Joshua 2
Amplified Bible
Rahab Shelters Spies
2 Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as scouts secretly from Shittim, saying, “Go, view the land, especially [a]Jericho [the walled city].” So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 Now the king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy and search out the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, because they have come [as spies] to search out all the land.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them; so she said, “Yes, two men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. 5 When it was time to close the [city] gate at dark, the men left; I do not know where they went. Pursue them quickly, for [if you do] you will overtake them.” 6 But [in fact] she had brought the scouts up to the roof and had hidden them under the [b]stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof [to dry]. 7 So the [king’s] men pursued them on the road to the Jordan as far as the [c]fords [east of Jericho]; as soon as the pursuers had gone out after them, the gate [of the city] was shut.
8 Now before the two men lay down [to sleep], Rahab came up to them on the roof, 9 and she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror and dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the [d]Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan [on the east], to Sihon and Og, whom you [e]utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard it, our hearts melted [in despair], and a [fighting] spirit no longer remained in any man because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.(A) 12 And now, please swear [an oath] to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s household (family), and give me a pledge of truth and faithfulness, 13 and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, along with everyone who belongs to them, and let us all live.” 14 So the men said to her, “Our lives for yours if you do not tell [anyone about] this business of ours; then when the Lord gives us the land we will show you kindness and faithfulness [and keep our agreement with you].”
The Promise to Rahab
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was built [f]into the city wall, so that she was living on the wall. 16 And she said to them, “Go [west] to the hill country, so that the pursuers [who have headed east] will not encounter you; hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you can go your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We shall be blameless and free from this oath which you have made us swear, 18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this [g]cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and bring into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father’s household [so that they will be safe]. 19 But if anyone goes out the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head [that is, his own responsibility], and we shall be blameless and free [from our oath]; however, if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head. 20 But if you tell [anyone] this business of ours, we shall be blameless and free from the oath which you made us swear.” 21 She said, “According to your words, so be it.” Then Rahab sent them off, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 They left and went [on their way] to the hill country [west of Jericho], and stayed there [hidden in the caves] three days until the pursuers returned. The pursuers had searched all along the road but had not found them. 23 Then the two men turned back and came down from the hill country and crossed over [the Jordan] and came to Joshua the son of Nun [at Shittim], and told him everything that had happened to them. 24 They said to Joshua, “Certainly the Lord has given all the land into our hands; for all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of us.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 Jericho, an oasis near the Jordan River, is believed to be one of the world’s oldest inhabited sites. Its name is derived from the Hebrew word for “moon,” implying that it may have been a center of worship for various lunar gods.
- Joshua 2:6 Flax was used to make linen and the flat rooftop of a house was a convenient place to lay the stalks in the sun to dry.
- Joshua 2:7 I.e. narrow or shallow places where the river could be crossed by wading.
- Joshua 2:10 Lit Sea of Reeds.
- Joshua 2:10 The conquest of the land and the destruction of its inhabitants were acts of divine judgment decreed by God, and carried out through acts of obedience by Joshua and the sons of Israel.
- Joshua 2:15 Modern archaeology indicates that the house may have been built against the wall, so that the city wall also formed the back wall of the house. Otherwise, it may have been built partially or entirely in the wall. The Hebrew preposition (“into/in”) has too wide a range of meaning to be precise.
- Joshua 2:18 The scarlet cord in Rahab’s window may be considered analogous to the blood on the doorposts on the first Passover night in Egypt (Ex 12:13). God allowed her life to be saved and also changed. She became an ancestress, as did Ruth, of David and of Jesus Christ (Matt 1:1, 5, 6).
Joshua 2
King James Version
2 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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:
5 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.
6 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.
7 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.
8 And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 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.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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:
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
16 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.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.
18 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.
19 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.
20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
21 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.
22 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.
23 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:
24 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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