Joshua 9:6
in Joshua 9They 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We are come from a far country: now therefore make ye a covenant with us.
KJV
And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
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This verse in Joshua 9
Commentary
7 notes on this verseMake ye a league with us - כרתו לנו ברית kirethu lanu berith, cut, or divide, the covenant sacrifice with us. From this it appears that heathenism at this time had its sacrifices, and covenants were ratified by sacrificing to and invoking the objects of their adoration.
This site's exposition
in the camp at Gilgal
on Joshua 9:6-8
Deuteronomy 20:10-15 permits terms of peace with cities far off, and 20:16-18 orders the opposite for these nations, so the disguise turns on one clause. The men of Israel name the danger in verse 7, “Perhaps you dwell near us”, and it is met with evidence instead of inquiry.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"In my father's house are many mansions," says the Word of God. Yet even the resurrection of the dead will not exhibit an equal glory of those rising again, for "there is one flesh of birds, another of cattle, and even another of fish. There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of heavenly things is one thing, that of the earthly, another. One glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The camp at Gilgal - The place of their head-quarters. Men of Israel - To those who used to meet in council with Joshua, to whom it belonged to make leagues, even the princes of the congregation. Now therefore - Because we are not of this people, whom, as we are informed, you are obliged utterly to destroy.
And they went to Joshua, unto the camp at Gilgal,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Camp at Gilgal - While Joshua was engaged in more distant enterprises, the women, children, and property of the Israelites were left with a sufficient guard at this place, where they had been established immediately after crossing the Jordan Jos 5:9.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּלְכ֧וּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה | hamachaneh | the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| הַגִּלְגָּ֑ל | hagilgal | <the> Gilgal | H1537 → | 41 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֜יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | [the] man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵאֶ֤רֶץ | meeretz | from a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| רְחוֹקָה֙ | rechokah | distant | H7350 → | 84 times |
| בָּ֔אנוּ | banu | we have come | H935 → | 2568 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 |
וַיֵּלְכ֧וּand they went
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖הthe camp
hamachanehH4264 →215 times
הַגִּלְגָּ֑ל<the> Gilgal
hagilgalH1537 →41 times
וַיֹּאמְר֨וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֜יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
אִ֣ישׁ[the] man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵאֶ֤רֶץfrom a land
meeretzH776 →2504 times
רְחוֹקָה֙distant
rechokahH7350 →84 times
בָּ֔אנוּwe have come
banuH935 →2568 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 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
Joshua 10:43Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
it leads to
- Joshua 10:15
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
- Joshua 10:15
Through
1 Kings 8:41And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your name—
it leads to
- 1 Kings 10:1–2
Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
- Acts 8:27–40
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to…
- Exodus 18:8–12
Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had…
- Isaiah 56:3–7
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.”
- 2 Chronicles 6:32
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and…
- 1 Kings 10:1–2
Where this verse is studied
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 Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 10.1.
