Joshua 2:5

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."

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 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."

6 But in fact she had taken them up on the roof. There she had hidden them under some flax she had piled up.

7 The king's men left to hunt down the spies. They took the road that leads to where the Jordan River can be crossed. As soon as they had gone out of the city, the gate was shut.