is not sufficient) (Sifrei Devarim 200:3).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

TRIBUTARIES UNTO THEE, AND THEY SHALL SERVE THEE. “[Their surrender is not to be accepted] until they accept tribute and servitude upon themselves.” This is the language of Rabbeinu Shlomo [Rashi]. And in the Sifre the Rabbis have said: 200. “If they say ‘We accept tribute upon ourselves but not servitude’, or ‘servitude but not tribute,’ they are not to heed them until they accept both upon themselves.”Now the purport of the tribute was that the king of Israel or the Sanhedrin could impose a levy upon them, [drafting men] to build the king’s palace and his store-cities, also the House of G-d. The servitude was that any Israelite could take one of them to be the hewer of his wood and the drawer of his water and pay him proper wages. This is the sense of what is written in connection with Solomon a levy of bondservants, meaning that they took upon themselves [both] tribute and servitude as is the law of the Torah. [However, the law of the Torah is] not as is written, And it came to pass, when Israel was waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not drive them out entirely, for “servitude” is not mentioned there. Instead it was like a king who bribes a more powerful king not to wage war against him.Know that the matter of the Gibeonites came to pass because they did not know the law of Israel with respect to proclaiming peace, and therefore they put forward their plan, before Joshua’s proclamation arrived. Hence they said, and we were sore afraid for our lives., Verse 24. Or it may be that, at first they did not wish to hearken to Joshua’s offer [thus laying themselves open to invasion], and in the end they became frightened and disguised themselves as strangers, as it is written, And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, they also did work wilily., Verses 3-4. Their trickery helped them yet in that they did not become their servants, but their confederates.The Israelites were irritated at them and would have killed them had it not been for the oath of the princes, Verse 19. because the Gibeonites should have taken upon themselves tribute and servitude, as we have said, while they [the princes] made a covenant with them to be equal and to be their confederates helping each other in their wars. They made peace with them [the Gibeonites] because they had thought that they were [from] very distant cities, from the peoples against whom they [the Israelites] had no intention of advancing. Therefore, Joshua cursed the Gibeonites, saying, Now therefore ye are cursed, Verse 23. meaning that they are of the accursed peoples whom the Eternal had cursed, and he did to them according to the law appropriate to be applied to them, to fulfill that which is written concerning them, tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee, that they be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Eternal, Verse 27. this being the tribute and the servitude, as we have explained.And some scholars say that the meaning of the verse, And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace etc. is [that it applies only to an answer given] at the time of the proclamation [of peace]. But if at first they refused to make peace, we no longer accept them. The Gibeonites refused at first to hearken to Joshua’s proclamation and the law therefore did not require the Israelites to accept them. And Harav Rabbi Moshe [ben Maimon] wrote that “they were irritated at them because [they tricked the Israelites into] making a covenant with them, when it is said, Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.” But this does not appear to be correct, for the Gibeonites had surely taken upon themselves not to worship idols, as they said, thy servants are come because of the name of the Eternal thy G-d. Therefore, Joshua did not have to tell them afterwards that they must take upon themselves to worship G-d. And if so, it was permissible for the Israelites to make that covenant with them, just as they were permitted to dwell in the Land, for both, [the making of a covenant, and the dwelling in the Land] were prohibited only before repentance [from the sin of idolatry], as He said, lest they make thee sin against Me, and so also He said, Thou shalt make no covenant with them, or with their gods. But the explanation of the Gibeonite affair is as we have said.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.