Joshua sends two men to scout out Jericho. While they stay in the house of a prostitute named Rahab, the king of Jericho sends word to her, asking her to deliver them into his hands. Rahab hides the men, and as soon as the king’s agents leave her house, watchmen shut the city gate for the night.
Joshua 2:1-7 describes how Joshua’s spies entered Jericho and evaded detection through the help of a woman named Rahab.
In the previous chapter, God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and asked him to be strong and courageous. The people endorsed God’s choice and promised to support Joshua in all his endeavors (Joshua 1). In the present chapter, Joshua began taking actions in his new leadership role. The narrator informs us that Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim (v. 1).
The biblical text identifies Joshua as the son ofNun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7:20-27; Joshua 1:1). The mention of Joshua’s father here was to identify him with the Joshua of Deuteronomy who would succeed Moses. He was “filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him” (Deuteronomy 34:9).
That Joshua sent two spies to Canaan is reminiscent of an incident in the book of Numbers, when, as a younger man, Joshua was part of a company of spies who entered Canaan. When Moses was Israel’s leader, he sent twelve men to map out the land of Canaan to discover the condition of the people, the cities, and the landscape. Ten spies gave a fearful and discouraging report, telling Moses and the Israelites they would not be able to defeat the people of Canaan because they were huge and had fortified cities. Only two spies, Caleb and Joshua, encouraged the Israelites because they trusted God to defeat the enemy (Numbers 13-14). Joshua learned from that disastrous experience. Perhaps this is why he chose two men only for this mission.
There were drastic consequences for the Israelites in the wilderness because they trusted the fearful report of the ten spies. Because of their faithfulness, Joshua and Caleb would be the only men who were over 20 years of age at that time who would be allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:26-30). Surely, these two spies were very familiar with that story since it was their own fathers and grandfathers who died in the wilderness. Despite Jericho having defensive walls and many people, instead giving a discouraging report, they learned the lessons of the past and will give a report of courage and hope (Joshua 2:24), much like Joshua and Caleb did 40 years earlier to the saving of their lives (Numbers 14:37-38).
Joshua dispatched the scouts secretlyfrom Shittim. The word Shittim transliterates the Hebrew word for “acacia trees.” Shittim is a large area in the plains of Moab across from the city of Jericho, east of the Jordan, and north of the Dead Sea. It was the place where the Israelites got involved in Baal worship and immoral sexual relations with Moabite women, prompting the LORD to send a plague that killed twenty-four thousand of them (Numbers 25). It was where Moses delivered his farewell speech and final blessing to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31-33). Thus, at Shittim, Joshua commanded the spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’
The city of Jericho was in the lower Jordan Valley, west of the Jordan River and about ten miles northwest of the Dead Sea. The Bible calls it the “city of palms” because it had abundant palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 2 Chronicles 28:15). It was a secure fortress with formidable walls. Joshua urged the men to investigate the land, especially Jericho because it was the first city that stood in Israel’s way.
The spies obeyed Joshua’s command, so they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. The word translated as harlot is “zônāh” in the Hebrew language. It designates a woman who has sexual intercourse with someone with whom she does not have a formal marriage bond. The verb describes the activity of a prostitute, as in the case of Tamar and the mother of Jephthah (see Genesis 38 and Judges 11:1, respectively). The book of Proverbs warns against harlots as wicked and cunning (Proverbs 6:24-26, 7:10, 29:3). Unfortunately, this was Rahab’s trade. She might have practiced prostitution because her husband died and left her destitute. At any rate, the LORD had a plan for her life. He saw her heart and used her to save the spies because she trusted Him.
The house of Rahab was likely a tavern or an inn, so the spieslodgedthere to keep a low profile and remain unnoticed. They probably thought that a house of low reputation packed with many patrons would help conceal their presence. Despite their efforts, the news of their arrival spread that evening. It was told the king of Jericho, saying, ‘Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land’ (v. 2).
