Rahab tells the Israelite spies that she fears the LORD their God and asks them to spare her and her family from death when they conquer the land of Jericho. The men agree to do what she says if she keeps their movements secret.
In Joshua 2:8-14, Rahab and the Israelite spies make plans and pledges.
In the previous passage, Joshua sent two men to scout out the land of Jericho. The spies stayed in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. While they were there, the news spread quickly around the city, and the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, asking her to deliver the men into his hands. Rahab hid the men within stalks of flax that she had laid on her roof to dry out. As soon as the king’s messengers left her house, watchmen shut the city gate for the night (Joshua 2:1-7). Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roofand spoke to the men (v. 8).
The men were under the bundles of flax but were not yet asleep. Perhaps they heard Rahab’s conversation with the king’s agents and were sleepless. At any rate, before they settled down for the night, Rahab approached them and said to them, I know that the LORD has given you the land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you (v. 9).
The term translated as LORD is “Yahweh” in the Hebrew text, the self-existent and eternal God who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). It is the name by which God established a covenant relationship with the Israelites, taking them as His treasured possession and making them a holy nation (Exodus 19:4-6). In our passage, Rahab told the spies she knew the power of their God and believed He had already given them the land. She understood God’s plan for His covenant people.
At this time, Canaan and the Middle East was generally polytheistic, and Yahweh was well known and was worshipped alongside the false gods in the Canaanite pantheon.
Rahab acknowledged the greatness of the LORD and the reputation of His covenant people. She knew God had given the land of Canaan to Israel, causing all the Canaanites to tremble before them. She based her knowledge on previous wonders the LORD had performed on behalf of His people that aroused fear and anguish “upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens” (Deuteronomy 2:25). She then illustrated the truth about God by listing two major events in Israel’s history. The first one pertains to the parting of the Red Sea. Rahab stated, For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt (v. 10).
The Red Sea event was a major turning point in Israel’s history. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for about 400 years and had no hope. But the LORD chose Moses and sent him to Pharaoh to release His people. God also sent His angel, who appeared as a cloud, to protect Israel. God then demonstrated His power by dividing the waters of the Red Sea and allowing His people to cross it on dry land. The Apostle Paul says it was at this moment the Israelites were “baptized unto Moses” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Once they were across, He caused the Red Sea to fall upon the Egyptians, killing the best of Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 14:15-29). The news spread quickly, and the other nations learned about how the LORD delivered the Israelites without them having to fight.
The next major event listed by Rahab focuses on two Amorite kings who reigned in the region east of the Jordan River near the Promised Land. Rahab told the spies that she and the Canaanites knew what had happened to those kings: We have heard what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
When the Israelite army approached the land of Canaan, two mighty kings and their armies opposed them. The first was Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who ruled the city of Heshbon (Numbers 21:27-30). The second was Og, king of Bashan (Numbers 21:34) who was a giant; his bed was thirteen feet long (Deuteronomy 3:11). The LORD delivered Sihon to the Israelites, so they defeated him and his army (Deuteronomy 2:32-37). Likewise, He turned Og over to His people and asked them to destroy him and his army. The Israelites were victorious because the LORD their God had weakened their enemy to fulfill His promise (Deuteronomy 3:1-7).
The LORD’s miracles on behalf of Israel did not go unnoticed. All the pagan nations heard about this once-enslaved people coming from the desert destroying these powerful Amorite kings. Thus, Rahab stated, When we heard it, our hearts melted (v. 11). The idiomatic expression “melting heart” means losing courage (Deuteronomy 20:8). In other words, if a person’s heart melts, he becomes weak. In a parallel line, Rahab added, No courage remained in any man any longer because of you. She described the anxiety and fear of the inhabitants of Jericho upon hearing how God dealt with the Egyptians and the Amorite kings to rescue His covenant people. Then, she confessed her faith in God: For the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
Rahab first recognized the LORD as Israel’s God. Then, she acknowledged Him as the God inheaven above and on earth beneath. This statement means that the LORD is the sole creator of the universe (Deuteronomy 4:39; Acts 14:15). He rules everywhere and is the supreme God. By stating that the LORD is God, Rahab ignored all the so-called gods of the Canaanites and pledged allegiance to Israel’s God.
Having confessed the LORD as the only true God, Rahab made an urgent request to the spies. She began with the words “now therefore” to reinforce the urgency of the request, thereby preparing the minds of the men to hear the message (v. 12). Then, she said, Please swear to me by the LORD. Rahab asked the Israelite spies to make a solemn promise to her and gave the rationale for it: Since I have dealt kindly with you.
