“three days.” There is a sort of theme of three days in Joshua (cp. Josh. 1:11; 2:16, 22; 3:2; 9:16).

“their neighbors and that they lived among them​.” The words “neighbors” and “among” are both from the root word “near.” A translation that might pick that up somewhat might be “they were from nearby and lived near him [Israel].” The double use of the “near” words adds to the shock of Israel when they realized they had been lied to and deceived, and the Gibeonites were not from a far country as they had said, but not even from 20 miles away, in the heartland of Israel.