Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 9:11
Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We [are] your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
Verse 11. Wherefore our elders, c.] All this, and what follows to the end of verse 13, was false, contrived merely for the purpose of deceiving the Israelites, and this they did to save their own lives as they expected all the inhabitants of Canaan to be put to the sword.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Wherefore our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country,
spake unto us,…. They suggest, that their senate, or the states of their country, their principal men were convened, and that it was the unanimous voice of them, and of the people, that they should go on this embassy:
saying, take victuals with you for the journey; sufficient for so long a journey; for, in those times and countries, inns on the road were not frequent as now:
and go to meet them; to prevent their coming in an hostile manner unto them, and make peace, and enter into an alliance with them:
and say unto them, we [are] your servants; ready to come into any terms with them, just and reasonable:
therefore now make ye a league with us; that we may live in friendship, and mutually assist each other, as occasion should require.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When these tidings reached them, they were sent off by the elders (the leaders of the republic) and the inhabitants of the land to meet the Israelites, that they might offer them their service, and form an alliance with them. In confirmation of this, they point to their dried provisions, and their torn and mended skins and clothes.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
11. Our elders The popular character of their government, with a senate of elders at its head, appears quite distinctly in this verse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ That is why our elders, and all the inhabitants of our country, spoke to us saying, “Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, ‘We are your servants’. And now make yourselves a covenant-treaty with us.” ’
The non-mention of a king may suggest that Gibeon were ruled by a council of elders and not a king, but alternately it may have been part of the subterfuge. When men are taken in a lie you can believe nothing that they say. They were concerned to establish that all their people were behind them, a country seeking YHWH! Again the reference to servants is Near Eastern hyperbole, but there is in the writer’s mind the fact that they did indeed become slaves to Israel.
The idea that they wanted to present was that they feared that once Israel had conquered Canaan they would look for further conquests, and they wanted to prevent it by a treaty alliance.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 9:11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We [are] your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
Ver. 11. And go to meet them, and say. ] Seeing we are not able to match them, it is good policy to meet them with entreaties of peace. Let us do the like by Almighty God. Amo 4:12 Mittamus preces et lachrymas cordis legatos, saith Cyprian; Currat paenitentia ne praecurrat sententia, saith Chrysologus.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
with you, Hebrew in your hand,
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
our elders: Est 8:17
Take: Jos 1:11, Mat 10:9, Mat 10:10, Luk 9:3
with you: Heb. in your hand, Gen 43:12
We are your: Jos 9:8, Est 8:17
Reciprocal: 2Ki 10:5 – We are thy servants Jer 30:15 – Why