Joshua 9:7

7 And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you [are] living among us; how can we {make a covenant} with you?"

Joshua 9:7 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 9:7

And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites
Though they did not know them to be such, but as they afterwards appeared to be the Hivites, as the Gibeonites were, they are here so called, see ( Joshua 11:19 ) . The name signifies "serpents"; according to a Derash, or mystical exposition, mentioned by Kimchi, the Gibeonites are so called, because they did the work of the serpent; that is to say, they deceived the Israelites, as the serpent deceived Eve:

peradventure ye dwell among us;
of which they had some suspicion;

and how shall we make a league with you?
which they were forbid to do with any of the seven nations, ( Deuteronomy 7:2 ) .

Joshua 9:7 In-Context

5 The sandals on their feet [were] patched and old, their clothes [were] old, and their food was dry and crumbled.

6 And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}."

7 And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you [are] living among us; how can we {make a covenant} with you?"

8 They said to Joshua, "We [are] your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who [are] you, and from where do you come?"

9 And they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far land because of the name of Yahweh your God; we have heard of his reputation, of all that he did in Egypt,

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Hivite"
• [b]. Literally "cut a covenant"