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.

¹⁵ Then on the seventh day they got up early at daybreak and marched around the city in the same way seven times; only on that day they marched around the city ^[a]seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. ¹⁷ The city and everything that is in it shall be under the ban [that is, designated to be destroyed as a form of tribute] to the Lord; only Rahab the prostitute and all [the people] who are with her in her house shall [be allowed to] live, because she hid and protected the messengers (scouts) whom we sent. ¹⁸ But as for you, keep yourselves [away] from the things under the ban [which are to be destroyed], so that you do not covet them and take some of the things under the ban [for personal gain], and put the camp of Israel under the ban (doomed to destruction), and bring disaster upon it. ¹⁹ All the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron are holy (consecrated) to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” ²⁰ So the people shouted [the battle cry], and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout and the wall [of Jericho] fell down, so that the sons of Israel went up into the city, every man straight ahead [climbing over the rubble], and they overthrew the city. ²¹ Then they utterly destroyed everything that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

²² But Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house and bring the woman and all that she has out of there, as you have sworn to her.” ²³ So the young men, the spies, went in and brought out Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers and everything that she had; they also brought out all her relatives and allowed them to stay outside the camp of Israel [at Gilgal during the time required for ceremonial cleansing].^{(A) 24} Then they completely burned the city and everything that was in it. They put only the silver and the gold, and the articles of bronze and of iron, into the treasury of the house (tabernacle) of the Lord. ²⁵ So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father’s household and everything that she had; and she has lived among Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers (scouts) whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.