Joshua 9:11
in Joshua 9So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go to meet them and say to them: We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: and now make ye a covenant with us.
KJV
Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
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This verse in Joshua 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWherefore our elders, etc. - All this, and what follows to the end of Jos 9:13, was false, contrived merely for the purpose of deceiving the Israelites, and this they did to save their own lives; as they expected all the inhabitants of Canaan to be put to the sword.
This site's exposition
So the elders and inhabitants of our land told us
on Joshua 9:11-13
The elders and the whole country are invoked and the country is never named, which is the first thing a real embassy would state. The bread, the wine skins, the garments and the shoes are each produced in turn as proof, so the props carry the argument.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Then the Gibeonites, fearing his strong hand, came with guile, pretending that they were from a land very far away, and by traveling so long had rent their shoes and worn out their clothing, of which they showed proofs that it was growing old. They said, too, that their reason for undergoing so much labor was their desire to obtain peace and to form friendship with the Hebrews, and [they] began to ask Joshua to form an alliance with them.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country, spake unto us,....
This therefore is the only game they have to play, and observe, 1. They play it very artfully and successfully. Never was any such thing more craftily managed.
God and Israel reject none for their poverty. There is a mixture of good and evil in their conduct. (1.) Their falsehood cannot be justified, nor ought it to be drawn into a precedent.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard--This town, as its name imports, was situated on a rocky eminence, about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, where the modern village of El Jib now stands. It was the capital of the Hivites, and a large important city (Jos 10:2).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֵ֡ינוּ | ʾeleinu | to us | H413 → | 5510 times |
| זְֽקֵינֵינוּ֩ | zekeineinu | elders our | H2205 → | 178 times |
| וְכָל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יֹשְׁבֵ֨י | yoshevei | [the] inhabitants of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אַרְצֵ֜נוּ | ʾartzenu | land our | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| קְח֨וּ | kechu | take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| בְיֶדְכֶ֤ם | veyedkhem | in hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| צֵידָה֙ | tzeidah | provision[s] | H6720 → | |
| לַדֶּ֔רֶךְ | laderekh | for the journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
| וּלְכ֖וּ | ulekhu | and go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לִקְרָאתָ֑ם | likratam | to meet them | H7122 → | 139 times |
| וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֤ם | vaamartem | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶם֙ | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַבְדֵיכֶ֣ם | ʾavdeikhem | [are] servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲנַ֔חְנוּ | ʾanachnu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| וְעַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| כִּרְתוּ־ | kirtu- | make | H3772 → | 288 times |
| לָ֥נוּ | lanu | to <the> us | ||
| בְרִֽית׃ | verit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֣וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלֵ֡ינוּto us
ʾeleinuH413 →5510 times
זְֽקֵינֵינוּ֩elders our
zekeineinuH2205 →178 times
וְכָל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
יֹשְׁבֵ֨י[the] inhabitants of
yosheveiH3427 →1079 times
אַרְצֵ֜נוּland our
ʾartzenuH776 →2504 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
קְח֨וּtake
kechuH3947 →966 times
בְיֶדְכֶ֤םin hand your
veyedkhemH3027 →1618 times
צֵידָה֙provision[s]
tzeidahH6720 →
לַדֶּ֔רֶךְfor the journey
laderekhH1870 →707 times
וּלְכ֖וּand go
ulekhuH1980 →1546 times
לִקְרָאתָ֑םto meet them
likratamH7122 →139 times
וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֤םand you will say
vaamartemH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵיהֶם֙to them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
עַבְדֵיכֶ֣ם[are] servants your
ʾavdeikhemH5650 →799 times
אֲנַ֔חְנוּwe
ʾanachnuH587 →120 times
וְעַתָּ֖הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
כִּרְתוּ־make
kirtu-H3772 →288 times
לָ֥נוּto <the> us
lanu
בְרִֽית׃a covenant
veritH1285 →284 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 1:11“Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you will cross the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land that the LORD your God…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Hear, O Israel: Today you are about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities fortified to the heavens.
- 2 Kings 20:5
“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I…
- Hosea 6:2
After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence.
- Joshua 3:2
After three days the officers went through the camp
- Deuteronomy 9:1
Through
Esther 8:17In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 11:25
No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
- Esther 9:19
This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts…
- 1 Samuel 25:8
Ask your young men, and they will tell you. So let my young men find favor with you, for we have come on the day of a feast. Please give whatever you can afford…
- Deuteronomy 11:25
Through
Genesis 43:12Take double the silver with you so that you may return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake.
it leads to
- Genesis 42:25
Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to return each man’s silver to his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out,
- Genesis 42:25
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.10.67-68; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.