In their far-off home--professedly beyond the limits of Palestine-- their fellow countrymen, they said, had heard of the wonders which God had wrought for His people, and had sent them to make a league with Israel. The Hebrews had been specially warned against entering into any league with the idolaters of Canaan, and a doubt as to the truth of the strangers' words arose in the minds of the leaders. "Peradventure ye dwell among us," they said. To this the ambassadors only replied, "We are thy servants." But when Joshua directly demanded of them, "Who are ye? and from whence come ye?" they reiterated their former statement, and added, in proof of their sincerity, "This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is moldy: 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."

De sagde, at deres landsmænd i deres fjerntliggende land, som de foregav lå langt uden for Palæstina, havde hørt om de mirakler, som Gud havde gjort for sit folk, og sendt dem af sted for at slutte forbund med israelitterne. Hebræerne havde fået en speciel advarsel imod at slutte forbund med nogen af afgudsdyrkerne i Kanaan, og folkets ledere begyndte at tvivle på, at de fremmede talte sandhed. "Det kunne være, at I bor her midt iblandt os," sagde de. Herpå svarede udsendingene blot: "Vi er dine trælle!" Da Josua spurgte dem direkte: "Hvem er I, og hvorfra kommer I?" gentog de, hvad de før havde sagt, og tilføjede som bevis på deres oprigtighed: "Vort brød her var endnu varmt, da vi tog det med hjemmefra, dengang vi begav os af sted for at drage til Eder; men se, nu er det tørt og mullent, og vore vinsække her var nye, da vi fyldte dem; se, nu er de sprukne; og vore klæder og sko her er slidte, fordi vejen var så lang!"