Joshua 9:8
in Joshua 9“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
KJV
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
⋯
This verse in Joshua 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseWe are thy servants - This appears to have been the only answer they gave to the question of the Israelitish elders, and this they gave to Joshua, not to them, as they saw that Joshua was commander-in-chief of the host. Who are ye? and from whence come ye? - To these questions, from such an authority, they felt themselves obliged to give an explicit answer; and they do it very artfully by a mixture of truth, falsehood, and hypocrisy.
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.
This site's exposition
We are your servants
The envoys give the men of Israel no answer and turn to Joshua, whom Adam Clarke says they recognized as commander of the host. John Wesley reads we are your servants as an offer to accept any terms. Such ready surrender, he says, gave Joshua reason to suspect them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thy servants - We desire a league with you upon your own terms; we are ready to accept of any conditions. From whence came ye - For this free and general concession gave Joshua cause to suspect that they were Canaanites.
And they said unto Joshua, we are thy servants,.... Not that they meant to be subjects of his, and tributaries to him; but this they said in great humility and lowliness of mind, being willing to be or do anything he should enjoin them.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ | ʾavadeikha | [are] servants your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֲנָ֑חְנוּ | ʾanachenu | we | H587 → | 120 times |
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֧ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ | yehoshua' | Joshua | H3091 → | 218 times |
| מִ֥י | mi | who? | H4310 → | |
| אַתֶּ֖ם | ʾatem | [are] you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּמֵאַ֥יִן | umeayin | and from where? | H370 → | |
| תָּבֹֽאוּ׃ | tavou | do you come | H935 → | 2568 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֥וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ[are] servants your
ʾavadeikhaH5650 →799 times
אֲנָ֑חְנוּwe
ʾanachenuH587 →120 times
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֧םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַJoshua
yehoshua'H3091 →218 times
מִ֥יwho?
miH4310 →
אַתֶּ֖ם[are] you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
וּמֵאַ֥יִןand from where?
umeayinH370 →
תָּבֹֽאוּ׃do you come
tavouH935 →2568 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
2 Kings 10:5So the palace administrator, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you say. We will not make…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 20:32
So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he…
- 1 Kings 20:4
And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
- Joshua 9:11
So 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.’
- 2 Kings 18:14
So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me, and I will pay whatever you demand from me.” And the king…
- 1 Kings 20:32
Through
Joshua 9:25Now we are in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 16:6
“Here,” said Abram, “your servant is in your hands. Do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she fled from her.
- Jeremiah 26:14
As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right.
- Judges 10:15
“We have sinned,” the Israelites said to the LORD. “Deal with us as You see fit; but please deliver us today!”
- Genesis 16:6
Through
Joshua 9:11So 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.’
it leads to
- Esther 8:17
In 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…
- Esther 8:17
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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 and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.