SEV Biblia, Chapter 9:9
Y ellos respondieron: Tus siervos han venido de muy lejanas tierras, por la fama del SEÑOR tu Dios; porque hemos oído su fama, y todas las cosas que hizo en Egipto,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Joshua 9:9
Verse 9. Because of the name of the Lord thy God] They pretend that they had undertaken this journey on a religious account; and seem to intimate that they had the highest respect for Jehovah, the object of the Israelites' worship; this was hypocrisy. We have heard the fame of him] This was true: the wonders which God did in Egypt, and the discomfiture of Sihon and Og, had reached the whole land of Canaan, and it was on this account that the inhabitants of it were panic-struck. The Gibeonites, knowing that they could not stand where such mighty forces had fallen, wished to make the Israelites their friends.
This part of their relation was strictly true.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 9. And they said unto him, from a very far country thy servants are come , etc.] 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” f148 ; 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 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.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 3-13 - Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make wa upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thu 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 unt death, 2Co 2:16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evi that good may themselves to the God of Israel, we have reason to thin Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives. But when they had once said, "We are come from a far country, they were led to say it made of skins, and their clothes: one li brings on another, and that a third, and so on. The way of that sin is especially down-hill. Yet their faith and prudence are to be commended In submitting to Israel they submitted to the God of Israel, whic implied forsaking their idolatries. And how can we do better than cas ourselves upon the mercy of a God of all goodness? The way to avoi judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us do like these Gibeonites seek peace with God in the rags of abasement, and godly sorrow; so ou sin shall not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blesse Joshua, and we shall live.
Original Hebrew
ויאמרו 559 אליו 413 מארץ 776 רחוקה 7350 מאד 3966 באו 935 עבדיך 5650 לשׁם 8034 יהוה 3068 אלהיך 430 כי 3588 שׁמענו 8085 שׁמעו 8089 ואת 853 כל 3605 אשׁר 834 עשׂה 6213 במצרים׃ 4714
