Joshua 2

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent out two men from Shittim as spies. He said, "Go and look over the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and they stayed there.

1And 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.

NoteShittim ("Acacia Grove") was Israel's camp on the plains of Moab, east of the Jordan and several miles from the river. Jericho was the walled city on the west side that guarded the crossings, the first obstacle for anyone entering the land from that direction. A prostitute's house doubled as a place where a stranger could take lodging without being asked to account for himself, which is why the spies went there.

2Someone told the king of Jericho, "Look, men from Israel came here tonight to spy out the land."

2And 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.

3So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land."

3And 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.

4But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, "Yes, some men did come to me, but I did not know where they were from.

4And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:

Note"I wist not" is old English for "I did not know." The same verb appears as "wot" in the next verse.

5About the time the city gate was going to shut, when it was getting dark, the men left. I do not know which way they went. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch them."

5And 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.

NoteCity gates were shut at nightfall and not opened again until morning; no one could enter or leave in between. Rahab's story is that the men slipped out just before the gate closed, so the pursuers still have a chance of catching them on the road.

6But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them under the stalks of flax that she had laid out in rows there.

6But 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.

NoteFlax is the plant linen is made from. The stalks were soaked, then spread out on flat rooftops to dry, in bundles deep enough to hide a person under. Roofs in this region were flat and were used as work and storage space.

7So the men chased after them along the road toward the Jordan River, to the shallow places where people cross. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the city gate was shut.

7And 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.

NoteThe Jordan could only be crossed on foot at certain shallow places, called fords. By racing to them, the pursuers were trying to cut the spies off from the only route back to their own people.

8Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab came up to them on the roof.

8And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

9She said to them, "I know that the LORD has given you this land. Fear of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in this land is weak with fear because of you.

9And 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.

Note"Your terror is fallen upon us" means the dread of you has come over us, not that the Israelites felt terror.

10We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea in front of you when you came out of Egypt. We have also heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.

10For 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.

NoteThe Hebrew name of the sea is "yam suph," literally "sea of reeds." Sihon and Og were kings whose territory lay east of the Jordan; Israel had defeated them shortly before this, so news of it would have been recent. "Utterly destroyed" translates a term meaning to devote a place to God for destruction, nothing was kept as plunder.

11As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and no man had any courage left, because of you. For the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

11And 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.

Note"Our hearts did melt" is a standard Hebrew expression for nerve failing, not for grief or pity.

12So now, please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my father's family, since I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign

12Now 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:

NoteTo swear "by the LORD" was to call that god as witness and enforcer of the promise; Rahab, a Canaanite, deliberately invokes Israel's God, the one the oath-takers cannot evade. The word translated "kindness" (Hebrew *chesed*) means loyal, faithful dealing between parties who owe each other something, a favor given creates a claim to one in return. A "true token" is a tangible pledge or agreed sign, not just a verbal assurance.

13that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and everyone who belongs to them, and that you will save us from death."

13And 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.

Note"My father's house" is the standard term for the extended household: parents, brothers and sisters with their spouses and children, and any dependents attached to them. Rahab is asking for the whole unit to be spared, not just her immediate relatives.

14The men answered her, "Our lives for yours! If you do not tell anyone what we are doing here, then when the LORD gives us the land, we will treat you with kindness and keep our word."

14And 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.

15Then she let them down by a rope through the window, because her house was built into the city wall, and that is where she lived.

15Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

NoteIn cities of this period some houses were built into or against the fortification wall itself, sometimes in the space between an outer and inner wall. Rahab's window therefore opened onto the outside of the city, letting the men bypass the shut gate entirely.

16She said to them, "Go to the hills, so the men chasing you will not meet you. Hide there for three days, until they have come back. After that you can go on your way."

16And 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.

Note"The mountain" is the hill country immediately west of Jericho, a steep limestone escarpment riddled with caves. It is in the opposite direction from the river, so the pursuers heading east for the fords would not cross their path.

17The men said to her, "We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear…

17And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear.

NoteThe men's sentence is left unfinished here; the conditions that complete it follow in the next verses, in effect, "we will be free of this oath unless you do the following."

18unless, when we come into the land, you tie this scarlet cord in the window you let us down through, and bring your father and mother and brothers and all your father's family together into your house.

18Behold, 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.

NoteThe scarlet cord is a marker visible from outside, so attacking troops would know which house to leave alone. Scarlet dye made it stand out against the wall.

19If anyone goes out the doors of your house into the street, his death will be his own fault, and we will not be to blame. But if anyone who stays with you in the house is harmed, his death will be our fault.

19And 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.

Note"His blood shall be upon his head" is a legal formula: responsibility for the death rests on the dead person himself, and no one else can be held liable for it. The second half reverses the formula, if someone inside the house is killed, the liability falls on the two men.

20And if you tell anyone what we are doing, then we will be free from the oath you made us swear."

20And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

Note"Quit of" means released from, discharged of any obligation.

21She said, "Let it be as you say." She sent them away, and they left. Then she tied the scarlet cord in the window.

21And 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.

22They went and came to the hills and stayed there three days, until the men chasing them had returned. The pursuers searched the whole road but did not find them.

22And 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.

23Then the two men started back. They came down from the hills, crossed the river, and came to Joshua son of Nun, and told him everything that had happened to them.

23So 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:

Note"Passed over" here means crossed back over the Jordan to the Israelite camp at Shittim.

24They said to Joshua, "The LORD has surely handed the whole land over to us. In fact, everyone who lives in the country is weak with fear because of us."

24And 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.