Joshua 9:12
This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
The bread, now dry and moldy, was presented as having been taken hot from their houses for provision on the day they set out to go to Israel, to support their claim to have come from a very distant country. Their worn appearance and provisions formed a calculated deception, and by that show of evidence the leaders of Israel were persuaded to enter into a treaty with them. In making that treaty the leaders acted unwisely, because they failed to ask counsel of the Lord before committing themselves.
The treaty thus obtained by deception brought punishment upon Israel. Yet the Gibeonites themselves were a heathen people who renounced their heathenism and former religion, joined Israel, and came to share in the blessings of God's covenant.