When the five kings of the Amorites heard that the Gibeonites had thrown in their lot with Israel they decided to band together and attack Gibeon. The kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon mustered their troops and surrounded Gibeon. The Gibeonites notified Joshua of their dilemma and he came to their rescue with his entire army. In addition, the Lord fought for them in the manner of a large hail storm which killed more of the Amorites than the human soldiers. Also on this day in history the sun stood still for a full day. How much ink has that spilled? The five kings were captured and killed and placed on poles to hang until evening. This practice of placing bodies on poles would continue as a sign of the cursed nature of the dead person.
Israel went on to defeat the southern cities and northern kings, killing them all and taking over their cities. Chapter twelve lists 31 kings and cities that they defeated during this period. The text records that no other city attempted to make peace with the Israelites as the Gibeonites had done. This is because the Lord hardened their hearts so that they would fight against them. The author of Joshua was a good Calvinist 
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