Joshua 9:9

9 And they said, Thy servants are come from a very far country in the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard his name, and all that 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 children of Israel said to the Chorrhaean, Peradventure thou dwellest amongst us; and how should I make a covenant with thee?

8 And they said to Joshua, We are thy servants: and Joshua said to them, Whence are ye, and whence have ye come?

9 And they said, Thy servants are come from a very far country in the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard his name, and all that he did in Egypt,

10 and all that he did to the kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, to Seon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Basan, who dwelt in Astaroth and in Edrain.

11 And our elders and all that inhabit our land when they heard spoke to us, saying, Take to yourselves provision for the way, and go to meet them; and ye shall say to them, We are thy servants, and now make a covenant with us.