We the People

(9) You are stationed today, all of you, before the presence of YHWH your God: your heads, your tribes, *your heads, your tribes: [Some ancient versions read “your tribal heads.”Fox] your elders and your officials, all the men of Israel, (10) your little-ones, your wives, your sojourner who is amid your encampments,
from your woodchopper to your waterhauler, [*woodchopper … waterhauler: Equivalent to “every man jack among you.”]
(11) for you to cross over into the covenant [*cross over into the covenant: The wording is a bit unusual. There may be a conscious play here on “crossing” in v.15 below. Everett Fox] of YHWH your God, and into his oath-of-fealty
that YHWH your God is cutting with you today—
(12) in order that he may establish you today for him as a people,
with him being for you as a god,
as he promised you
and as he swore to your fathers, to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov.
(13) Not with you, you-alone
do I cut this covenant and this oath,
(14) but with the one who is here, standing with us today
before the presence of YHWH our God, and with the one who is not here with us today. (15) Indeed, you yourselves know
how we were settled in the land of Egypt,
and how we crossed amid the nations that you crossed;

מחטב עציך FROM THE WOODCUTTER [UNTO THE DRAWER OF THE WATER] — This teaches that some of the Canaanites came in Moses' days to become proselytes just as the Gibeonites came in the days of Joshua, — and this is the meaning of what is stated of the Gibeonites, (Joshua 9:4) “And they also acted cunningly”; — and Moses made them woodcutters and drawers of water (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Nitzavim 2)

טפכם נשיכם, people who normally require the consent of their husbands or fathers to do what they do.

מחוטב עציך עד שואב מימיך, from the leader of the wood choppers to the most lowly of the water carriers. The construction here parallels comparisons as מעולל ועד יונק, “infants as well as sucklings,” (Samuel I 15,3) i.e. the highest ranking within its category to the lowliest ranking. Similar expressions are used when the Torah speaks of משור ועד שה, oxen as well as lambs, meaning the most expensive animals of your livestock to the least expensive. Similarly,מגמל ועד חמור, “from the camels down to the donkeys.”

AND ALSO WITH HIM THAT IS NOT HERE WITH US. Ve’et asher ennnu (and also with him that is not) means with him that is not here with us but will come after us. It is not to be interpreted as those who say that the spirits of the coming generations were there.

RASHEICHEM SHIVTEICHEM.’ ...
Then he mentioned further the little children, the women, the strangers, the hewers of wood and drawers of water whom they had from among the mixed multitude. He had made them bring the little ones, in order to include them in the covenant, for he made the covenant even with the future generations, or [the children may have been brought] to make them [i.e., the parents] deserving of Divine reward for bringing them, like the reason the Rabbis gave regarding [the commandment of] the Assembly. And our Rabbis have said that some Canaanites [posing as proselytes] came in Moses’ days just as they came in Joshua’s days and Moses made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the Tabernacle of G-d. Now, the intent of the Rabbis is not to state that these Canaanites deceived Moses [as they misled Joshua]; instead, they came to him to make peace with him, for such is the law as we have explained. Thus I found in Midrash Tanchuma: “This teaches you that they [the Canaanites] came before Moses and he did not accept them.” That is to say, they could not deceive him into making a covenant with them, but he immediately made them hewers of wood and drawers of water.

(Deut. 29:9:) “Your tribal leaders, [your elders, and your law officers].” Although I have appointed for you heads, judges, elders, and law officers, you shall all be equal before me, since it is stated (ibid., cont.), “every person in Israel.” Another interpretation (of Deut. 29:9): All of you are responsible for each other. Even though there is [only] one righteous person among you, you all shall survive (literally, stand) through his merit; and not only you, but the whole world in toto, as stated (in Prov. 10:25), “but a righteous person is the foundation for the world.” However, when one sins, the whole generation is stricken, and so you find in the case of Achan (in Josh. 22:20), “Was it not Achan ben Zerah who committed [embezzlement] in the proscription (i.e., the herem of Jericho)?” If with the measure of punishment which is small, the [whole] generation was seized, how much the more [will the generation prosper], with the measure of [divine] favor which is great! It is therefore stated (in Deut. 29:9), “every person in Israel”; and not only the great ones who are among us, but (according to vs. 10) “Your infants, your wives, and your alien.” It is therefore stated (in Deut. 29:9), “every person.” Now flesh and blood shows more mercy over males than over females, but the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that. Rather (according to Ps. 145:9), “His mercy is upon all his works,” upon males and upon females, upon the righteous and upon the wicked, as stated (in Deut. 29:10, cont.), “from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water.” (Deut. 29:10, cont.), “From the one who chops your wood.” R. Isaac ben Tavlay said, “[This] teaches that, when the Gibeonites came to [Moses he did not accept them; but when they came to] Joshua, he did accept them. Thus it is stated (in Josh. 9:4), ‘And they also acted with cunning.’ What is the meaning of ‘they also?’ [This] teaches that they had come to Moses, and he had not accepted them.”

(29) Solomon also had 70,000 porters and 80,000 quarriers in the hills,

Seventy thousand men who carried loads. To bring the stones from the mountain to the city, and there were [an additional] eighty thousand who quarried them from the mountain, totaling one hundred fifty thousand [workers]. And they were all proselytes who were drawn, [i.e.,] they converted because of Shlomo’s greatness and his hospitality. And it is likewise written in Divrei Hayomim, “And Shlomo counted all the proselytes and they were found a hundred and fifty thousand. And he made seventy thousand, etc.”

(3) But when the inhabitants of Gibeon learned how Joshua had treated Jericho and Ai, (4) they for their part [also] resorted to cunning. They set out in disguise: they took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and worn-out waterskins that were cracked and patched; (5) they had worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and threadbare clothes on their bodies; and all the bread they took as provision was dry and crumbly. (6) And so they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and [in a parley] said to him and to the rest of Israel’s side, “We come from a distant land; we propose that you make a pact with us.” (7) Israel’s side replied to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live among us; how then can we make a pact with you?” (8) They said to Joshua, “We will be your subjects.” But Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

(21) And the chieftains declared concerning them, “They shall live!” And they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole community, as the chieftains had decreed concerning them. (22) Joshua summoned them and spoke to them thus: “Why did you deceive us and tell us you lived very far from us, when in fact you live among us? (23) Therefore, be accursed! Never shall your descendants cease to be slaves: hewers of wood and drawers of water for the House of my God.”

(27) That day Joshua made them hewers of wood and drawers of water—as they still are—for the community and for GOD’s altar, in the place that [God] would choose.

(9) The greater Sages of Israel included wood choppers, water drawers, and blind men. Despite these [difficulties], they were occupied with Torah study day and night and were included among those who transmitted the Torah's teachings from [master] to [student in the chain stretching back to] Moses, our teacher.

Our Father our King! we have no King except You.