In the ancient Near East, spies would travel to a country, possibly undercover as merchants, to gather data about the movements and troop sizes of their foes. In searching out a city, they would seek to identify the number of fighting men and their general preparedness for battle. They would be interested in defenses and food and water supply. If they could find the source of the water supply and cut it off, they would have a better chance to defeat their adversaries. In Joshua, the situation was complex because the king of Jericho had already heard about the spies’ visit, so he sent word to Rahab (v. 3). He said, 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 desired to halt the scouts’ mission because he knew they would gather information to allow them to invade the land successfully. He also probably wanted to glean some information from them about Israel’s army. Word had doubtless reached him about the many thousands of Israelites who had gathered on the other side of the Jordan River. The city of Jericho was some ten miles from the River. The king of Jericho had likely heard of this wandering desert tribe who had mere months earlier defeated the King of Arad, King Sihon of the Amorites, the giant King Og of Bashan, and the five kings of the Midianites (Numbers 21:1, 21, 33, 31:8)
The king of Jericho asked Rahab to turn the Israelite men over to him, thinking he could protect his citizens from the Israelite invasion. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them (v. 4). Having hidden them, she misled the king’s messengers by lying to them, saying, Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
Lying is a sin in the eyes of God because He is holy and perfect in all His ways (Exodus 20:16, 23:19; Deuteronomy 32:4). The Bible tells us God cannot lie, so He would not endorse it either (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). That is why the New Testament writers praised Rahab for her faith, not her lie (Joshua 2:9-16; Hebrew 11:31). In other words, God approved her genuine faith despite her weaknesses. He forgave Rahab for her sin because she had embraced Him as her God. Rahab was raised in a sinful culture that taught exploitation. In her own profession, she was exploited. She would not necessarily think that lying was wrong because she had not been taught so; her greater aim was to show her faith in God and protect His people.
Rahab was being shrewd to accomplish good for God’s kingdom in which she believed. Sometimes doing what is right requires being shrewd or crafty. The world uses craftiness for selfish and greedy reasons, usually at the expense or exploitation of someone else. Jesus calls us to be wise (crafty) as serpents, and harmless as doves, meaning we should be innocent in all that we do, but strategic and careful (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus routinely would tell His disciples, evil spirits, and people He healed to keep it quiet, and do not make the matter known (Mark 1:25, 44, 7:36, 8:29-30). He was not asking them to lie, but He was being shrewd and strategic about the timing of His ministry and His interactions with the religious leaders and the people (John 2:4, 7:6, Matthew 16:20). Eventually He would command His disciples to tell the world about Him (Matthew 28:18-20).
In Jewish Law, there is a hierarchy to the rules in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). A lesser law can and should be broken if a more important law or command would be broken otherwise. The saving of life should be one of the highest values to a person and society. In Jewish tradition one is required to break Sabbath laws, lie, and transgress almost any other law in order to save a life. Jews are permitted to eat non-kosher animals in the event of starvation, to save their own life. Rahab was not only saving the lives of these men, but also helping God’s mission to save the lives of the entire world though His Son Jesus who would be born roughly 1500 years later from this same group of Israelites attempting to conquer Jericho.
That Rahab hid the men to save their lives demonstrates her loyalty to and belief in Israel’s God and her renunciation of allegiance to the Canaanite gods. Her next statement further emphasizes this truth: It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went (v. 5).
In ancient Israel, the cities had gates to protect the citizens against invaders. A city gate was the seat of community governance (Deuteronomy 6:9; Proverbs 1:21). It had massive structures with chambers between the entrances. For this reason, some watchmen often slept right by it (Psalm 127:1b). The city of Jericho also had gates, so Rahab told the king’s men that the Israelite spies had left her house when it was time to close the gate at night.
Rahab risked her life to protect Israel’s spies. She pretended she did not know where the men were. On top of that, she urged the king’s messengers, saying: Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. Her misdirection ensured that the king’s men did not spend time searching her house. Otherwise, they would eventually find the spies and kill them.
The verb pursue often occurs in military contexts to denote the active chasing of someone with hostile intent (Deuteronomy 1:44; Judges 4:22; Hosea 8:3; Psalm 109:16). The verb has a similar meaning in our passage. Rahab purposefully commanded the king’s agents to follow the spies to catch them and harm them. But secretly she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof (v. 6).
Flax is a plant used for making linen. It is a grass-like plant, with soft fibers useful for making light, cool clothes (Proverbs 31:13). The stalks of flax were undressed flax fibers. Rahab made a smart move. She took the bundles of flax, which she had laid down upon her roof to dry out, and covered the Israelite spies to prevent the messengers from seeing them. So, the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords (v. 7). They followed Rahab’s advice and left her house immediately to see if they could catch the Israelite spies, searching the road which led to the site of the Israelite camp on the other side of the River. Perhaps these soldiers of Jericho could see the armies of Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan.
The text notes that as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate (v. 7). Once the king’s agents who were pursuing the spies had exited the city, the guards shut the gate of Jericho. The city appears to be on lockdown, probably until the matter of catching the spies is resolved, or to prevent other potential spies from entering.
Rahab wisely placed her faith in the true God and acted on that faith by doing what she could to protect His people (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). God is pleased when we act on our faith (Proverbs 24:11-12, Galatians 6:9, Samuel 15:22, Mark 12:42-44). More importantly, however, God was at work. He ensured everything went according to His plan. The LORD had commanded Joshua to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. He would see to it that His covenant people enter and possess the Land promised to them long ago. Rahab’s faith and choice to side with the Lord allowed her to play a part in God’s work, to the saving of her life.
