Joshua 2

1 Therefore Joshua, the son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spyers in huddles, and said to them, Go ye, and behold ye the land, and the city of Jericho. Which went, and entered into the house of a woman whore, Rahab by name, and rested at her. (And so Joshua, the son of Nun, secretly sent out two spies from Shittim, and said to them, Go ye, and look ye over the land, and the city of Jericho. And they went, and entered into the house of a whore-woman, Rahab by name, and stayed with her.)

2 And it was told, and said to the king of Jericho, Lo! men of the sons of Israel have entered hither by night, to espy the land. (And it was told to the king of Jericho, Lo! some men of the Israelites have come in here by night, to spy out the land.)

3 Therefore the king of Jericho sent to Rahab the whore, and said, Bring out the men, that came to thee, and that entered into thine house; for they be spyers (for they be spies), and they came to behold all the land.

4 And the woman took the men, and hid them, and said, I acknowledge, that they came to me, but I wist not of whence they were; (But earlier, the woman had taken the men, and had hid them, and so she said, I acknowledge, that they came to me, but I knew not where they came from;)

5 and when the gate was closed in darknesses, and they went out together, I know not whither they went (and tonight before the city gate was closed, they went out together, but I do not know where they went); pursue ye them soon, and ye shall overtake them.

6 Forsooth she (had) made the men to go up into the solar of her house, and she (had) covered them with stubble, or sheaves, of flax, that was there.

7 And they, that were sent, followed them by the way that leadeth to the fords of (the) Jordan; and when they were gone out, anon the gate was closed. (And they, who were sent there, followed after them by the way that leadeth to the crossings of the Jordan River; and when they were gone out, at once the city gate was closed.)

8 [And] They that were hid, slept not yet, and lo! the woman went up to them,

9 and said, I know that the Lord hath betaken to you this land; for your fearedfulness is fallen into us, and all the dwellers of the land be abashed. (and she said, I know that the Lord hath delivered this land to you; for we all be afraid of you, and all the inhabitants of the land be greatly panicked.)

10 We have heard, that the Lord hath dried up the waters of the Red Sea at your entering, when ye went out of Egypt; and what things ye did to the two kings of Amorites, that were beyond (the) Jordan, to Sihon and Og, which ye killed; (We have heard, that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea, or the Sea of Reeds, before you, when ye went out of Egypt; and what ye did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were on the eastern side of the Jordan River, that is, to Sihon and Og, whom ye killed;)

11 and we heard these things, and we dreaded, and our heart was sick, and spirit dwelled not in us at your entering; for the Lord your God himself is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath (and on the earth below).

12 Now therefore swear ye to me by the Lord God, that as I did mercy with you, so and ye do with the house(hold) of my father; and give ye to me a very sign, (And so now swear ye to me by the Lord God, that as I did mercy with you, so ye shall also do mercy with my family; and give ye to me a true sign,)

13 that ye (shall) save my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and [my] sisters, and all things that be theirs, and (shall) deliver our lives from death.

14 Which answered to her, Our life be for you into death, if nevertheless thou betrayest not us; and when the Lord hath betaken to us the land, we shall do mercy and truth with thee. (And they answered to her, Our lives be for yours unto death, if thou betrayest us not; and when the Lord hath delivered the land to us, we shall show mercy and faithfulness to thee.)

15 Then she let them down from the window by a cord; for her house was joined to the town wall.

16 And she said to them, Go ye up to the hilly places, lest peradventure the men turning again meet you; and be ye hid there three days, till they come again; and so ye shall go by your way. (And she said to them, Go ye up to the hills, lest as the men return, they come upon you; and be ye hid there for three days, until they return; and then ye can go on your way.)

17 Which said to her, We shall be guiltless of this oath, by which thou hast charged us,

18 if, when we enter into the land, this red cord is not (shown as) a sign, and thou bindest it not in the window, by which thou lettest us down; and thou gatherest not into thine house thy father, and mother, and brethren, and all thy kindred;

19 the blood of him shall be on his head, that goeth out at the door of thine house, and we shall be guiltless; forsooth the blood of all men that be in the house with thee, shall turn into our head (shall be on our heads), if any man toucheth them.