Rahab’s statement that she had dealt kindlywiththe spies comprises the verb meaning “to do” or “to make” and the Hebrew noun “ḥeseḏ,” translated as “steadfast love” or “lovingkindness.” The Bible uses “ḥeseḏ” to describe God’s loyalty and faithfulness to His covenant people. For example, in the Ten Commandments, the LORD said He would “show lovingkindness to thousands,” to all those who love Him and obey Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10).
In our passage, Rahab used the term “ḥeseḏ” to demonstrate that she preserved the lives of the Israelite spies from death by hiding them on her roof. Therefore, she asked them for reciprocal loyalty: that you deal kindly with my father’s household. She urged the men to protect her family members and deliver them from death when they returned to capture Jericho.
Having asked the men to protect her father’s household, Rahab requested a pledge of truth. She wanted the spies to take a serious oath to affirm they would act faithfully and truthfully to her. They were to give evidence of their commitment to spare her and her family. After the request, Rahab gave a detailed list of those who belonged to her father’s household. She said to the men, Spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death (v. 13).
After hearing Rahab’s request, the men spoke to her and began with a statement that expressed their concern and guaranteed their promise: Our life for yours (v. 14). In other words, the spies issued a self-cursing formula, wishing that the LORD take their lives if they did not keep their word. However, there was one condition: If you do not tell this business of ours. Rahab was to use discretion and keep the matter secret to continue to protect their lives and their mission.
The Israelite spies noticed how the news about their arrival to Jericho spread quickly despite all their efforts to move covertly. They saw how the LORD their God used Rahab to save their lives from the king of Jericho and his messengers. Thus, they begged her to enable them to escape the city of Jericho without revealing that information to anyone until they returned home safely. If she could maintain secrecy, they would reach an agreement with her: It shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.
That the spies would deal kindly and faithfully with Rahab means they would act with loyalty and truthfulness toward her. She and her household would be spared. The spies reassured her they would treat her and her family well because, without her help, they would not have been able to return safely to the Israelite camp.
We see this promise fulfilled a few chapters later.
“However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.” (Joshua 6:25)
Despite Rahab’s previous worship of false idols and low social status, she trusted Israel’s God and became one of His children. For this reason, the New Testament writers commended her for her faith and placed her among the great heroes of faith: “By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Her faith caused her to become a child of God and to protect the spies, to the saving of her life.
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Joshua 2:8–14 meaning
In Joshua 2:8-14, Rahab and the Israelite spies make plans and pledges.
In the previous passage, Joshua sent two men to scout out the land of Jericho. The spies stayed in the house of a prostitute named Rahab. While they were there, the news spread quickly around the city, and the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, asking her to deliver the men into his hands. Rahab hid the men within stalks of flax that she had laid on her roof to dry out. As soon as the king’s messengers left her house, watchmen shut the city gate for the night (Joshua 2:1-7). Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof and spoke to the men (v. 8).
The men were under the bundles of flax but were not yet asleep. Perhaps they heard Rahab’s conversation with the king’s agents and were sleepless. At any rate, before they settled down for the night, Rahab approached them and said to them, I know that the LORD has given you the land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you (v. 9).
The term translated as LORD is “Yahweh” in the Hebrew text, the self-existent and eternal God who revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14). It is the name by which God established a covenant relationship with the Israelites, taking them as His treasured possession and making them a holy nation (Exodus 19:4-6). In our passage, Rahab told the spies she knew the power of their God and believed He had already given them the land. She understood God’s plan for His covenant people.
At this time, Canaan and the Middle East was generally polytheistic, and Yahweh was well known and was worshipped alongside the false gods in the Canaanite pantheon.
Rahab acknowledged the greatness of the LORD and the reputation of His covenant people. She knew God had given the land of Canaan to Israel, causing all the Canaanites to tremble before them. She based her knowledge on previous wonders the LORD had performed on behalf of His people that aroused fear and anguish “upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens” (Deuteronomy 2:25). She then illustrated the truth about God by listing two major events in Israel’s history. The first one pertains to the parting of the Red Sea. Rahab stated, For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt (v. 10).
The Red Sea event was a major turning point in Israel’s history. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt for about 400 years and had no hope. But the LORD chose Moses and sent him to Pharaoh to release His people. God also sent His angel, who appeared as a cloud, to protect Israel. God then demonstrated His power by dividing the waters of the Red Sea and allowing His people to cross it on dry land. The Apostle Paul says it was at this moment the Israelites were “baptized unto Moses” (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Once they were across, He caused the Red Sea to fall upon the Egyptians, killing the best of Pharaoh’s army (Exodus 14:15-29). The news spread quickly, and the other nations learned about how the LORD delivered the Israelites without them having to fight.
