‘ And they answered Joshua, and said, “Because it was assuredly told your servants, how that YHWH your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.” '
At this stage the reputation of YHWH and the great prophet Moses were at their highest among the nations. They were afraid of Him and His servants. That was what would be lost through the failure of His people later to be obedient. The word had got around that YHWH had given Canaan to Israel (compare Joshua 2:9) and had commanded destruction of the Canaanites, and the peoples were afraid that He would be able to do it, and were terrified.