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Joshua 2:1-7 meaning
Joshua 2:1-7 describes how Joshua’s spies entered Jericho and evaded detection through the help of a woman named Rahab.
In the previous chapter, God commissioned Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and asked him to be strong and courageous. The people endorsed God’s choice and promised to support Joshua in all his endeavors (Joshua 1). In the present chapter, Joshua began taking actions in his new leadership role. The narrator informs us that Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim (v. 1).
The biblical text identifies Joshua as the son of Nun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7:20-27; Joshua 1:1). The mention of Joshua’s father here was to identify him with the Joshua of Deuteronomy who would succeed Moses. He was “filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him” (Deuteronomy 34:9).
That Joshua sent two spies to Canaan is reminiscent of an incident in the book of Numbers, when, as a younger man, Joshua was part of a company of spies who entered Canaan. When Moses was Israel’s leader, he sent twelve men to map out the land of Canaan to discover the condition of the people, the cities, and the landscape. Ten spies gave a fearful and discouraging report, telling Moses and the Israelites they would not be able to defeat the people of Canaan because they were huge and had fortified cities. Only two spies, Caleb and Joshua, encouraged the Israelites because they trusted God to defeat the enemy (Numbers 13-14). Joshua learned from that disastrous experience. Perhaps this is why he chose two men only for this mission.
There were drastic consequences for the Israelites in the wilderness because they trusted the fearful report of the ten spies. Because of their faithfulness, Joshua and Caleb would be the only men who were over 20 years of age at that time who would be allowed to enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:26-30). Surely, these two spies were very familiar with that story since it was their own fathers and grandfathers who died in the wilderness. Despite Jericho having defensive walls and many people, instead giving a discouraging report, they learned the lessons of the past and will give a report of courage and hope (Joshua 2:24), much like Joshua and Caleb did 40 years earlier to the saving of their lives (Numbers 14:37-38).
Joshua dispatched the scouts secretly from Shittim. The word Shittim transliterates the Hebrew word for “acacia trees.” Shittim is a large area in the plains of Moab across from the city of Jericho, east of the Jordan, and north of the Dead Sea. It was the place where the Israelites got involved in Baal worship and immoral sexual relations with Moabite women, prompting the LORD to send a plague that killed twenty-four thousand of them (Numbers 25). It was where Moses delivered his farewell speech and final blessing to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31-33). Thus, at Shittim, Joshua commanded the spies, saying, ‘Go, view the land, especially Jericho.’
The city of Jericho was in the lower Jordan Valley, west of the Jordan River and about ten miles northwest of the Dead Sea. The Bible calls it the “city of palms” because it had abundant palm trees (Deuteronomy 34:3; Judges 1:16; 2 Chronicles 28:15). It was a secure fortress with formidable walls. Joshua urged the men to investigate the land, especially Jericho because it was the first city that stood in Israel’s way.
The spies obeyed Joshua’s command, so they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there. The word translated as harlot is “zônāh” in the Hebrew language. It designates a woman who has sexual intercourse with someone with whom she does not have a formal marriage bond. The verb describes the activity of a prostitute, as in the case of Tamar and the mother of Jephthah (see Genesis 38 and Judges 11:1, respectively). The book of Proverbs warns against harlots as wicked and cunning (Proverbs 6:24-26, 7:10, 29:3). Unfortunately, this was Rahab’s trade. She might have practiced prostitution because her husband died and left her destitute. At any rate, the LORD had a plan for her life. He saw her heart and used her to save the spies because she trusted Him.
The house of Rahab was likely a tavern or an inn, so the spies lodged there to keep a low profile and remain unnoticed. They probably thought that a house of low reputation packed with many patrons would help conceal their presence. Despite their efforts, the news of their arrival spread that evening. It was told the king of Jericho, saying, ‘Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land’ (v. 2).
In the ancient Near East, spies would travel to a country, possibly undercover as merchants, to gather data about the movements and troop sizes of their foes. In searching out a city, they would seek to identify the number of fighting men and their general preparedness for battle. They would be interested in defenses and food and water supply. If they could find the source of the water supply and cut it off, they would have a better chance to defeat their adversaries. In Joshua, the situation was complex because the king of Jericho had already heard about the spies’ visit, so he sent word to Rahab (v. 3). He said, 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 desired to halt the scouts’ mission because he knew they would gather information to allow them to invade the land successfully. He also probably wanted to glean some information from them about Israel’s army. Word had doubtless reached him about the many thousands of Israelites who had gathered on the other side of the Jordan River. The city of Jericho was some ten miles from the River. The king of Jericho had likely heard of this wandering desert tribe who had mere months earlier defeated the King of Arad, King Sihon of the Amorites, the giant King Og of Bashan, and the five kings of the Midianites (Numbers 21:1, 21, 33, 31:8)
The king of Jericho asked Rahab to turn the Israelite men over to him, thinking he could protect his citizens from the Israelite invasion. But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them (v. 4). Having hidden them, she misled the king’s messengers by lying to them, saying, Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
Lying is a sin in the eyes of God because He is holy and perfect in all His ways (Exodus 20:16, 23:19; Deuteronomy 32:4). The Bible tells us God cannot lie, so He would not endorse it either (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2). That is why the New Testament writers praised Rahab for her faith, not her lie (Joshua 2:9-16; Hebrew 11:31). In other words, God approved her genuine faith despite her weaknesses. He forgave Rahab for her sin because she had embraced Him as her God. Rahab was raised in a sinful culture that taught exploitation. In her own profession, she was exploited. She would not necessarily think that lying was wrong because she had not been taught so; her greater aim was to show her faith in God and protect His people.
