If the destruction of Jericho and Ai was already enough to raise consternation among the Transjordanian kings (cf. 9:1–2), then news about the Gibeonites’ voluntary subjection to Israel must have brought even greater alarm. After all, Gibeon was larger and certainly more important than Ai, and their warriors had a reputation of being good fighters (10:3). No wonder, then, that five of the southern kings, led by Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, immediately spring into action by launching a joint military campaign (10:1–27). Instead of directly attacking the Israelites, however, they target Gibeon on account of their treaty with the Israelites, perhaps wanting to test the strength of that treaty and hoping that a punishing defeat of Gibeon will dissuade other wavering Canaanite cities from f…