1. Joshua 9:10 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why do the Gibeonites only refer to the old battles that have taken place outside Canaan?

Joshua 9:10 (ESV)

10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

The Gibeonites recount the history of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 14:1–31) and their defeat of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan (Numbers 21:21–35; Deuteronomy 2:26 – 3:17). They mention only news of what Israel has done outside the land of Canaan, thereby reinforcing their claim of being foreigners.1