Joshua 2:3

3 Then the king of Jericho sent [word] to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land."

Joshua 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 2:3

And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab
Not merely because she kept a public house, or being a prostitute had often strangers in it, and so conjectured that the men he had notice of might be there; but he sent upon certain information that they were seen to go in there, as it follows:

saying, bring forth the men that are come to thee;
not to commit lewdness with her, though this is the sense some Jewish commentators give; but this neither agrees with the character of the men Joshua had chosen for this purpose, nor answers any end of the king to suggest; nor can it be thought that Rahab would so openly and freely own this, as in ( Joshua 2:4 ) : but what is meant by the phrase is explained in the following clause,

which are entered into thine house:
in order to lodge there that night:

for they be come to search out all the country;
so it was suspected, nor was the suspicion groundless.

Joshua 2:3 In-Context

1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from Acacia Grove, saying, "Go and scout the land, especially Jericho." So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land."

3 Then the king of Jericho sent [word] to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land."

4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, "Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn't know where they were from.

5 At nightfall, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!"