Joshua 2:4

4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.

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 The king of Jericho was told, "Some Israelites have come here tonight to search out the land."

3 Then the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come only to search out the whole land."

4 But the woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.

5 And when it was time to close the gate at dark, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know. Pursue them quickly, for you can overtake them."

6 She had, however, brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid out on the roof.