Translation commentary on Joshua 9:11

Leaders (Revised Standard Version “elders”) indicates that the Gibeonites did not have a king as their ruler (see 10.2). The Gibeonites tell their elaborate story, seeking to convince the Israelites that indeed they have come from a very distant land.

The instructions given the men by their leaders and by all the people of Gibeon may be made into direct discourse: “Our leaders and everyone in our country told us, ‘Get some food ready for a trip and go meet the people of Israel. Put yourselves at their service, and ask them to make a treaty with us.’ ”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 9:11

9:11a

So the elders: The term elders refers to the leaders of the Gibeonites. Unlike the other towns in the region of Canaan, the Gibeonites were ruled by leaders but had no king.

and inhabitants of our land told us: The phrase inhabitants of our land refers to the people who lived in the region of the Gibeonites. Gibeon was actually a town, but it had power over the other nearby towns.

Here are some other ways to translate the term land :

area
-or-
region

9:11b

Take provisions for your journey: The clause Take provisions for your journey indicates that the people took food to eat. They put the food in sacks which their donkeys carried. They did not carry the food in their hands.

for your journey: The phrase for your journey refers to the trip that the Gibeonites took from their own town to the Israelite camp.

9:11c

go to meet them and say to them: The clause go to meet them indicates that the Gibeonites should travel to the Israelite camp and introduce themselves to Joshua and the Israelites leaders.

General Comment on 9:11a-c

The Gibeonites report this as a direct quote of what the elders told them to do. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as an indirect quote. For example:

Our leaders and all the people that live in our land told us to get some food ready for a trip and to go and meet you. (Good News Translation)

9:11d

We are your servants: The clause We are your servants indicates that the Gibeonites were willing to become subject to the Israelites and submit to them. You should translate the phrase your servants in the same way as in 9:8a.

Please: The word Please is a way to make a polite request. You should use whatever word or grammatical means is appropriate to make a polite request in your language.

make a treaty with us: The clause make a treaty with us indicates that the Gibeonites wanted the Israelites to make a peace treaty with them.

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