Joshua 2:17

17 The men said to her, "¹We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,

Joshua 2:17 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 2:17

And the men said unto her
Some think that this discourse, which passed between the spies and her, was while in the house before she let them down, or otherwise they would have been in danger of being overheard, and so the whole affair discovered; but as it was on the other side of the house, and under the wall of the city, and without it, they might with the greater safety converse together:

we [will be] blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us
swear;
that is, they would most faithfully and punctually keep it, it should be sacred to them, and she should have no occasion to lay any blame upon them in the least.

Joshua 2:17 In-Context

15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.

16 She said to them, "Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way."

17 The men said to her, "We shall be free from this oath to you which you have made us swear,

18 unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and gather to yourself into the house your father and your mother and your brothers and all your father's household.

19 "It shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be free; but anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 24:8

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "of yours"