Joshua 2:3

3 So the king sent a message to Rahab. It said, "Bring out the men who came into your house. They've come to check out the whole 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, the son of Nun, sent two spies from Shittim. He sent them in secret. He said to them, "Go. Look the land over. Most of all, check out Jericho." So they went to Jericho. They stayed at the house of a prostitute. Her name was Rahab.

2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look! Some of the people of Israel have come here tonight. They've come to check out the land."

3 So the king sent a message to Rahab. It said, "Bring out the men who came into your house. They've come to check out the whole land."

4 But the woman had hidden the two men. She said, "It's true that the men came here. But I didn't know where they had come from.

5 They left at sunset, when it was time to close the city gate. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You might catch up with them."