The Book of Joshua

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- Chapter 2 -

(Hebrews 11:30–31)

And so Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim to explore in secret. And he said to them, “Go and consider the land and the city of Jericho.” And while traveling, they entered into the house of a harlot woman named Rahab, and they rested with her.

And it was reported to the king of Jericho, and it was said: “Behold, men have entered to this place in the night, from the sons of Israel, so that they might explore the land.”

And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying: “Bring out the men who came to you, and who entered into your house. For certainly they are spies, and they have arrived to consider the entire land.”

And the woman, taking the men, hid them. And she said: “I admit that they came to me, but I did not know where they were from.

And when the gate was closed, they went out together in the darkness. I do not know where they have gone. Pursue them quickly, and you will overtake them.”(a)

But she caused the men to ascend to the roof of her house, and she covered them with the stalks of flax that were there.

But those who had been sent pursued after them along the way that leads to the ford of the Jordan. And as soon as they went out, the gate was closed.

The Promise to Rahab

Those who were hiding had not yet fallen asleep, and behold, the woman went up to them, and she said:

“I know that the Lord has given this land to you. For the terror of you has fallen upon us, and all the inhabitants of the land have languished.

We have heard that the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea upon your arrival, when you were departing from Egypt, and we heard of the things that you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put to death.

And upon hearing these things, we were very afraid, and our heart languished. Neither did there remain in us any spirit at your arrival. For the Lord your God is the very God in heaven above and on earth below.

Now, therefore, swear to me by the Lord that in the same way that I have acted with mercy toward you, so also shall you act toward the house of my father. And may you give me a true sign

that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that is theirs, and that you may rescue our souls from death.”

They responded to her: “May our lives be yours unto death, if only you do not betray us. And when the Lord will have delivered the land to us, we will act toward you with mercy and truth.”

Therefore, she sent them down from a window with a rope. For her house was joined to the wall.

And she said to them: “Climb up to the mountains; otherwise, they may meet you as they are returning. And lay hidden there for three days, until they return. And then you will go on your way.”

And they said to her: “We shall be innocent of this oath, to which you have sworn us,

if, when we enter into the land, this scarlet cord has been placed as a sign, and you have tied it at the window by which you let us down. And so, gather your father, and mother, and brothers, and all your family into your house.

Whoever will have exited from the door of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be uninvolved. But the blood of all who will be with you in the house shall fall back upon our own head, if anyone touches them.

But if you will have betrayed us, so that you spread this word in their midst, we will be free from this oath, to which you have sworn us.”

And she responded, “Just as you have spoken, so let it be done.” And sending them to travel on, she hung the scarlet cord at the window.

And truly, walking on, they arrived at the mountains, and they stayed there for three days, until those who had been pursuing them returned. For having sought them along the entire way, they did not find them.

And when they returned and entered the city, the explorers descended from the mountain. And crossing the Jordan, they went to Joshua, the son of Nun, and they reported to him all that had happened to them.

And they said, “The Lord has delivered this entire land into our hands, and all its inhabitants have been struck down by fear.”

Footnotes

(a)2:5 Rahab lied, and this was a sin; for lying is intrinsically evil, always immoral, and never justifiable. But it was not a mortal sin, and the virtuous act of risking her life for the sake of those men won her a reward with the Lord.(Conte)

(Hebrews 11:30–31)

Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.

The king of Jericho was told, “Behold,(a) men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.”

Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.”

The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from.

About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don’t know. Pursue them quickly. You may catch up with them.”

But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.

The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

The Promise to Rahab

Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof.

She said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.

Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign;

and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.”

The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when the LORD gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall.

She said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.”

The men said to her, “We will be guiltless of this your oath which you’ve made us to swear.

Behold, when we come into the land, tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. Gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household.

It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him.

But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you’ve made us to swear.”

She said, “Let it be as you have said.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the scarlet line in the window.

They went and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but didn’t find them.

Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them.

They said to Joshua, “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.”

Footnotes

(a)2:2 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.