God’s Word Translation
Joshua 9:7
7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you’re living in this area? We wouldn’t be able to make a treaty with you.”
Joshua 9:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
- New International Version (NIV)The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?”
Context of Joshua 9:7
5Their sandals were worn-out and repaired, and their clothes were tattered. All their bread was dried out and crumbling. 6They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal. They told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us right now.” The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you’re living in this area? We wouldn’t be able to make a treaty with you.” 8They responded to Joshua, “We’re at your mercy.” Joshua asked them, “Who are you, and where did you come from?” 9They answered him, “We came from a country very far away because the Lord your God has become famous. We heard stories about him and everything he did in Egypt.
Read all of Joshua 9Joshua 9:7 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־הַחִוִּ֑י אוּלַ֗י בְּקִרְבִּי֙ אַתָּ֣ה יוֹשֵׁ֔ב וְאֵ֖יךְ אֶֽכְרָת לְךָ֥ בְרִֽית׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the menאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the Hivitesחִוִּיchivvîy · HiviteH2340
- Peradventureאוּלַי'ûlay 'ûlay · perhapsH194
- ye dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
- amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
- us; and how shall we makeכָּרַתkârath · to cut: make(covenant)H3772
- a leagueבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285
Cross-references for Joshua 9:7
- Joshua 11:19Not one city had made a peace treaty with the people of Israel except Gibeon, where the Hivites lived. Israel captured everything in battle.
- Genesis 10:17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites,
- Genesis 34:2When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her.
- Exodus 3:8I have come to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good land with plenty of room ⌞for everyone⌟. It is a land flowing with milk and honey where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites live.
- Exodus 23:31“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Sinai Desert to the Euphrates River. I will put the people living in the land under your control, and you will force them out of your way.
- Exodus 34:12Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you’re going. This will prove to be a trap to you.
- Numbers 33:52As you advance, force out all the people who live there. Get rid of all their stone and metal idols, and destroy all their places of worship.
- Deuteronomy 7:2When the Lord your God gives them to you and you defeat them, destroy every one of them because they have been claimed by the Lord. Don’t make any treaties with them or show them any mercy.
- Deuteronomy 20:16However, you must not spare anyone’s life in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is giving you as your property.
- Judges 2:2You must never make a treaty with the people who live in this land. You must tear down their altars.’ But you didn’t obey me. What do you think you’re doing?
Commentaries on Joshua 9:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Peradventure ye dwell among us - It is strange they should have had such a suspicion, as the Gibeonites had acted so artfully; and it is as strange that, having such a suspicion, they acted with so little caution.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Compare the marginal references.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 9:7
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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