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Joshua 2

Joshua 2:4

Rahab Welcomes the Spies · Joshua 2:1–7
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Translations

Modern
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
Traditional
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:
Literal
And the woman took the two men and hid them, and she said, “Indeed, the men came to me; I did not know from where they were.
Latin
Tollensque mulier viros, abscondit, et ait: Fateor, venerunt ad me, sed nesciebam unde essent:

Original

Hebrew
English
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.

Notes

Joshua 2:4–5

It is not necessary to either approve or condemn Rahab’s lie to the king’s messengers. She may not have known the ethical standards that God later gave to Israel. Another possibility is that saving a human life was a higher moral value than telling the truth in that situation.

Joshua 2:1–24

  • Like any good military commander, Joshua sent out spies or scouts to get information about his objective.

  • Because Israel planned to approach Canaan from the east, they could not avoid Jericho.

Theme notes and profiles

Rahab Intermarriage and Divorce

Events

Parallels

Hebrews 11:30–31

Glossary

Conquest and Allotment of the Land Jericho Joshua (Person) Joshua, Book of Judges, Book of Numbers, Book of Prostitute, Prostitution Rahab (Person) Tribe of Dan

Topics

Armies: March in Ranks of Jericho Falsehood: Rahab, in Denying That the Spies Were in Her House Harlot (Prostitute): Rahab Hospitality: Rahab to the Spies Reconnoissance of Jericho