The story of Rahab is relatively well known and forms the first major incident in the book of Joshua – the start of the Israelites conquering the land of Canaan. It is a very curious incident. It is a story which should have never happened. It is an invitation and a warning. Every day we face a series of decisions. Will we be loyal to God or indulge in self-interest? Will we be like Jesus or indistinguishable from the general run of humanity? We need to seize the moment and make the courageous choice. And if we make those choices in the moment our past ceases to matter and we are wrapped up, undeservedly in mercy.
God is there and His mercy is amazing. But we need to make some tough choices sometimes. And to see that sometimes things are actually more black and white than we might like to think.
A flat/nuanced reading of Joshua
van Wijk-Bos suggests that given these texts took their final form around the Babylonian exile and return we should read them in that context as stories with meaning for the disposed and powerless.
The abuse of these texts for violent ends was not intended then and should not be its purpose now[1]
Instead van Wijk-Bos suggests the stories remember past unlikely victories when Israel were the underdogs and rather than an exhortation to violence instead are encouragement to endure, rooting their identity in the land and remembrance of God.
A defeated people composed collections of stories and songs about the past—the ancient days of victory, the gradual development of the scattered communities into a people with a central administration, its breakup and eventual demise—in order to regain a sense of who they were and who they could yet become. Their identity in past and present was closely wrapped up with their perspective on the way God had gone with them, from wilderness into the land and from their existence in the land to their being cast out and returned to live there not as owners but as servants of a foreign overlord. A people that saw itself as existing in a close relationship with its God also revisited its past in terms of this bond, trying to come to terms with ways to live anew within this covenant relationship guided by text. They longed to forge a path forward into an uncertain future and hoped God would begin again with them, even in view of past failures. The Historical Books of the Bible issue one chorus of voices in response to that uncertainty[2]
We are experienced in reading the stories of our culture with nuance. Robin Hood, hero of numerous children’s books and movies was in reality a thief who murdered innocent businessmen and allegedly gave away their stolen goods to enhance his reputation among the poor. He rejected local and national government authority like an anarchist. Rather than earning money to buy food he never did an honest day’s work in his life but was a poacher. Oh and he was a complete chauvinist in his attitude to Marion thinking he had to save her. But rather than focus on his obvious crimes and sexist contructs we make Robin Hood a hero and focus on his bravery, his resistance to evil authority, standing up for the little guy, how he is loyal to good king Richard etc. He is courageous and loyal, good fun and a devoted chivalrous lover of Marion. We overlook the criminal reality to extract some exemplar values.
The records of Israel perhaps ought to receive the same approach. So often people approach them and impose a western industrial English speaking expectation on them. If we don’t understand the form of an Ancient Near East Conquest narrative – a well attested genre with clearly understood tropes and meanings – then we are likely to be concerned about what we read in Joshua and Judges. Yes, there are complexities to be dealt with, but they are less significant than sometimes presented. We are used to reading our cultural stories with nuance. We should afford the same generosity to the stories of other cultures.
Paul tells us the stories were written not to teach us historical dates but to instruct us for the purpose of encouraging us (Rom 15:4). Of supporting our hope. So we can endure.
So as we read about Rahab et al we will take a flat reading. Not because we are ignoring the issues but because we can recognise many of the issues are there of our own making. They are not relevant to the purpose and value of the inspired documents.
Rather than delve into the very real and interesting discussions of the conquest narratives and the similarities of Joshua with the Ancient Near East Conquest genre, I want to instead just embrace the big picture agenda of the writer and like Harris and
suspend judgment about the time, nature, and location of the Jericho of Joshua and still learn the lessons of Jericho in Joshua’s excellent narrative.[3]
Repeating storylines
You know that sometimes when we read God’s word we just see the brilliance, the inspiration of it and its awesome isn’t it? Seeing some of the design of inspiration. One of the patterns which is interesting to explore is the Passover and this incident – there are numerous intersections[4] [5].
Even after the book of Joshua was written very few copies would have existed. The average family wouldn’t have a Bible – even the King James was in short supply. Without Netflix or other basic human necessities families would be forced the ‘spend time together’. And talk. And repeat the stories that shaped their identity and reinforced their hopes and aspirations. God is the master storyteller. Every good story follows a pattern, a framework. This allows the audience to enjoy the familiar and be surprised and delighted by the different. Telling stories around the family fire, chewing over the word with friends, is part of discipleship. We need to create more campfire like spaces. It’s a mindset.
So the basic story here is as we know one of surprise and salvation.
