Joshua 2
New English Translation
Joshua Sends Spies into the Land
2 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them:[a] “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.”[b] They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there.[c] 2 The king of Jericho received this report: “Note well![d] Israelite men have come here tonight[e] to spy on the land.” 3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab:[f] “Turn over[g] the men who came to you[h]—the ones who came to your house[i]—for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 4 But the woman hid the two men[j] and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine,[k] but I didn’t know where they came from. 5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left.[l] I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!” 6 (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out[m] on the roof.) 7 Meanwhile,[n] the king’s men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River[o] near the fords.[p] The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them.[q]
8 Now before the spies[r] went to sleep, Rahab[s] went up[t] to the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you.[u] We are absolutely terrified of you,[v] and all who live in the land are cringing before[w] you.[x] 10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan.[y] 11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you.[z] For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! 12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name.[aa] Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family.[ab] Give me a solemn pledge[ac] 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and will rescue us[ad] from death.” 14 The men said to her, “If you[ae] die, may we die too![af] If you do not report what we’ve been up to,[ag] then we will show unswerving allegiance[ah] to you[ai] when the Lord hands the land over to us.”
15 Then Rahab[aj] let them down by a rope[ak] through the window. (Her[al] house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.)[am] 16 She told them, “Head[an] to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you.[ao] Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you[ap] to return. Then you can be on your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met:[aq] 18 When we invade the land,[ar] tie this red rope[as] in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father’s house.[at] 19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death—we are innocent in that case![au] But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible.[av] 20 If you should report what we’ve been up to,[aw] we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.”[ax] She sent them on their way[ay] and then tied the red rope in the window. 22 They went[az] to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them[ba] to return. Their pursuers[bb] looked all along the way but did not find them.[bc] 23 Then the two men returned—they came down from the hills, crossed the river,[bd] came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered. 24 They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us![be] All who live in the land are cringing before us!”[bf]
Footnotes
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”
- Joshua 2:1 tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”
- Joshua 2:2 tn Or “look.”
- Joshua 2:2 tn Heb “men have come here tonight from the sons of Israel.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn Heb “bring out.”
- Joshua 2:3 tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, boʾ ʾel) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.
- Joshua 2:3 tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.
- Joshua 2:4 tn Heb “The woman took the two men and hid him.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “hid” has to be a scribal error (see GKC §135.p).
- Joshua 2:4 tn Heb “the men came to me.” See the note on this phrase in v. 3.
- Joshua 2:5 tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”
- Joshua 2:6 tn Heb “arranged in rows by her.”
- Joshua 2:7 tn Another way to translate vv. 6-7 would be, “While she took them up to the roof and hid them…, the king’s men tried to find them….” Both of the main clauses have the subject prior to the predicate, perhaps indicating simultaneous action. (On the grammatical point, see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 42, §235.) In this case Rahab moves the Israelite spies from the hiding place referred to in v. 4 to a safer and less accessible hiding place.
- Joshua 2:7 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied for clarity.
- Joshua 2:7 tn Heb “And the men chased after them [on] the road [leading to] the Jordan to the fords.” The text is written from the perspective of the king’s men. As far as they were concerned, they were chasing the spies.
- Joshua 2:7 tn Heb “And they shut the gate after—as soon as the ones chasing after them went out.” The expressions “after” and “as soon as” may represent a conflation of alternate readings.
- Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “they.”
- Joshua 2:8 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 2:8 tn The Hebrew text adds, “to them.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
- Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
- Joshua 2:9 tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”
- Joshua 2:9 tn Or “melting away because of.”
- Joshua 2:9 tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”
- Joshua 2:10 tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”
- Joshua 2:11 tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”sn To swear an oath in the Lord’s name would make the Lord the witness and guarantor of the promise attached to the oath. If the person making the oath should go back on the promise, the Lord would judge him for breaking the contract.
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “with the house of my father.”
- Joshua 2:12 tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”
- Joshua 2:13 tn Or “our lives.”