20 That if thou wilt betray us, and bring forth into the midst this word, we shall be clean of this oath, by which thou hast charged us. (But if thou wilt betray us, and bring forth this word into the midst/and make known our agreement, then we shall be released from this oath, by which thou hast charged us.)

21 And she answered, As ye have spoken, so be it done. And she let go them, that they should go forth (And she let them go, so that they could go forth), and (then) she hanged the red cord in her window.

22 And they went forth, and came into the hilly places, and dwelled there three days, till they turned again that (had) pursued them; for they sought them by each way, and found not them. (And they went forth, and came to the hills, and stayed there for three days, until they who had pursued them returned; for they had sought them every place that they could think of, but could not find them anywhere.)

23 And when the seekers entered into the city again, the spyers turned again, and came down from the hill; and when they had passed [over] (the) Jordan, they came to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they told to him all things that befelled to them, (And after that those who had sought them had entered into the city again, the spies returned, and came down from the hills; and when they had crossed back over the Jordan River, they came to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they told him everything that had happened to them,)

24 and said, The Lord hath betaken all the land into our hands, and all the dwellers thereof be cast down by dread. (and they said, The Lord hath delivered all the land into our hands, and all of its inhabitants be greatly afraid of us.)

Joshua 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Rahab receives and hides two Israelites. (1-7) Rahab and the spies. (8-21) The return of the spies. (22-24)

Verses 1-7 Faith in God's promises ought not to do away, but to encourage our diligence in the use of proper means. The providence of God directed the spies to the house of Rahab. God knew where there was one that would be true to them, though they did not. Rahab appears to have been an innkeeper; and if she had formerly been one of bad life, which is doubtful, she had left her evil courses. That which seems to us most accidental, is often overruled by the Divine providence to serve great ends. It was by faith that Rahab received those with peace, against whom her king and country had war. We are sure this was a good work; it is so spoken of by the apostle, ( James 2:25 ) ; and she did it by faith, such a faith as set her above the fear of man. Those only are true believers, who find in their hearts to venture for God; they take his people for their people, and cast in their lot among them. The spies were led by the special providence of God, and Rahab entertained them out of regard to Israel and Israel's God, and not for lucre or for any evil purpose. Though excuses may be offered for the guilt of Rahab's falsehood, it seems best to admit nothing which tends to explain it away. Her views of the Divine law must have been very dim: a falsehood like this, told by those who enjoy the light of revelation, whatever the motive, would deserve heavy censure.

Verses 8-21 Rahab had heard of the miracles the Lord wrought for Israel. She believed that his promises would certainly be fulfilled, and his threatenings take effect; and that there was no way of escape but by submitting to him, and joining with his people. The conduct of Rahab proved that she had the real principle of Divine faith. Observe the promises the spies made to her. The goodness of God is often expressed by his kindness and truth, ( Psalms 117:2 ) ; in both these we must be followers of him. Those who will be conscientious in keeping promises, are cautious in making them. The spies make needful conditions. The scarlet cord, like the blood upon the doorpost at the passover, recalls to remembrance the sinner's security under the atoning blood of Christ; and that we are to flee thereto for refuge from the wrath of a justly offended God. The same cord Rahab used for the saving of these Israelites, was to be used for her own safety. What we serve and honour God with, we may expect he will bless, and make useful to us.

Verses 22-24 The report the spies brought was encouraging. All the people of the country faint because of Israel; they have neither wisdom to yield, nor courage to fight. Those terrors of conscience, and that sense of Divine wrath, which dismay the ungodly, but bring not to repentance, are fearful forebodings of approaching destruction. But grace yet abounds to the chief of sinners. Let them, without delay, flee to Christ, and all shall be well.

Chapter Summary

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.