And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
And these wineskins that we filled were brand new, but look, they're now cracked and torn. Our clothes and sandals have worn out from this very long journey.
The Gibeonites are showing Joshua worn-out items as fake evidence that they traveled from far away to make peace with Israel.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Joshua, the Israelites were conquering the Promised Land after their exodus from Egypt, and they had been commanded by God to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan. The Gibeonites, who were local people from nearby cities, feared destruction and devised a clever deception by pretending to be travelers from a distant land, using worn-out clothes, shoes, and wineskins to make their story believable. This ruse led Joshua and the leaders of Israel to make a treaty with them without seeking divine confirmation.
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