- Two men come to spy out the city in the Jordan plain
- They arrive late afternoon
- The city goons come for them
- The righteous hero protects them in the house
- The righteous saves their whole family
- The city is burnt with fire
- One “saved” person actually belonged in the city and was destroyed
But wait father, didn’t you tell us this story last night? About Lot in Genesis 19?
Surely it is no accident that the story of Lot and Rahab are the same. Two righteous people in an unlikely place. Both saved their families and got them out of the city. Tragically Lots wife wanted to be part of the city and was turned to a pillar of salt. A few chapters later Achan – who should have been safe – proved he belonged in Jericho so he was destroyed and a mound of rocks placed over him as a memorial.
Isn’t scripture amazing? Surely there is no accident here. Of course there are major contrasts which should provoke the reader to think and think hard. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. He was a respectable man in a bad place but he ends up isolated in sexual disgrace. Rahab is a Canaanite, a woman and a prostitute but she ends up respectable in the camp of Israel. God is aligning her story with Lot’s. God is making them the same, but no, they are not the same. Rahab is superior to Lot. What an incredible turnaround to prove no-one is beyond God’s reach.
The way Scripture echoes patterns is no accident, inspiration is brilliant. And we should take notice that this woman was more than Lot. Against all expectation. And that is the point. Rahab of all people is righteous, the design of her story drives this home.
Let’s draw another comparison that the record places in front of us.
After the fall of Jericho no-one knows what the problem is going to be. Ironically in Josh 6:25 Rahab is kept outside the camp of Israel – she is unclean and seems to have spent a little while outside. But ironically it wasn’t the Canaanite who would contaminate the congregation[6]. The problem was a man of pedigree. A war hero. A “respectable” figure who had a dirty little secret.
The second person we meet in the book of Joshua is Achan, a character who caused Israel to lose a battle. What a bizarre way to start a book of conquest – a harlot and a traitor! Yet there is a reason. We get two illustrated examples of taking opportunities, of making choices. If you want the kingdom you need to make good choices.
In Joshua 7 we find that Achan stole some material, gold and silver from Jericho. Now the instruction was clear. Everything and everyone in Jericho was to be destroyed and the place burnt with fire (Josh 6:21,24). This indicated it was completely devoted to God. The only two exceptions to the destruction were the metals which were to go to the tabernacle treasury (ie were devoted to God) and Rahab’s household.
So what happens?
Again the master story teller uses a design pattern. If Rahab is an echo of Lot, she is a mirror image of Achan. An unexpected mirror.
- She is a prostitute but he is a war veteran.
- She is Canaanite versus Achan from the royal tribe of Judah
- She hides Israel in Jericho, but he takes the spoils of Jericho and hides then in the camp of Israel.
- She is saved with her family and Jericho is burnt while tragically Achan is burnt in the fire with his family
- Rahab continues in Israel to this day (Josh 6:25) whereas Achan’s body is left under a pile of stones as a memorial in Josh 7:15, 25
- Matthew 1:5 tells us that Rahab married Salmon of the tribe of Judah. So Rahab literally becomes part of the royal tribe in Achan’s place!
Achan’s story is a mirror image of Rahab’s story as she hid the spies.
In both the similarities with Lot and the contrast with Achan we get this wonderful design pattern which emphasises the lessons to us. We are all capable of making amazing choices with life changing consequences.
Let’s talk about the big context
In Deut 30:16-19 Moses is giving his farewell speech to the Israelites as they are about to cross into the promised land. He warns them to be faithful. To neglect God’s ways, to indulge in the Canaanite idols would be disaster.
What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess. However, if you turn aside and do not obey, but are lured away to worship and serve other gods, I declare to you this very day that you will certainly perish! You will not extend your time in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess. Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!
You must make a choice, to be faithful. And this decision is serious. The Deuteronomist writer returns to this theme at the end of the book of Joshua. At the farewell speech of the second national leader we are told in Josh 23:6-8:
Be very strong! Carefully obey all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 7 or associate with these nations that remain near you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! You must not worship or bow down to them! 8 But you must be loyal to the Lord your God, as you have been to this very day.
It’s the same speech. You need to decide to be loyal to God. Don’t drift into the Canaanite ways. Choose God and it will be grand, don’t and it will be bad.
Rahab didn’t know the spies were coming to her. Achan probably never planned on stealing stuff from Jericho. Each was suddenly thrust into a situation where they had to make a snap decision. Just like you and me. Opportunities will come. Choose wisely. Choose life.
