Joshua 2:8-18

8 And before they went to sleep, she came up unto them upon the roof;
9 and she said unto the men, I know that the LORD has given you this land because the fear of you has fallen upon us and all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you when ye came out of Egypt and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.
11 Hearing this has melted our heart, neither has there remained any more spirit in any man because of you, for the LORD your God is God above in the heavens and in the earth beneath.
12 Now, therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD since I have showed you mercy that ye will also do the same unto my father’s house, of which thou shalt give me a true sign,
13 and that ye will save alive my father and my mother and my brethren and my sisters and all that they have and deliver our lives from death.
14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours if ye do not declare this our business. And it shall be when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal with thee according to mercy and truth.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.
16 And she said unto them, Go to the mountain lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned; and afterwards ye may go your way.
17 And the men said unto her, We will be exempted of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear in the following manner.
18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shall have bound this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by, and thou shall have brought thy father and thy mother and thy brethren and all thy father’s household home unto thee.

Joshua 2:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 2

This chapter gives an account of the spies sent by Joshua to Jericho, and of their entrance into the house of Rahab, who hid them from the king's messengers, Jos 2:1-7; of the relation she gave them of the fear and dread of Israel, which were fallen upon the Canaanites, Jos 2:8-11; and of the request she made to them, to save her and her father's house, when the city should be taken, and to have a sure sign of it given her, Jos 2:12,13; which the spies solemnly promised, and gave her a sign of it, with a charge not to discover the matter to any, Jos 2:14-20; and being let down by a cord through the window of her house, they made their escape to a mountain, where they lay three days, and then returned to Joshua, and made their report, Jos 2:21-24.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010