- Joshua 2:14 tn The second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that Rahab’s entire family is in view.
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “Our lives in return for you to die.” If the lives of Rahab’s family are not spared, then the spies will pay for the broken vow with their own lives.
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “If you do not report this matter of ours.”
- Joshua 2:14 tn Heb “allegiance and faithfulness.” These virtual synonyms are joined in the translation as “unswerving allegiance” to emphasize the degree of promised loyalty.
- Joshua 2:14 tn The second person pronoun is feminine singular, referring specifically to Rahab.
- Joshua 2:15 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 2:15 tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (beʿad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.
- Joshua 2:15 tn Heb “For her house.”
- Joshua 2:15 tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “Go.”
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”
- Joshua 2:16 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.
- Joshua 2:17 tn Heb “We are free from this oath of yours which you made us swear.” The words “unless the following conditions are met” are not in the Hebrew text, but are added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”
- Joshua 2:18 tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”
- Joshua 2:19 tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”
- Joshua 2:19 tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”
- Joshua 2:20 tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”
- Joshua 2:21 tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”
- Joshua 2:21 tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “they went and came.”
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“them”) is added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “the ones chasing them.” This has been rendered as “their pursuers” in the translation to avoid redundancy with the preceding clause.
- Joshua 2:22 tn Heb “The pursuers looked in all the way and did not find [them].”
- Joshua 2:23 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, are added for clarification.
- Joshua 2:24 tn Heb “Surely the Lord has given into our hand all the land.” The report by the spies uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.
- Joshua 2:24 tn Heb “are melting away because of us.”
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.
Josué 2
La Bible du Semeur
La mission de reconnaissance à Jéricho
2 De Shittim[a], Josué, fils de Noun, envoya secrètement deux hommes chargés d’une mission de reconnaissance. Il leur donna cette consigne : « Allez explorer le pays, en particulier la ville de Jéricho[b] ! » Ils partirent et, arrivés à Jéricho, ils entrèrent dans la maison d’une prostituée nommée Rahab[c], et y passèrent la nuit. 2 On prévint le roi de Jéricho[d] que des Israélites étaient arrivés là pendant la nuit pour reconnaître la région. 3 Alors il envoya dire à Rahab : Livre-nous les hommes qui sont venus chez toi et qui logent dans ta maison, car ils sont venus pour espionner tout le pays.
4 Mais la femme emmena les deux hommes et les cacha, puis elle répondit : Effectivement, des hommes sont venus chez moi, mais j’ignorais d’où ils étaient. 5 Et comme on allait fermer la porte, ils sont repartis à la tombée de la nuit. Je ne sais pas où ils sont allés. Dépêchez-vous de les poursuivre, car vous pouvez encore les rattraper.
6 En fait, elle les avait fait monter sur le toit en terrasse de sa maison et les avait cachés sous un tas de tiges de lin qu’elle avait rangées là[e].
7 Les envoyés du roi se lancèrent à leur poursuite sur le chemin qui mène aux gués du Jourdain. Dès qu’ils eurent quitté la ville, on referma la porte derrière eux.
L’accord avec Rahab
8 Rahab monta sur la terrasse et vint trouver ses hôtes avant qu’ils ne se couchent. 9 Elle leur dit : Je sais que l’Eternel vous a donné ce pays : la terreur s’est emparée de nous et tous les habitants de la région sont pris de panique à cause de vous. 10 Car nous avons entendu que l’Eternel a mis à sec les eaux de la mer des Roseaux devant vous lorsque vous êtes sortis d’Egypte[f]. Nous avons appris comment vous avez traité les deux rois des Amoréens, Sihôn et Og, qui régnaient de l’autre côté du Jourdain, pour les vouer à l’Eternel[g], en les exterminant. 11 Depuis que nous avons entendu ces nouvelles, le cœur nous manque, et personne n’a plus le courage de vous tenir tête. En effet, c’est l’Eternel votre Dieu qui est Dieu, en haut dans le ciel et ici-bas sur la terre[h]. 12 Maintenant, je vous prie, jurez-moi par le nom de l’Eternel qu’en reconnaissance pour la bonté que je vous ai témoignée, vous aussi vous traiterez ma famille avec la même bonté, et donnez-moi un gage certain 13 que vous laisserez la vie sauve à mon père, à ma mère, à mes frères et sœurs, et à tous les membres de leurs familles, et que vous empêcherez que nous soyons mis à mort.
