Bible Study Joshua 2
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Joshua 2 · WEB

Rahab and the Spies

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Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, including Jericho." They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.
2The king of Jericho was told, "Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land."
3The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land."
4The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I didn't know where they came from.
5About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don't know. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them."
6But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
7The men pursued them along the way to the Jordan to the fords. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, the gate was shut.
8Before they had laid down, she came up to them on the roof.
9She said to the men, "I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.
10For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn't any more spirit in any man, because of you; for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's house. Give me a true token,
13and save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death."
14The men said to her, "Our life for yours, if you don't talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
15Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the town wall, and she lived on the wall.
16She said to them, "Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go on your way."
17The men said to her, "We will be guiltless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear.
18Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. You shall gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.
19It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him.
20But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you have made us swear."
21She said, "Let it be according to your words." She sent them away, and they departed. She tied the scarlet line in the window.
22They went and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but didn't find them.
23Then the two men came down from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them.
24They said to Joshua, "Truly Yahweh has delivered into our hands all the land. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us."
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Summary

Joshua sends two spies to scout Jericho, the first fortified city standing between Israel and the heart of Canaan. The spies find shelter with Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who has already concluded that Israel's God is the one true God based on what she has heard of the Exodus and the defeat of the Amorite kings. Rahab hides the spies, misleads the king's soldiers, and secures a covenant promise of protection for her family in exchange, marked by a scarlet cord hung in her window. The spies return with a confident report that God has already given them the land.

Themes

  • Faith that comes from hearing — Rahab believes based on reports of God's mighty works
  • Grace extended to outsiders — a Canaanite woman becomes part of Israel's story
  • The scarlet cord as a symbol of salvation by a visible sign (echoes of the Passover)
  • Covenant faithfulness — both Rahab and the spies keep their word

Key verses

  • Josh 2:11 — “For Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”
  • Josh 2:18 — “Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down.”
  • Josh 2:9 — “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you.”

Context & background

Jericho is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, located in the Jordan Valley in what is today the modern West Bank, just north of the Dead Sea and a few miles west of the Jordan River. The city would have been a well-fortified strategic gateway to the highlands of Canaan (modern Israel/West Bank). Rahab's house on the city wall was likely a common location for a woman of her profession. The Red Sea crossing and defeat of Sihon and Og (in modern Jordan) were events recent enough that the whole region knew of them, creating the "terror of Israel" that God had promised (Deuteronomy 2:25). Rahab is listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5, making her an ancestor of David and of Christ.

Cross-references

  • Exodus 12:13 — The blood on the doorpost at Passover parallels the scarlet cord as a sign of salvation
  • Hebrews 11:31 — Rahab commended for faith: "By faith Rahab the prostitute didn't perish with those who were disobedient"
  • James 2:25 — Rahab cited as an example of faith shown through works
  • Matthew 1:5 — Rahab is in the genealogy of Jesus Christ
  • Numbers 13:31-33 — The previous spies' faithless report contrasts sharply with these spies' confident report

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What specific events did Rahab say the Canaanites had heard about, and how did those reports affect them?

  2. Observe

    What were the conditions of the covenant between Rahab and the spies, and what sign was she to display?

  3. Interpret

    What does God's treatment of Rahab — a Canaanite prostitute praised in Hebrews and James and included in Jesus' genealogy — reveal?

  4. Interpret

    What might the scarlet cord echoing the Passover blood symbolize about how God provides salvation?

  5. Apply

    Rahab acted on incomplete knowledge — only reports about God. How does her example shape your faith?

  6. Apply

    How does this chapter shape how you view people who seem to be unlikely candidates for faith?

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