Joshua 9:9

9 They answered, (We) Thy servants came from a full far land in the name of thy Lord God; for we have heard the fame of his power, and all (the) things which he did in Egypt,

Joshua 9:9 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 9:9

And they said unto him, from a very far country thy servants
are come
Which they magnified and expressed in stronger terms than before, but were careful not to mention any country, lest such questions should be asked about it, their answers to which would betray them, but put it off by saying they were come,

because of the name of the Lord thy God;
because of what they had heard of his name, his power and goodness; or "unto the name of the Lord thy God" ^F15; that is, they were come to profess it, and to embrace the religion of the Israelites, and be proselytes to it; which they knew would be very agreeable to them, and engage them to show them favour; and so the Samaritan Chronicle ^F16 represents them as promising to do this, saying,

``we will believe in thy Lord, nor will we contradict him in what ye shall mark out for us, be it small or great;''

which seems to be, confirmed by what follows, unless it be considered as an explanation of the preceding clause:

for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt;
the miracles wrought there, the plagues he inflicted on the Egyptians, and the wonderful deliverance of the children of Israel from their slavery.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (hwhy Mvl) "ad nomen Domini", Masius; "ad nomen Jehovae": Junius & Tremellius.
F16 Apud Hottinger. Smegma Oriental. l. 1. c. 8. p. 507.

Joshua 9:9 In-Context

7 And the men of Israel answered to them, and said, Lest peradventure ye dwell in the land, which is due to us by heritage, and we may not make bond of peace with you. (And the Israelites answered, and said to them, Agreed, unless ye live in the land that is due to us by inheritance, and then we cannot make a covenant with you.)

8 And they said to Joshua, We be thy servants. To whom Joshua said, What men be ye, and from whence came ye?

9 They answered, (We) Thy servants came from a full far land in the name of thy Lord God; for we have heard the fame of his power, and all (the) things which he did in Egypt,

10 and to the two kings of Amorites beyond (the) Jordan; to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, that were in Ashtaroth. (and to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan River; that is, to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and to Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.)

11 And the elder men and all the dwellers of our land said to us, Take ye meats in your hands, for the full long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye bond of peace with us. (And the elders and all the citizens of our land said to us, Take ye food with you, for the very long way; and go ye to them, and say ye, We be your servants; make ye a covenant with us.)