14 Les deux hommes lui répondirent : Notre vie répondra de la vôtre pourvu que tu gardes le secret de cet engagement entre nous. Lorsque l’Eternel nous donnera ce pays, nous serons fidèles à notre promesse et nous te traiterons avec bonté.
15 Or la maison de Rahab était construite dans le mur même des remparts de la ville, et elle habitait ainsi sur le rempart. Ainsi elle put faire descendre les deux hommes par la fenêtre au moyen d’une corde.
16 – Dirigez-vous vers les collines, leur recommanda-t-elle, pour échapper à ceux qui vous poursuivent, et cachez-vous là pendant trois jours jusqu’à ce qu’ils soient de retour. Après cela, vous pourrez reprendre votre route.
17 Les deux hommes lui dirent : Voici de quelle manière nous allons nous acquitter du serment que tu nous as fait prêter : 18 lorsque nous serons entrés dans ton pays, attache ce cordon rouge à la fenêtre par laquelle tu nous fais descendre, puis réunis dans ta maison ton père, ta mère, tes frères et toute ta famille. 19 Si l’un d’eux franchit la porte de ta maison pour aller dehors, il sera seul responsable de sa mort, nous en serons innocents. Par contre, si l’on porte la main sur l’un de ceux qui seront avec toi dans la maison, c’est nous qui porterons la responsabilité de sa mort. 20 Toutefois, si tu divulgues cet engagement entre nous, nous serons dégagés du serment que tu nous as fait prononcer.
21 Elle répondit : D’accord ! Que les choses soient comme vous l’avez dit ! Puis elle les fit partir et ils s’en allèrent. Aussitôt, elle attacha le cordon rouge à sa fenêtre. 22 Les deux hommes gagnèrent les collines et s’y tinrent cachés pendant trois jours, jusqu’à ce que la patrouille lancée à leur poursuite soit de retour ; elle avait battu toute la région le long de la route sans les trouver[i]. 23 Alors les deux hommes firent demi-tour, descendirent des collines et traversèrent le Jourdain. Ils vinrent trouver Josué et lui racontèrent tout ce qu’ils avaient constaté.
24 – Certainement l’Eternel nous livre tout le pays, lui dirent-ils, car déjà toute la population de la région est prise de panique à cause de nous.
Footnotes
- 2.1 Situé à une douzaine de kilomètres à l’est du Jourdain, à la hauteur de Jéricho (voir Nb 25.1 ; 33.49 ; Jos 3.1).
- 2.1 Ville fortifiée très ancienne située à 8 kilomètres à l’ouest du Jourdain. Alimentée par de bonnes sources et entourée de fortes murailles, elle aurait pu soutenir un long siège et détenait une position clé à l’entrée du pays promis (voir Nb 22.1 ; 26.3, 63 ; 31.12 ; Dt 32.49 ; 34.1-3).
- 2.1 Voir Mt 1.5 ; Hé 11.31 ; Jc 2.25.
- 2.2 Les principales villes de Canaan étaient de petits royaumes indépendants régis par des roitelets locaux.
- 2.6 Le lin mûrit en mars en Israël. Ses tiges atteignent la longueur d’un mètre.
- 2.10 Voir Ex 14.21.
- 2.10 Nb 21.21-35 ; Dt 2.30-35 ; 3.1-10.
- 2.11 Ex 15.15-16 ; 23.27 ; Dt 2.25 ; 4.39.
- 2.22 A l’ouest de l’ancienne Jéricho se trouvent des collines élevées et abruptes, trouées de cavernes, où il est facile de se cacher.
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