Rahab was being shrewd to accomplish good for God’s kingdom in which she believed. Sometimes doing what is right requires being shrewd or crafty. The world uses craftiness for selfish and greedy reasons, usually at the expense or exploitation of someone else. Jesus calls us to be wise (crafty) as serpents, and harmless as doves, meaning we should be innocent in all that we do, but strategic and careful (Matthew 10:16).
Jesus routinely would tell His disciples, evil spirits, and people He healed to keep it quiet, and do not make the matter known (Mark 1:25, 44, 7:36, 8:29-30). He was not asking them to lie, but He was being shrewd and strategic about the timing of His ministry and His interactions with the religious leaders and the people (John 2:4, 7:6, Matthew 16:20). Eventually He would command His disciples to tell the world about Him (Matthew 28:18-20).
In Jewish Law, there is a hierarchy to the rules in the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy). A lesser law can and should be broken if a more important law or command would be broken otherwise. The saving of life should be one of the highest values to a person and society. In Jewish tradition one is required to break Sabbath laws, lie, and transgress almost any other law in order to save a life. Jews are permitted to eat non-kosher animals in the event of starvation, to save their own life. Rahab was not only saving the lives of these men, but also helping God’s mission to save the lives of the entire world though His Son Jesus who would be born roughly 1500 years later from this same group of Israelites attempting to conquer Jericho.
That Rahab hid the men to save their lives demonstrates her loyalty to and belief in Israel’s God and her renunciation of allegiance to the Canaanite gods. Her next statement further emphasizes this truth: It came about when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went (v. 5).
In ancient Israel, the cities had gates to protect the citizens against invaders. A city gate was the seat of community governance (Deuteronomy 6:9; Proverbs 1:21). It had massive structures with chambers between the entrances. For this reason, some watchmen often slept right by it (Psalm 127:1b). The city of Jericho also had gates, so Rahab told the king’s men that the Israelite spies had left her house when it was time to close the gate at night.
Rahab risked her life to protect Israel’s spies. She pretended she did not know where the men were. On top of that, she urged the king’s messengers, saying: Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them. Her misdirection ensured that the king’s men did not spend time searching her house. Otherwise, they would eventually find the spies and kill them.
The verb pursue often occurs in military contexts to denote the active chasing of someone with hostile intent (Deuteronomy 1:44; Judges 4:22; Hosea 8:3; Psalm 109:16). The verb has a similar meaning in our passage. Rahab purposefully commanded the king’s agents to follow the spies to catch them and harm them. But secretly she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof (v. 6).
Flax is a plant used for making linen. It is a grass-like plant, with soft fibers useful for making light, cool clothes (Proverbs 31:13). The stalks of flax were undressed flax fibers. Rahab made a smart move. She took the bundles of flax, which she had laid down upon her roof to dry out, and covered the Israelite spies to prevent the messengers from seeing them. So, the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan to the fords (v. 7). They followed Rahab’s advice and left her house immediately to see if they could catch the Israelite spies, searching the road which led to the site of the Israelite camp on the other side of the River. Perhaps these soldiers of Jericho could see the armies of Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan.
The text notes that as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate (v. 7). Once the king’s agents who were pursuing the spies had exited the city, the guards shut the gate of Jericho. The city appears to be on lockdown, probably until the matter of catching the spies is resolved, or to prevent other potential spies from entering.
Rahab wisely placed her faith in the true God and acted on that faith by doing what she could to protect His people (Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). God is pleased when we act on our faith (Proverbs 24:11-12, Galatians 6:9, Samuel 15:22, Mark 12:42-44). More importantly, however, God was at work. He ensured everything went according to His plan. The LORD had commanded Joshua to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. He would see to it that His covenant people enter and possess the Land promised to them long ago. Rahab’s faith and choice to side with the Lord allowed her to play a part in God’s work, to the saving of her life.