Joshua 9:4

They did work wilily. The ruse would immediately have been disclosed had Joshua sought counsel of the Lord, but once more, as at Ai, he neglected to do so.

Made as if. The clause thus introduced is translated from a single Hebrew word, one that occurs nowhere else in the Scriptures. The root idea of the word is “to revolve.” Elsewhere the word is unknown, except in Arabic. By the substitution of a d for an r, which letters are easily mistaken in the Hebrew, we get the translation “and provided themselves with provisions.” The word then becomes the same as that found in verse 12 and there translated “took food for our provision.” This reading agrees with many manuscripts and ancient translations, including the LXX and Syriac. That they would go as ambassadors is understood. “Provided themselves with provisions” seems to fit the context more adequately.