Joshua 9:4

Translations

Modern

…acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

Traditional

They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

Literal

…and they also worked craftily, and they went and acted as envoys, and they took old sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins that were old and torn and mended,

Latin

…et callide cogitantes, tulerunt sibi cibaria, saccos veteres asinis imponentes, et utres vinarios scissos atque consutos,

Original

Hebrew

English

…acted deceptively and set out as envoys, carrying on their donkeys worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.

Notes

Joshua 9:4–6

At that time, traveling long distances was difficult, dirty, and dangerous. To succeed in their trick, the Gibeonites needed their supplies, clothes, and food to appear convincing.

Joshua 9:1–27

Joshua failed to consult God again (9:14; compare 7:2–4). This time it was about an unexpected request. Other ancient Near Eastern stories only describe a leader’s successes. However, this author also noted the mistakes of Joshua and Israel’s elders. God is the true hero of the story, and the author wanted to emphasize God's achievements.

Theme notes and profiles

Joshua

Events

War with Canaanites

Related verses

Luke 5:37–38
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined.
Mark 2:22
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
Luke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
Matthew 9:17
Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Psalm 119:83
Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
Genesis 34:13
But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
1 Kings 20:31–33
Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

Glossary

Alliance Conquest and Allotment of the Land Foreigner Gibeon, Gibeonites Gilgal Goat Jerusalem Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Kiriath-jearim Mephibosheth Sackcloth Tribe of Dan

Topics

Ambassadors: Sent by Gibeonites to the Israelites Bottle: Made of Animal Skins Confidence: Betrayed: Joshua, by the Gibeonites Contracts: Scriptures Illustrative of the Binding Force of Craftiness: Gibeonites, in Deceiving Joshua and the Israelites Into a Treaty Deception: The Gibeonites, in Misrepresenting Their Habitat Diplomacy: The Gibeonites, in Securing a Treaty with the Israelites Through Deception Gibeonites: Israel: Deceived By Joshua: Also Called Jehoshua, and Jehoshuah, and Oshea: Makes a Treaty with the Gibeonites Kirjath-Jearim: Inhabitants of Magnanimity: Joshua and the Elders of Israel to the Gibeonites Who had Deceived the Israelites Oath: The Israelites Confirm the Covenant with the Hivites The Amorites: The Gibeonites a Tribe of, Deceived Israel Into a League Travellers: After a Long Journey, Described Treaty: Between Nations: Israelites and Gibeonites Wine in Bottles Wine in Skins (Rv)

Joshua 9:4

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