Rahab’s decision is unexpected given her background
Ok so make the right snap decision. That sounds easy, but we all have history, habits and a context. Which is why we want to talk a little more about Rahab. Because the better we know her, the more amazing grace appears. And while we want to make the right choice, let’s be honest we don’t always and we can be overwhelmed by our failures and circumstances. Very few people’s circumstances could be more disturbing than Rahab’s.
Scripture leaves us in no doubt how radical the reversal in Rahab’s life was.
In Lev 17:6-30 God gives Israel a list of sexual misconduct He hates. Sexual exploitation, perversion and violence are condemned, and He notes that all these things were characteristic of the Canaanites. In a wicked people characterized by sexual exploitation, by barbaric practices you can only imagine how low a Canaanite prostitute was.
Some people (eg Josephus[7]) want to whitewash Rahab’s profession. They call her an innkeeper[8] rather than a woman of negotiable affection. Some rabbis (not all) surmised she was beautiful and later became the wife of Joshua![9] However the facts (even before the clear NT descriptions) are clear, Rahab was a prostitute[10].
Even Rahab’s name[11] is a bit grubby. The word is generally descriptive of size, specifically something wide, large or broad[12]. The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament suggests that the name is basically sexual innuendo referring to a woman’s curves[13]. Others claim (without much evidence) the name is an abbreviated theophoric name Rahab-El meaning “El makes wide” (or fertile)[14]. Whichever is most correct, the point is even her name had a sexual overtone.
Today we usually accept women in Rahab’s position are not there voluntarily, but in Biblical times working girls got no sympathy but were considered the lowest of the low, foolish, immoral and either untrustworthy or predatory.[15]
Rather than draw a discrete veil over Rahab’s profession, the language in the first few versus of Josh 2 is highly suggestive of sex[16]. While some would point to an inn as a logical place to pick up gossip[17], the reality is information was not the key business offering of Rahab’s establishment. The guards who come to Rahab’s house searching for the men readily believe Rahab’s story that the two men came in, did their business and left. The way the guards and Rahab talk in Josh 2:3-4 uses euphemisms employed elsewhere in Scripture for sexual activity [18].
Rahab could have continued acting as everyone expected her to, consistent with her past mistakes. Or she could seize the opportunity to make a seemingly unlikely choice. We are all capable of amazing choices.
It’s not just her background through – the whole story is so unlikely
Israel was warned not to mingle and intermarry with the locals because they would pick up the immoral behaviours and was clearly told to eliminate the Canaanites (a problematic command but that’s for another day)[19]. They are about to embark on their mission and the first two into the land are the spies. They leave from Shittim where God recently killed thousands of men in Numbers 25 because they were committing spiritual and physical fornication with the women of Moab. Despite all the context and instructions, the experience in Shittim, the two spies end up in Rahab’s establishment. The first interaction of Israel with the locals is these two going into a harlot.
This is unlikely enough, but it gets stranger, for the untrustworthy and predatory harlot makes an immediate decision to align with Israel and God saves her in a miracle.
If I was writing the book and had to have a Canaanite appear early, I would pick one who proved how bad they were and deserving of judgement. I would use Rahab (or someone else) to present a justification for the invasion (as some think she does strangely[20]). But instead Rahab challenges our natural expectation of the book of Joshua.
Dozeman comments as follows:
Rahab introduces the theme of the ban (ḥerem) in her confession…the dedication of an object, person, or animal to total destruction in war or in sacrifice…All humans under the ban in war or in sacrifice are forbidden to live under any circumstances. The ban is an absolute law in the Hebrew Bible…Thus, when Rahab, the Canaanite, seeks asylum from the absolute demands of the ban, she is challenging a central theme in the book of Joshua[21]
The author has constructed this story structure, with all its grubby portrayal of Rahab, because a remarkable reversal is in play. A remarkable lesson is to be learned.
The struggle suddenly is not about military encounters with the Canaanites, it is about choosing life, choosing obedience to the covenant. No matter who you are loyalty to God is what counts. Whether you’re Rahab or Achan your decision not your history, your gender or your social standing is what matters.
Salvation always seems unlikely
Be a Rahab not an Achan, make the right choice. Yes, that’s true. But the story is more than that. Rahab’s salvation is incredibly unlikely. For all the unsavoury reasons above. Salvation is often unexpected and surprising.
What’s the chances of the kingdom invitation coming to you? Probably not that different to Rahab’s chances. But there she was with the opportunity. And here we are.
Do you wonder why you when there are far nicer people, smarter people, just generally more likely people around? I do. In 1 Cor 1:26 Paul was taking the Corinthians down a peg or two so we need to read in that context but even so the point remains when he says:
Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position
We might think we are the last people Jesus should work with. Like Rahab. But Jesus has come one way or another into our life. It is very very normal to question that, to wonder ‘why me?’.
