Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had 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;
Adoni-zedek - `lord of righteousness;' nearly synonymous with Melchinzedek, 'king of righteousness.' These names were common titles of the Jebusite kings.
Jerusalem. The original name, "Salem" (Genesis 14:18; Psalms 76:2), was superseded by that here given, which signifies 'a peaceful possession, or 'a vision of peace,' in allusion, as some think, to the strikingly symbolic scene (Genesis 22:14) represented on the mount whereon that city was afterward built. It is called Jebusi, Joshua 18:28, and Jebus, Joshua 15:8; Judges 19:10. 'It may be reasonably inferred that Adonizedek exercised a kind of ecclesiastical dominion over the surrounding clans, and that Jerusalem was esteemed a sacred locality even in the estimation of the pagan. It was probably even at that early period distinctively called "Holy City"' (Barclay's 'City of the Great King,' p. 110).
Inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them - i:e., the Israelites had made an alliance with that people, and, acknowledging their supremacy, were living on terms of friendly contact with them.