Now it happened, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
"They feared greatly ... etc."  (Joshua 10:2).  Not only had the victories of Israel at Jordan and Ai demonstrated the need for this fear, there was the additional fact that Gibeon, a powerful city, with some of the most magnificent fighting men of ancient history enrolled among them, had defected to Israel and was now an ally of the invaders.  As Boling said, "The awareness of the opposition had increased enormously!"[8]  The fact of Gibeon having no king and its related monarchical system to support enabled them to develop a powerful middle class, many of whom were prosperous enough to provide armament, and a squire, and the leisure to become skilled in the use of such equipment.  The Hebrew word here rendered "mighty" is translated "knights" by Boling.[9]