Joshua 2

Jos 2:1-7.

RAHAB

RECEIVES AND

CONCEALS THE

TWO

SPIES.

1. Joshua . . . sent . . . two men to spy secretly--Faith is manifested

(Jas 2:22);

and accordingly Joshua, while confident in the accomplishment of the

divine promise

(Jos 1:3),

adopted every precaution which a skilful general could think of to

render his first attempt in the invasion of Canaan successful. Two

spies were despatched to reconnoitre the country, particularly in the

neighborhood of Jericho; for in the prospect of investing that place,

it was desirable to obtain full information as to its site, its

approaches, the character, and resources of its inhabitants. This

mission required the strictest privacy, and it seems to have been

studiously concealed from the knowledge of the Israelites themselves,

test any unfavorable or exaggerated report, publicly circulated, might

have dispirited the people, as that of the spies did in the days of

Moses.

Jericho--Some derive this name from a word signifying "new moon,"

in reference to the crescent-like plain in which it stood, formed by an

amphitheater of hills; others from a word signifying "its scent," on

account of the fragrance of the balsam and palm trees in which it was

embosomed. Its site was long supposed to be represented by the small

mud-walled hamlet Er-Riha; but recent researches have fixed on a spot

about half an hour's journey westward, where large ruins exist about

six or eight miles distant from the Jordan. It was for that age a

strongly fortified town, the key of the eastern pass through the deep

ravine, now called Wady-Kelt, into the interior of Palestine.

they . . . came into an harlot's house--Many expositors, desirous of

removing the stigma of this name from an ancestress of the Saviour

(Mt 1:5),

have called her a hostess or tavern keeper. But Scriptural usage

(Le 21:7-14;

De 23:18;

Jud 11:1;

1Ki 3:16),

the authority of the Septuagint, followed by the apostles

(Heb 11:31;

Jas 2:25),

and the immemorial style of Eastern khans, which are never kept by

women, establish the propriety of the term employed in our version. Her

house was probably recommended to the spies by the convenience of its

situation, without any knowledge of the character of the inmates. But a

divine influence directed them in the choice of that lodging-place.

2, 3. it was told the king--by the sentinels who at such a time of

threatened invasion would be posted on the eastern frontier and whose

duty required them to make a strict report to headquarters of the

arrival of all strangers.

4-6. the woman took the two men, and hid them--literally, "him," that

is, each of them in separate places, of course previous to the

appearance of the royal messengers and in anticipation of a speedy

search after her guests. According to Eastern manners, which pay an

almost superstitious respect to a woman's apartment, the royal

messengers did not demand admittance to search but asked her to bring

the foreigners out.

5. the time of shutting of the gates--The gates of all Oriental

cities are closed at sunset, after which there is no possibility either

of admission or egress.

the men went out--This was a palpable deception. But, as lying is a

common vice among heathen people, Rahab was probably unconscious of its

moral guilt, especially as she resorted to it as a means for screening

her guests; and she might deem herself bound to do it by the laws of

Eastern hospitality, which make it a point of honor to preserve the

greatest enemy, if he has once eaten one's salt. Judged by the divine

law, her answer was a sinful expedient; but her infirmity being united

with faith, she was graciously pardoned and her service accepted

(Jas 2:25).

6. she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with

the stalks of flax--Flax, with other vegetable productions, is at a

certain season spread out on the flat roofs of Eastern houses to be

dried in the sun; and, after lying awhile, it is piled up in numerous

little stacks, which, from the luxuriant growth of the flax, rise to a

height of three or four feet. Behind some of these stacks Rahab

concealed the spies.

7. the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords--That

river is crossed at several well-known fords. The first and second

immediately below the sea of Galilee; the third and fourth immediately

above and below the pilgrims' bathing-place, opposite Jericho.

as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the

gate--This precaution was to ensure the capture of the spies, should

they have been lurking in the city.

Jos 2:8-21.

THE

COVENANT BETWEEN

HER AND

THEM.

8-13. she came up unto them upon the roof and said--Rahab's dialogue is

full of interest, as showing the universal panic and consternation of

the Canaanites on the one hand

(Jos 24:11;

De 2:25),

and her strong convictions on the other, founded on a knowledge of the

divine promise, and the stupendous miracles that had opened the way of

the Israelites to the confines of the promised land. She was convinced

of the supremacy of Jehovah, and her earnest stipulations for the

preservation of her relatives amid the perils of the approaching

invasion, attest the sincerity and strength of her faith.

14. the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our

business--This was a solemn pledge--a virtual oath, though the name of

God is not mentioned; and the words were added, not as a condition of

their fidelity, but as necessary for her safety, which might be

endangered if the private agreement was divulged.

15. her house was upon the town wall--In many Oriental cities houses

are built on the walls with overhanging windows; in others the town

wall forms the back wall of the house, so that the window opens into

the country. Rahab's was probably of this latter description, and the

cord or rope sufficiently strong to bear the weight of a man.

16-21. she said--rather "she had said," for what follows must have

been part of the previous conversation.

Get you to the mountain--A range of white limestone hills extends on

the north, called Quarantania (now Jebel Karantu), rising to a height

of from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet, and the sides of which

are perforated with caves. Some one peak adjoining was familiarly known

to the inhabitants as "the mountain." The prudence and propriety of the

advice to flee in that direction rather than to the ford, were made

apparent by the sequel.

21. she bound the scarlet line in the window--probably soon after the

departure of the spies. It was not formed, as some suppose, into

network, as a lattice, but simply to hang down the wall. Its red color

made it conspicuous, and it was thus a sign and pledge of safety to

Rahab's house, as the bloody mark on the lintels of the houses of the

Israelites in Egypt to that people.