Joshua 2:5

5 The men left around the time when they shut the gate, when it was dark. Where they went I don't know; but if you chase after them quickly, you will overtake them."

Joshua 2:5 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 2:5

And it came to pass, [about the time] of the shutting of the
gate
Of the city, which was done every night, and at a certain time:

when it was dark;
the sun set, and night come on:

that the men went out;
out of her house, and out of the city too, as she said, though it was a downright lie, as well as what follows:

whither the men went I wot not;
though she knew they were not gone, but were now in her house; she might not scruple telling a lie, being brought up a Heathen, and being done with a design to save the lives of persons that belonged to a people she was persuaded were the people of God, and to whom he had given the land; though her lies are not to be justified; evil is not to be done that good may come; nor are men to tell lies one to another upon any account; but these sins, with others, the Lord forgave her:

pursue after them quickly, and ye shall overtake them;
this she encouraged them to do, to get rid of them the sooner, and to remove all suspicion of her having any respect for them, and of being concerned in concealing them.

Joshua 2:5 In-Context

3 The king of Yericho sent a message to Rachav, "Bring out the men who came to you and are staying in your house, because they have come to reconnoiter all the land."

4 However, the woman, after taking the two men and hiding them, replied, "Yes, the men did come to me; but I didn't know where they had come from.

5 The men left around the time when they shut the gate, when it was dark. Where they went I don't know; but if you chase after them quickly, you will overtake them."

6 Actually she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax she had spread out there.

7 The men pursued them all the way to the fords at the Yarden; as soon as the pursuit party had left, the gate was shut.