Joshua 9:22

Joshua 9:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
• New International Version (NIV)Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, "Why did you deceive us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you dwell among us?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell near us?

Context of Joshua 9:22

20This [is what] we will do to them: we will let them live, so that the wrath [of God] does not come upon us for [violating] the oath which we have sworn to them.” 21The leaders said to them, “Let them live [as our slaves].” So they became the cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the entire congregation, just as the leaders had said of them. Joshua called the [Hivite] men and said, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We live very far away from you,’ when [in fact] you live among us? 23Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall always be slaves, both cutters and gatherers of firewood and water carriers for the house of my God.” 24They replied to Joshua and said, “Because your servants were told in no uncertain terms that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the land’s inhabitants before you, we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and so we did this [deceptive] thing.

Joshua 9:22 word by word

וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶם֙ יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם לֵאמֹ֑ר לָמָּה֩ רִמִּיתֶ֨ם אֹתָ֜נוּ לֵאמֹ֗ר רְחוֹקִ֨ים אֲנַ֤חְנוּ מִכֶּם֙ מְאֹ֔ד וְאַתֶּ֖ם בְּקִרְבֵּ֥נוּ יֹשְׁבִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call toH7121
• for them, and he spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
• unto them, sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Wherefore have ye beguiledרָמָהrâmâh · to deceiveH7411
• veryמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
• farרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
• from you; when ye dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130

Cross-references for Joshua 9:22

• Genesis 3:13Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled and deceived me, and I ate [from the forbidden tree].”
• Genesis 27:35Isaac said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has [fraudulently] taken away your blessing [for himself].”
• Genesis 29:25But in the morning [when Jacob awoke], it was Leah [who was with him]! And he said to Laban, “What is this that you have done to me? Did I not work for you [for seven years] for Rachel? Why have you deceived and betrayed me [like this]?”
• 2 Corinthians 11:3But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.
• 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 far country; so now, make a covenant (treaty) with us.”
• Joshua 9:16It happened that three days after they had made a covenant (treaty) with them, the Israelites heard that they were [actually] their neighbors and that they were living among them.

Commentaries on Joshua 9:22

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Were the Israelites bound to respect an oath thus procured by fraud? Were they right in doing so? Dr. Sanderson (“Works,” vol. iv. 4 pp. 269,300, Oxford edition), determines these questions in the affirmative; and rightly, since the oath, though unlawfully taken, was not an oath taken to do an unlawful thing, i. e. a thing in itself unlawful. It was the carelessness of the Israelites themselves which betrayed them into this league. It was therefore their…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-27Verses 22-27 The Gibeonites do not justify their lie, but plead that they did it to save their lives. And the fear was not merely of the power of man; one might flee from that to the Divine protection; but of the power of God himself, which they saw engaged against them. Joshua sentences them to perpetual bondage. They must be servants, but any work becomes honourable, when it is done for the house of the Lord, and the offices thereof. Let us, in like…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22As Israel's leader, Joshua had the right to gather the Gibeonites for questioning. "when in fact you live among us?": By using this phrase, Joshua quietly admitted (acknowledged without saying it directly) that he should not have trusted the Gibeonites without first asking the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2718-27. the children of Israel smote them not--The moral character of the Gibeonites' stratagem was bad. The princes of the congregation did not vindicate either the expediency or the lawfulness of the connection they had formed; but they felt the solemn obligations of their oath; and, although the popular clamor was loud against them, caused either by disappointment at losing the spoils of Gibeon, or by displeasure at the apparent breach of the divine…Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 9:22

• Contracts
• Joshua
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Magnanimity
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Joshua
• Alliance
• Gibeon
• Slave
• Wilily
• Betray
• Chephirah
• Exodus, the Book of
• Joshua, Book of
• Palestine

Commentaries on Joshua 9

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings