Joshua 2 · The Lantern

Rahab Welcomes the Spies

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Acacia two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a prostitute’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

On account of her faith and hospitality, Rahab the harlot was saved. For when spies were sent by Joshua, the son of Nun, to Jericho, the king of the country ascertained that they had come to spy out their land, and sent men to seize them, in order that, when taken, they might be put to death.

Rahab; what is the force of her name? We have been following the historical sense; let us now reflect upon the anagogic significance of the name. Rahab thus admits of two interpretations: the name may imply either a "broad space" or, better, "pride." Consider, therefore, its impact.

Rahab was a harlot who secretly admitted the spies of Joshua when they visited Jericho and let them out by another exit so that they should not be captured. Her name means "pride." She was converted by God's generosity and deserved to obtain mercy.

And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Look, there came men in here tonight of the children of Israel to search out the country.

And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that have come to you, which are entered into your house: for they have come to search out all the country.

And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men to me, but I knew not where they were from:

And it happened about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: where the men went I know not: pursue after them quickly; for you shall overtake them.

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.

And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan to the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them had gone out, they shut the gate.

The Promise to Rahab

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

And she said to the men, I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that your terror has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

For 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 the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.

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.

Now therefore, please, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token:

And that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.

And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if you utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.

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.

And she said to 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 you go your way.

And the men said to her, We will be blameless of this your oath which you have made us swear.

Look, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by: and you shall bring your father, and your mother, and your brothers, and all your father’s household, home to you.

And it shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whoever shall be with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is upon him.

And if you utter this our business, then we will be quit of your oath which you have made us to swear.

And she said, According to your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

But that this sign hangs "in the window," this I judge to be indicated: that the window is that which illuminates the house, and through which we take in not the whole light, but only as much as suffices for our eyes and sight.

A harlot saw this; and she who in the destruction of the city lost all hope of any means of safety, because her faith had conquered, bound a scarlet thread in her window, and thus uplifted a sign of her faith and the banner of the Lord's passion; so that the semblance of the mystic blood, which should redeem the world, might be in memory.

So, too, with a mystic reference to the shedding of blood, it was a scarlet cord which the harlot Rahab (a type of the church) hung in her window that she might be saved at the destruction of Jericho.

And they went, and came to the mountain, and remained there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

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:

And they said to Joshua, Truly the LORD has delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Joshua2

Rahab Welcomes the Spies

The Promise to Rahab