In Light of the Parsha: חטבי עצים ושאבי מים

(י) טַפְּכֶם נְשֵׁיכֶם וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בְּקֶרֶב מַחֲנֶיךָ מֵחֹטֵב עֵצֶיךָ עַד שֹׁאֵב מֵימֶיךָ.

(10) your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in the midst of thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water;

Who were these wood cutters and water drawers? Rashi says they were Canaanite converts to Judaism.

How did he know that?

(ג) וְיֹשְׁבֵי גִבְעוֹן שָׁמְעוּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְהוֹשֻׁעַ לִירִיחוֹ וְלָעָי. (ד) וַיַּעֲשׂוּ גַם הֵמָּה בְּעָרְמָה וַיֵּלְכוּ וַיִּצְטַיָּרוּ וַיִּקְחוּ שַׂקִּים בָּלִים לַחֲמוֹרֵיהֶם וְנֹאדוֹת יַיִן בָּלִים וּמְבֻקָּעִים וּמְצֹרָרִים.
(3) But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, (4) they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine skins, worn and rent and patched up;

When the Givonim heard of the great military strength of the Israelites, they dressed up as foreigners from a faraway land and attempted to make peace with the Israelites (God demanded that the Israelites never make peace with certain inhabitants of Israel at that time).

(טו) וַיַּעַשׂ לָהֶם יְהוֹשֻׁעַ שָׁלוֹם וַיִּכְרֹת לָהֶם בְּרִית לְחַיּוֹתָם וַיִּשָּׁבְעוּ לָהֶם נְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה.
(15) And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the princes of the congregation swore unto them.

Yehoshua, without realizing, makes a covenant with the Givonim, which is was not supposed to do; he was supposed to kill them. But he made a brit (covenant), which cannot be broken, that he would never harm them. So what's a good compromise?

(כא) וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֲלֵיהֶם הַנְּשִׂיאִים יִחְיוּ וַיִּהְיוּ חֹטְבֵי עֵצִים וְשֹׁאֲבֵי מַיִם לְכָל הָעֵדָה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבְּרוּ לָהֶם הַנְּשִׂיאִים.

(21) And the princes said concerning them: ‘Let them live’; so they became hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation, as the princes had spoken concerning them.

They become wood cutters and water drawers for the nation, which must have been a position of low status.

Hope you enjoyed! Shabbat Shalom!