Joshua 9:13
in Joshua 9These wineskins were new when we filled them, but look, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and these wine-skins, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
KJV
And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
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This verse in Joshua 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis 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.
This site's exposition
These wineskins were new
Matthew Henry draws a lesson from the worn wineskins and clothes. He sets them beside Proverbs 13:7, of those who pretend to be poor and have great wealth. By such a pretense, he says, charity is turned away from those who truly need it.
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
), for one lie is an inlet to another, and that to a third, and so on. The way of that sin is down-hill. But, (2.) Their faith and prudence are to be greatly commended.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new,.... That is, on the day they came out on their journey: and, behold, they be rent; which were owing to the long use that had been made of them, as they pretended: and these our garments, and our shoes, are become old by reason of the very long journey: quite worn out through length of time and tedious travels.
And thus there are those who make themselves poor with the badges of want and distress and yet have great riches ( Prov. xiii. 7 ), or at least have no need of relief, by which fraud charity is misplaced and diverted from those that are real objects of it.
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
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And the men took of their provisions. They accepted their words. They trapped them with their mouths, 10 The men of Yisroel were taken in by their trick. as it is said, “But if he did not set an ambush.” 11 Shemos:13.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֵ֨לֶּה | veeleh | and these | H428 → | 746 times |
| נֹאד֤וֹת | nodot | [the] skin-bottles of | H4997 → | |
| הַיַּ֙יִן֙ | haiyayin | <the> wine | H3196 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| מִלֵּ֣אנוּ | milenu | we filled | H4390 → | 249 times |
| חֲדָשִׁ֔ים | chadashim | new | H2319 → | |
| וְהִנֵּ֖ה | vehineh | and here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| הִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּ | hitbakau | they have split | H1234 → | |
| וְאֵ֤לֶּה | veeleh | and these | H428 → | 746 times |
| שַׂלְמוֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙ | salmoteinu | garments our | H8008 → | 16 times |
| וּנְעָלֵ֔ינוּ | unealeinu | and sandals our | H5275 → | 22 times |
| בָּל֕וּ | balu | they have worn out | H1086 → | |
| מֵרֹ֥ב | mero | from [the] greatness of | H7230 → | |
| הַדֶּ֖רֶךְ | haderekh | the journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וְאֵ֨לֶּהand these
veelehH428 →746 times
נֹאד֤וֹת[the] skin-bottles of
nodotH4997 →
הַיַּ֙יִן֙<the> wine
haiyayinH3196 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
מִלֵּ֣אנוּwe filled
milenuH4390 →249 times
חֲדָשִׁ֔יםnew
chadashimH2319 →
וְהִנֵּ֖הand here!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
הִתְבַּקָּ֑עוּthey have split
hitbakauH1234 →
וְאֵ֤לֶּהand these
veelehH428 →746 times
שַׂלְמוֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙garments our
salmoteinuH8008 →16 times
וּנְעָלֵ֔ינוּand sandals our
unealeinuH5275 →22 times
בָּל֕וּthey have worn out
baluH1086 →
מֵרֹ֥בfrom [the] greatness of
meroH7230 →
הַדֶּ֖רֶךְthe journey
haderekhH1870 →707 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
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.