The next major event listed by Rahab focuses on two Amorite kings who reigned in the region east of the Jordan River near the Promised Land. Rahab told the spies that she and the Canaanites knew what had happened to those kings: We have heard what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
When the Israelite army approached the land of Canaan, two mighty kings and their armies opposed them. The first was Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who ruled the city of Heshbon (Numbers 21:27-30). The second was Og, king of Bashan (Numbers 21:34) who was a giant; his bed was thirteen feet long (Deuteronomy 3:11). The LORD delivered Sihon to the Israelites, so they defeated him and his army (Deuteronomy 2:32-37). Likewise, He turned Og over to His people and asked them to destroy him and his army. The Israelites were victorious because the LORD their God had weakened their enemy to fulfill His promise (Deuteronomy 3:1-7).
The LORD’s miracles on behalf of Israel did not go unnoticed. All the pagan nations heard about this once-enslaved people coming from the desert destroying these powerful Amorite kings. Thus, Rahab stated, When we heard it, our hearts melted (v. 11). The idiomatic expression “melting heart” means losing courage (Deuteronomy 20:8). In other words, if a person’s heart melts, he becomes weak. In a parallel line, Rahab added, No courage remained in any man any longer because of you. She described the anxiety and fear of the inhabitants of Jericho upon hearing how God dealt with the Egyptians and the Amorite kings to rescue His covenant people. Then, she confessed her faith in God: For the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
Rahab first recognized the LORD as Israel’s God. Then, she acknowledged Him as the God in heaven above and on earth beneath. This statement means that the LORD is the sole creator of the universe (Deuteronomy 4:39; Acts 14:15). He rules everywhere and is the supreme God. By stating that the LORD is God, Rahab ignored all the so-called gods of the Canaanites and pledged allegiance to Israel’s God.
Having confessed the LORD as the only true God, Rahab made an urgent request to the spies. She began with the words “now therefore” to reinforce the urgency of the request, thereby preparing the minds of the men to hear the message (v. 12). Then, she said, Please swear to me by the LORD. Rahab asked the Israelite spies to make a solemn promise to her and gave the rationale for it: Since I have dealt kindly with you.
Rahab’s statement that she had dealt kindly with the spies comprises the verb meaning “to do” or “to make” and the Hebrew noun “ḥeseḏ,” translated as “steadfast love” or “lovingkindness.” The Bible uses “ḥeseḏ” to describe God’s loyalty and faithfulness to His covenant people. For example, in the Ten Commandments, the LORD said He would “show lovingkindness to thousands,” to all those who love Him and obey Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10).
In our passage, Rahab used the term “ḥeseḏ” to demonstrate that she preserved the lives of the Israelite spies from death by hiding them on her roof. Therefore, she asked them for reciprocal loyalty: that you deal kindly with my father’s household. She urged the men to protect her family members and deliver them from death when they returned to capture Jericho.
Having asked the men to protect her father’s household, Rahab requested a pledge of truth. She wanted the spies to take a serious oath to affirm they would act faithfully and truthfully to her. They were to give evidence of their commitment to spare her and her family. After the request, Rahab gave a detailed list of those who belonged to her father’s household. She said to the men, Spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death (v. 13).
After hearing Rahab’s request, the men spoke to her and began with a statement that expressed their concern and guaranteed their promise: Our life for yours (v. 14). In other words, the spies issued a self-cursing formula, wishing that the LORD take their lives if they did not keep their word. However, there was one condition: If you do not tell this business of ours. Rahab was to use discretion and keep the matter secret to continue to protect their lives and their mission.
The Israelite spies noticed how the news about their arrival to Jericho spread quickly despite all their efforts to move covertly. They saw how the LORD their God used Rahab to save their lives from the king of Jericho and his messengers. Thus, they begged her to enable them to escape the city of Jericho without revealing that information to anyone until they returned home safely. If she could maintain secrecy, they would reach an agreement with her: It shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will deal kindly and faithfully with you.
That the spies would deal kindly and faithfully with Rahab means they would act with loyalty and truthfulness toward her. She and her household would be spared. The spies reassured her they would treat her and her family well because, without her help, they would not have been able to return safely to the Israelite camp.
We see this promise fulfilled a few chapters later.
“However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day, for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”
(Joshua 6:25)
Despite Rahab’s previous worship of false idols and low social status, she trusted Israel’s God and became one of His children. For this reason, the New Testament writers commended her for her faith and placed her among the great heroes of faith: “By faith, Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace” (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Her faith caused her to become a child of God and to protect the spies, to the saving of her life.