David responded to the promise God made to him by sitting in front of God and saying:
Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you should have brought me to this point?
2 Samuel 7:18
Peter would express his sense of shame and unworthiness falling at Jesus’ feet saying:
“Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!
Luke 5:18
We don’t come to remember Jesus because we are perfect but because we believe he can perfect us. Rahab was the lowest of the low. A prostitute in a culture famed for sexual exploitation. Dwelling on the outside of the wall, on the far from the centre of society and safety. A marginal woman in a marginal house in a marginal town. Yet she was saved. Not Achan, a proper Jew with good family connections and war service. Rahab the prostitute. We are not here to beat up on Rahab and make ourselves out to be better than her. Not at all. The point is that none of us are beyond God’s reach – opportunity has come into our life like it came to Rahab. We just need to make a choice.
But I’m not perfect you say
No – none of us are perfect and there is an aspect of Rahab’s story which bears this out.
Hebrew 11 holds up Rahab’s faith and James 2 her works in saving the spies. A faithful heroine.
Two things to say here.
Firstly what a massive quick turnaround. Prostitute one moment, faithful the next. That’s important because it says where-ever you are and whatever you are doesn’t define what you can be from this very instance. In the words of Antonio, in Shakespeare’s The Tempest , “The past is prologue” (Act 2, Scene 1). Rahab could have turned the spies away at the door. She didn’t. When the pressure was on and guards came to her house she could have sold the spies out for reward. Or maybe directed the spies and the guards to the same place to kill each other later. But she had a fear of God and decided to be loyal to him. That decision changed her future despite her past.
Faith is making the next snap decision the right decision. Make the next snap decision the right one. The past is irrelevant, only your next decision matters.
Second a central part of the story is Rahab’s lie. Deception is part of any spy story but since when was lying an act of faith? Lying to the king’s men is integral to her helping the spies, but it is never really called out and while some incentive solutions are put forward[22]
I agree with Calvin on this one who wrote:
As to the falsehood, we must admit that though it was done for a good purpose, it was not free from fault… it never can be lawful to lie, because …[it] is contrary to the nature of God. And God is truth. And still the act of Rahab is not devoid of the praise of virtue, although it was not spotlessly pure. For it often happens that while the saints study to hold the right path, they deviate into circuitous courses. [23]
God is truth, so it can’t be right – ever – to lie. It is contrary to what God is. So how do we explain it because Rahab’s actions are called faith and praised in the Heb 11 and James 2? As Calvin suggests while Rahab’s actions were faithful they weren’t spotlessly pure, even when trying to do the right thing we often don’t get it perfectly right.
We shouldn’t seek to excuse sin. We shouldn’t use grace as an excuse not to try. However there is something wonderful in God passing over some of our failings if we are trying to make the right decision. Rahab was trying to do what was right. Her virtuous act, her faithful decision also included a deviation – yet God approved.
God can be far more generous to us than we are to ourselves sometimes. Our yesterdays don’t define us nor are the stumbling imperfections of our attempts at faith picked apart and condemned. God can call faithful an action we may consider flawed.
Obedience – what matters
There are two approaches to discipleship which are opposite but equally dangerous. One legalistically defines how everything should be and is super compliance focused. Compliance – or law – takes over love. Another, wary of the dangers of law, emphasizes love and the avoidance of compliance. But such an approach can lead to a carelessness of God’s commands.
Of course each approach is a caricature but contains a kernel of truth, of potential.
James is keen to ensure we understand the difference between living faith and works is merely timing. Real faith inevitably means real works:
that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?
James 2:24b-25
According to the spies, while Heb 11 and James 2 point to receiving and sending out the spies as the basis of her saving, there was one more thing. She had to exhibit covenantal faithfulness. She had to be obedient and hang the scarlet thread from the window. There are some things God asks of us. We can readily take the approach of the sceptic, of the knower of things, of the extreme which points out the absurdity of this. Surely her faith is what mattered. So what if on the day she hung out a green thread or maybe a brown one – much easier to find a brown rope anyway. Would God’s grace be thwarted by something less than robotic law keeping?
Surgeon spoke of this pointing out the danger of such an approach. If we slice the salami this ‘anti compliance’ way we can end up with no salami.
