Joshua 9:8

Joshua 9:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
• New International Version (NIV)“We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you? And where do you come from?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

Context of Joshua 9:8

6They 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.” 7But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell near us. How can we make a treaty with you?” “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. Then Joshua asked them, “Who are you and where have you come from?” 9“Your servants have come from a very distant land,” they replied, “because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard the reports about Him: all that He did in Egypt, 10and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

Joshua 9:8 word by word

וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַ עֲבָדֶ֣יךָ אֲנָ֑חְנוּ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֧ם יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַ מִ֥י אַתֶּ֖ם וּמֵאַ֥יִן תָּבֹֽאוּ׃Read the interlinear

• Weאֲנַ֫חְנוּ'ănachnû · weH587
• are your servantsעֶ֫בֶד‛ebed · servant/slaveH5650
• they saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• toאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• Joshuaיְהוֹשׁוּעַyehôshûa‛ yehôshûa‛ · JoshuaH3091
• Whoמִיmîy · who?H4310
• are youאַתֶּם'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(m.p.)H859
• and whereאַ֫יִן'ayin · where?H370
• have you come fromבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935

Cross-references for Joshua 9:8

• Joshua 8:11Then all the troops who were with him marched up and approached the city. They arrived in front of Ai and camped to the north of it, with the valley between them and the city.
• Genesis 9:25he said, “Cursed be Canaan! A servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.”
• Deuteronomy 20:11If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.
• 1 Kings 9:20As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)—
• 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 anyone king. Do whatever is good in your sight.”

Commentaries on Joshua 9:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8We 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.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-13Verses 3-13 Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel, is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, 2Co 2:16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that good may themselves to the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7-8The name Hivites is known only from the Bible and refers to a non-Semitic ethnic group that lived in various parts of Canaan (see Genesis 34:2; 36:2; Exodus 23:23, 28). Semitic people were ancient groups from the Middle East and North Africa, known for their shared languages (such as Hebrew, Aramaic, or Arabic) and cultural traditions. Perhaps you dwell near us: Israel’s leaders worried that the visitors were lying. They asked how they could know the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-153-15. 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). It seems to have formed, in union with a few other towns in the neighborhood, a free independent state (Jos 9:17) and to have enjoyed a republican government (Jos 9:11).Read the comment

Topics related to Joshua 9:8

• Confidence
• Contracts
• Craftiness
• Deception
• Diplomacy
• Joshua
• Kirjath-Jearim
• Magnanimity
• Oath
• Treaty

In the dictionaries

• Joshua
• Alliance
• Gibeon
• Slave
• Wilily
• Chephirah
• Exodus, the Book of
• Joshua, Book of
• Palestine
• Priests and Levites

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