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Joshua 2

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And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

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And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country.

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And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

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And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:

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And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.

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But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

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And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

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And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

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And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

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For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

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And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

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Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:

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And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

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And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

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Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

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And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

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And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

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Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.

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And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

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And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

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And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

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And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

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So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them:

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And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

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Joshua 2

Rahab the Canaanite prostitute (zōnâ) becomes an unlikely agent of covenant inclusion when she harbors Joshua's spies and is spared from destruction. Her confession—'the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below'—marks her as a convert to the faith of Israel, and her scarlet cord becomes a sign of redemption foreshadowing the blood of the covenant. The narrative introduces the crucial pattern: the LORD fights for Israel, yet human courage and cunning (Rahab's quick thinking, the spies' discernment) remain instrumental. Her salvation and integration into Israel's genealogy (she becomes the mother of Boaz and ancestor of David) demonstrate that the covenant boundaries are porous to those who acknowledge the LORD's supremacy and act with loyalty.

Joshua 2:1

And Joshua son of Nun sent two men secretly as spies from Shittim, saying, 'Go, view the land, especially Jericho' — Joshua's dispatch of spies represents a practical reconnaissance mission, yet it echoes the earlier narrative of faith and doubt in Numbers 13-14. The word 'secretly' suggests covert action, contrasting with the public display of faith in the Jordan crossing. The choice of Jericho as the primary reconnaissance target indicates Joshua's strategic planning.

Joshua 2:2

And the king of Jericho was told, 'Behold, certain men of the people of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land' — the infiltration is immediately detected, suggesting the vigilance of Jericho's leadership and the vulnerability of the Israelite spies. The news reaches the king swiftly, indicating the communication networks of the city. This verse establishes the tension between human intelligence gathering and divine providence.

Joshua 2:3

The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, 'Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land' — the king's demand establishes Rahab as a keeper of her household's honor and a woman of some standing in Jericho. Her profession (harlot) might ordinarily place her outside the protection of law, yet the king's recourse is to appeal to her directly. This verse introduces the moral complexity of the passage.

Joshua 2:4

But the woman took the two men and hid them; and she said, 'Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from' — Rahab's immediate action to hide the spies demonstrates her swift moral decision-making and her choice to side with Israel against Jericho. Her false claim is a pragmatic deception aimed at deflecting the king's investigation, and it succeeds: the king's servants pursue the spies toward the Jordan fords. This verse shows Rahab as the hinge figure upon which the entire narrative turns.

Joshua 2:5

And as the gate was being closed at dark, the men went out; I do not know where the men went; pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them — Rahab's timing is impeccable: she sends the spies out as the gate closes for the night, buying them time to escape while the king's servants pursue in the wrong direction. Her advice to 'pursue them quickly' is crafted to move the king's forces away from her house and toward the fords.

Joshua 2:6

But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof — the roof of Rahab's house becomes the space of her covenantal action, a liminal space between the city below and the promise beyond. The flax stalks provide both concealment and, later, the basis for escape. The act of bringing them up echoes the language of bringing Israel up out of Egypt.

Joshua 2:7

So the men pursued them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords; and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut — the pursuit follows the false trail toward the Jordan, while the actual spies remain hidden on Rahab's roof. The closing of the gate symbolizes the sealing of Jericho against escape and, ironically, the entrapment of Jericho's own inhabitants. This verse shows how Rahab's quick thinking redirects her city's military response.

Joshua 2:8

Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof — Rahab's ascent to the roof at nightfall establishes her as an agent of action rather than a passive helper. The phrase 'before the men lay down' suggests urgency: she must speak with them before sleep prevents conversation. Her movement demonstrates her commitment to her covenant with the spies.

Joshua 2:9

And she said to the men, 'I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you' — Rahab's confession begins with explicit knowledge of Israel's covenant status: 'the LORD has given this land to you.' The report of Jericho's terror echoes the language of earlier plagues and the Red Sea crossing. Rahab testifies that God's reputation and power have already conquered the land before any military engagement.

Joshua 2:10

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 that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed — Rahab cites the historical acts of God: the exodus and the recent conquest of the Transjordanian kingdoms. The phrase 'utterly destroyed' uses the verb ḥerem (the ban), the same covenantal principle that will govern the conquest of Canaan. Rahab's knowledge of Israel's history indicates the efficiency of Israel's reputation as God's people.

Joshua 2:11

And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there remained no more courage in anyone of us because of you; for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below — Rahab's final confession explicitly affirms the monotheistic faith: 'the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.' This statement is the theological climax of her speech, a confession that surpasses the mere acknowledgment of Israel's military power. Rahab's confession becomes a model of faith that overcomes tribal and national boundaries.

Joshua 2:12

Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt loyally with you, you will also deal loyally with my family, and give me a sure sign — Rahab's request for a covenant oath establishes the reciprocal nature of the agreement: she has risked her life by harboring the spies, and she asks that the spies bind themselves to preserve her household. The phrase 'deal loyally' invokes the covenantal vocabulary of mercy and steadfast love.

Joshua 2:13

And save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death — Rahab's specification of her family members demonstrates her care for her household and her understanding that the covenant must extend to all her kinspeople. Her request 'deliver our lives from death' acknowledges the ultimate consequence of Jericho's capture.

Joshua 2:14

And the men said to her, 'Our life for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and when the LORD gives us the land, we will deal with you in loyalty and truth' — the spies' oath is reciprocal: they pledge their own lives as security and bind themselves to a future covenant of loyalty and truth when the LORD gives them the land. The phrase 'when the LORD gives us the land' reiterates the underlying theology: the land's conquest is God's work.

Joshua 2:15

Then she let them down by a rope through the window; for her house was built into the city wall, so she lived in the wall — Rahab's house, built into the city wall, provides the perfect place for escape; the window becomes the portal through which the spies descend to safety. The phrase 'she lived in the wall' suggests both her physical location and perhaps her social position as a person living on the boundary between security and danger.

Joshua 2:16

And she said to them, 'Go toward the hill country, so that the pursuers will not come upon you; hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned; then you may go on your way' — Rahab's final act of help is to direct the spies toward the hill country and instruct them to hide for three days until the pursuit has ended. The three-day delay creates a significant time marker: the spies will return to Joshua, and then Israel will rest for three days before crossing the Jordan.

Joshua 2:17

The men said to her, 'We will be released from this oath that you have made us swear to you if you do not tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and if you do not gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your family' — the spies now detail the conditions under which the covenant will be effective: the scarlet cord must be visible in the window, and Rahab's household must remain within the house. The scarlet cord becomes the sign and seal of the covenant.

Joshua 2:18

And if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be released from this oath that you swore to us

Joshua 2:19

But if you tell this business of ours, we shall be guiltless with respect to this oath that you made us swear to you

Joshua 2:20

And she said, 'According to your words, so be it.' Then she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window

Joshua 2:21

And she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window

Joshua 2:22

The men went and reached the hill country and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned; the pursuers had searched all along the way and found nothing — the spies follow Rahab's instructions precisely, hiding in the hill country while the pursuers return to Jericho empty-handed. The three-day period fulfills Rahab's prediction and provides the reconnaissance information Joshua needs.

Joshua 2:23

Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country and crossed over and came to Joshua son of Nun and reported to him all that had happened to them

Joshua 2:24

And they said to Joshua, 'Truly the LORD has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted in fear of us' — the spies' final report echoes Rahab's confession of faith: the LORD has given the land, and the inhabitants are in fear. The word 'truly' introduces this statement as a witness statement based on their reconnaissance and Rahab's testimony. The report combines military intelligence with theological conviction.