Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
The king of Jericho was
told, "Look! Some of
the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land." So the
king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: "Bring
out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to
spy out the whole land."
4 But the woman had taken
the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes,
the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when
it was time to close the city gate, the men left. I don't know which way they
went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them." (But she
had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had
laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road
that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone
out, the gate was shut.
8 Before the spies lay down
for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given this land to you and that
a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are
melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water
of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon
and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely
destroyed. When we heard of it, our
hearts melted and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your
God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now then, please swear to me
by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness
to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and
mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will
save us from death."
14 "Our lives for your lives!"
the men assured her. "If
you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when
the Lord gives us the land."
15 So she let them down
by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the
city wall. Now she had said to them, "Go to
the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days
until they return, and then go on your way."
17 The men said to her,
"This oath you made us
swear will not be binding on us unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you
let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers
and all your family into your house. If anyone goes outside your house into the
street, his blood will be on his own head; we will not be responsible. As for
anyone who is in the house with you, his blood will be on our head if a hand is
laid on him. But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the
oath you made us swear."
Rahab in the Old Testament
The Biblical
text identifies her as a zônāh, a prostitute (Joshua 2:1), The
first-century historian Josephus reports that she kept an inn. The consonants
that comprise the word “prostitute” in Hebrew are znh, which are the
same consonants that comprise the Hebrew word for a female who gives food and
provisions.
Zonah is used in
Josh 6:1 but in verses 17, 22, 25 the word is hazzownah which more directly
refers to a harlot or the term we are most familiar with = prostitute. That
title was not looked at with as much distain then as it is today and was
sometimes associated with Caananite & Baal temple worship. Hazownaah - Strongs #2181 zanah (zaw-naw') = a primitive root; to
commit adultery (usually of the female, and less often of simple fornication)
Rahab in the New Testament
Hebrews 11:30-31By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
James 2:25-26
In the same way, was not even Rahab the
prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the
spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Hebrews & James use the same Greek word translated prostitute: pornh = A prostitute; a harlot; a woman who sells her body for sexual uses.
Rahab is saved
Josh 6:20-25When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. 21 They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it — men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.
22 Joshua said to the two
men who had spied out the land, "Go into the
prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance
with your oath to her." 23 So the young men who had done the spying
went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother and brothers and all who
belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place
outside the camp of Israel. end of vs
25 and she lives among the
Israelites to this day.
The genealogy in
Matthew’s gospel. Jewish genealogies usually only included the names of men.
Surprise- we find four women included in Christ’s genealogy. These aren’t just
any women, either. The first woman is Tamar, who disguised herself as a
prostitute and bore twin sons by her father-in-law Judah. The second is Rahab [Salmon (one of the spies?) of
the tribe of Judah. His father Nahshon was the leader of that tribe during the
early wilderness wanderings (Num. 1:7; 2:3). Judah was the leading tribe (Num.
10:14) and Salmon would have taken his father’s leadership spot. Salmon was of
the princely line in Judah, the royal tribe of Israel and became the husband of
Rahab Matthew. 1:5]. Next is Rahab’s
daughter-in-law, Ruth, a Moabitess, descended from a line marred by incest.
Then we find Uriah’s wife, Bathseheba, with whom King David had an adulterous
affair. Jesus came to save sinners. That foreigners such as Ruth and Rahab are
included shows that God’s grace extended beyond Israel to all people.
Do you see
the Scarlet Cord of Redemption?
Exodus 12:7
Take some of the blood and put it on the
sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses.
Exodus 12:12-13 "On that same night I will pass
through Egypt and strike down every firstborn — both men and animals — and I
will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13
The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see
the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I
strike Egypt.
Hebrews 9:19-22
When Moses had proclaimed every commandment
of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water,
scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the
people. 20 He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has
commanded you to keep." 21
In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything
used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly
everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is
no forgiveness.
Matthew 1:5-6
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was
Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of
Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
The Blood of Jesus
John 6:53-57Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
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