Joshua 10:6
in Joshua 10Then the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come quickly and save us! Help us, because all the kings of the Amorites from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill-country are gathered together against us.
KJV
And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.
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This verse in Joshua 10
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The language reflects the urgency of the crisis. Accordingly Joshua made a forced march, accompanied only by his soldiers Jos 10:7, and accomplished in a single night the distance from Gilgal to Gibeon (about 15 miles in a direct line), which on a former occasion had been a three days’ journey Jos 9:17.
This site's exposition
Do not abandon your servants
on Joshua 10:6-7
Gibeon calls in the treaty, and the oath of 9:15 and 9:19 obliges Joshua to march for a city that won its treaty by lying. Matthew Henry observes that the deceivers now lean wholly on Joshua’s word, and he brings his whole army.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
There is no doubt that when a human soul associates itself with the Word of God, it is immediately going to have enemies, and that those it once considered friends will be changed into adversaries. The soul should not only expect to suffer this from humans, but it should also know that such will likewise be forthcoming from opposing powers and spiritual iniquities.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal,....
David thinks it a good plea with God ( Ps. lxix. 7 ), For thy sake I have borne reproach. When our spiritual enemies set themselves in array against us, and threaten to swallow us up, let us, by faith and prayer, apply to Christ, our Joshua, for strength and succour, as Paul did, and we shall receive the same answer of peace, My grace is sufficient for thee, 2 Cor. xii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It was evidently to be a struggle of life and death, not only to Gibeon, but to the Israelites. And in this view the divine communication that was made to him was seasonable and animating.
The words behind it
27 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלְח֣וּ | vaiyishlechu | and they sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אַנְשֵׁי֩ | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| גִבְע֨וֹן | givon | Gibeon | H1391 → | 38 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙ | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| הַגִּלְגָּ֣לָה | hagilgalah | <the> Gilgal towards | H1537 → | 41 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תֶּ֥רֶף | teref | you let drop | H7503 → | 46 times |
| יָדֶ֖יךָ | yadeikha | hands your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מֵֽעֲבָדֶ֑יךָ | meavadeikha | from servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| עֲלֵ֧ה | ʾaleh | come up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֵלֵ֣ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מְהֵרָ֗ה | meherah | quickly | H4120 → | 20 times |
| וְהוֹשִׁ֤יעָה | vehoshiah | and save ! | H3467 → | |
| לָּ֙נוּ֙ | lanu | <to> <the> us | ||
| וְעָזְרֵ֔נוּ | veazerenu | and help us | H5826 → | 81 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִקְבְּצ֣וּ | nikbetzu | they have gathered together | H6908 → | |
| אֵלֵ֔ינוּ | ʾeleinu | against us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מַלְכֵ֥י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֱמֹרִ֖י | haemori | the Amorite[s] | H567 → | 87 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֥י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הָהָֽר׃ | hahar | the hill country | H2022 → | 546 times |
וַיִּשְׁלְח֣וּand they sent
vaiyishlechuH7971 →845 times
אַנְשֵׁי֩[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
גִבְע֨וֹןGibeon
givonH1391 →38 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֤עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶה֙the camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
הַגִּלְגָּ֣לָה<the> Gilgal towards
hagilgalahH1537 →41 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תֶּ֥רֶףyou let drop
terefH7503 →46 times
יָדֶ֖יךָhands your
yadeikhaH3027 →1618 times
מֵֽעֲבָדֶ֑יךָfrom servants your
meavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
עֲלֵ֧הcome up
ʾalehH5927 →890 times
אֵלֵ֣ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
מְהֵרָ֗הquickly
meherahH4120 →20 times
וְהוֹשִׁ֤יעָהand save !
vehoshiahH3467 →
לָּ֙נוּ֙<to> <the> us
lanu
וְעָזְרֵ֔נוּand help us
veazerenuH5826 →81 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִקְבְּצ֣וּthey have gathered together
nikbetzuH6908 →
אֵלֵ֔ינוּagainst us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
מַלְכֵ֥י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
הָאֱמֹרִ֖יthe Amorite[s]
haemoriH567 →87 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֥י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
הָהָֽר׃the hill country
haharH2022 →546 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 9:15And Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 21:2
At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal…
- Deuteronomy 20:10–11
When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.
- Joshua 11:19
No city made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites living in Gibeon; all others were taken in battle.
- Joshua 6:22–25
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised…
- 2 Samuel 21:2
Through
Joshua 9:6They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land; please make a treaty with us.”
it leads to
- Joshua 5:10
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover.
- Joshua 5:10
Through
Joshua 5:10On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:6
You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.
- Numbers 9:1–5
In the first month of the second year after Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, the LORD spoke to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai:
- Exodus 12:6
Through
Luke 1:39In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
it leads to
- Luke 1:65
All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.
- Luke 1:65
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonConquestJoshuaMoses' minister and successor, one of the two faithful spies; he led Israel across Jordan, around Jericho, and through the conques…
- PlaceJordan valley near JerichoGilgalIsrael's first Canaan camp where the stones were set and the reproach rolled away (Josh 4-5); later a corrupted shrine the prophet…
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 11.2.
