The Israelites voice their legal objection in question form to expose potential deception and assert the Deuteronomic prohibition against covenants with nearby Canaanite peoples, making the theological stakes explicit rather than simply rejecting the request outright.

The Hivites responded by reiterating their false claim to be servants from a distant country, showing their worn provisions as evidence, and Joshua and the leaders made a covenant with them without consulting the Lord (Joshua 9:8-15).

The question reveals Israel’s awareness of covenant law but also their fatal hesitation in enforcement. The phrase ‘perhaps you live among us’ (Hebrew ‘ulay’) expresses genuine uncertainty, not mere rhetorical posturing. By framing their concern as a question rather than an accusation or investigation, the Israelites opened negotiation space that Deuteronomy’s commands did not allow. The second clause, ‘how can we make a covenant?’, uses the Hebrew karath berith (literally ‘cut a covenant’), the solemn treaty language invoking blood ritual. The question acknowledges the theological impossibility of covenant-making with proximate Canaanites while simultaneously entertaining it as negotiable. This reveals the gap between knowing God’s law and applying it decisively, a gap the Gibeonites skillfully exploited.