Joshua 2:4

4 And the woman took the two men and hid them; and she spoke to the messengers, saying, The men came in to me,

Joshua 2:4 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 2:4

And the woman took the two men
Or "she had taken" them

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 before the messengers came, upon a rumour she understood was gone abroad, that she had got Israelitish spies in her house, and so might expect to be visited and searched by the king's officers, and therefore took this precaution:

and hid them;
the Hebrew word is singular, "him" ^F1: hence the Jews, who take these two spies to be Caleb and Phinehas, say, that only Caleb was hid, and Phinehas, though he was before them, was not seen, being an angel, ( Malachi 2:7 ) ; but the sense is, that she hid each of them, and very probably singly and apart, that if one was found, the other might escape, as Ben Gersom observes; and Abarbinel is of opinion that she hid them twice, now in the middle of her house, one in one place, and the other in another, for the reason before given, and after this hid them in the roof of her house, as afterwards related:

and said thus, there came men unto me;
that is, into her house, this she owned:

but I wist not whence they [were];
of what country they were, whether Israelites or not; which whether she knew or not is not certain; it is probable she did, and told an untruth, as she also did in ( Joshua 2:5 ) .

F26 (xptw) "duxerat, tulerat"; so Syr. Ar. Kimchi, & Ben Melech.
F1 (wnputw) "et abscondit eum", Montanus; "abdiderat eum", Vatablus.

Joshua 2:4 In-Context

2 An it was reported to the king of Jericho, saying, Men of the sons of Israel have come in hither to spy the land.

3 And the king of Jericho sent and spoke to Raab, saying, Bring out the men that entered into thine house this night; for they are come to spy out the land.

4 And the woman took the two men and hid them; and she spoke to the messengers, saying, The men came in to me,

5 but when the gate was shut in the evening, the men went out; I know not whither they are gone: follow after them, if ye may overtake them.

6 But she brought them up upon the house, and hid them in the flax-stalks that were spread by her on the house.

Footnotes

• [a]. them.