Joshua 9:11
“Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take supplies in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them. Tell them, “We are your servants. Now make a covenant with us.”’”
What does Joshua 9:11 mean?
The Gibeonites are here recounting what their people back home told them to do before they set out to deceive Joshua. They were instructed to bring provisions as though they'd traveled from far away, and to offer themselves as servants in exchange for a peace treaty. This shows how carefully the Gibeonites had plotted their deception, getting buy-in from their whole community to pull off this con. It's worth noticing that they knew exactly which words would appeal to Joshua: "we are your servants" and "make a covenant with us" were the language of submission that would likely spare them from the conquest Joshua was undertaking. Their strategy worked because they gave Joshua what he was looking for, even if the foundation of their agreement was built on lies.