The true son inquires, “What would my father have me do? I will do it cheerfully for his sake. What doth my father forbid? for what he forbids shall be hateful to me.” Rise above all questions concerning essential and non-essential, and learn to obey in all things[24]
We don’t obey out of law. We don’t disregard either. Rather because of alignment, because of love we seek to obey what we faithfully believe God requires.
Diversion – I think we can readily slip into rejecting too much any notion of tradition, ritual and the like. The reality is God required ritual for thousands of years – why? Because he knows humans. He made us. Jesus required rituals, a fellowship meal, baptism. Why? If I’m not feeling faithful should I avoid the rituals? Aren’t I being a hypocrite? No. There is a body of work which I think is establishing that we can change our thinking by changing our behaviour. Act faith to regain faith. Ritual, obedience gives us perhaps a safety net, a way of maintaining connection to God, even when we aren’t in the mood. Yes there are dangers but in both old and new covenants God has mandated at least some ritual, some level of obedience.
Our history is no bar to being in Jesus’ family
In conclusion in Matt 1:5 we find Rahab named in the line of Jesus. Along with Tamar, Ruth and Bathsheba. All four women were Gentiles and associated with sexual scandal. Yet their scars didn’t limit them. All four overcame the limited roles and opportunity society provided them. All four prevailed against dangerous circumstances and vulnerability to a position of honour. And all four played an essential role in the coming of Messiah.
These women serve to remind us not just of the scope of salvation but also that God’s plan will surprise our narrow expectations. We can all be part of the family.
As Hagner says, the inclusion of the women points not just to the universal scope of salvation but also
The women [then] serve as reminders that God often works in the most unusual ways and that to be open to his sovereign activity is to be prepared for the surprising[25]
So what?
The message is hopefully relatively clear. Be a Rahab not an Achan. We face a myriad of choices each day on who we will serve. Will we bow the knee to the gods of our age or keep our loyalty to the God of Heaven? When we must make a snap decision which way will we go?
The story of Rahab demonstrates:
- Our past does not define nor limit us
- Grace can reach surprising people, yes even you
- Our decisions, not our background, history or status, is what matters
- Not feeling worthy, being surprised that we can be saved is normal
- Sometimes our attempt to do the right thing might be imperfect – but God is gracious and will recognise as faithful what we may consider flawed
- Despite our challenges we can play an integral part in the family of Jesus because our faithful future matters more than our questionable past
Rahab is not the only one in Jesus’ family. We are all God’s children. What defines us is not our social status, our wealth, looks, history, genes. None of that matters. Neither do our past struggles and sometimes scary bad history.
And now, little children, remain in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink away from him in shame when he comes back. If you know that he is righteous, you also know that everyone who practices righteousness has been fathered by him. (See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children—and indeed we are
1 John 2:28-3:1
Are we going to remain to abide in Jesus? Will we hang on and shelter in place? Are we brave enough to hand the scarlet thread in the window declaring our hope is in him only? Are we going all in on Jesus? Will we try to practice righteousness? Imperfectly, not spotlessly pure but well intentioned?
God has set before us life and death. We know which he wants us to choose, the way he will help us go. Choose life.
[1] Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges, vol. 1, A People and a Land (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019), 35.
[2] Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges, vol. 1, A People and a Land (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019), 36.
[3] J. Gordon Harris, “Joshua,” in Joshua, Judges, Ruth, ed. W. Ward Gasque, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., and Robert K. Johnston, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 30.
[4] Nicholas P. Lunn, “The Deliverance of Rahab (Joshua 2; 6) as the Gentile Exodus,” Tyndale Bulletin 65, no. 1 (2014): 13.
[5] Thomas B. Dozeman, Joshua 1–12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 6B, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2015), 248.
[6] Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos, The End of the Beginning: Joshua and Judges, vol. 1, A People and a Land (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2019), 100.
[7] Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 126.
[8] Woudstra notes that while the Targums call Rahab an innkeeper, but even so the word always carries a negative connotation in the Targums. [Marten H. Woudstra, The Book of Joshua, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981)]
[9] The same process of idealization is evident in Jewish tradition, where she is described as beautiful (b. Meg. 15A), a proselyte (Sipre Numbers 78), the wife of Joshua (b. Meg. 14B), and the ancestor of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Ruth Rabbah 2:1). The rabbis also initiated a debate that has continued in the history of interpretation whether Rahab was simply an innkeeper or indeed a prostitute (b. Zebaḥ. 116B). Calvin accentuated Rahab’s profession as a prostitute to illustrate her inability to achieve faith outside of election (1995: 3.24.11) [Thomas B. Dozeman, Joshua 1–12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 6B, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2015), 240.]
[10] The LXX uses the Greek for a prostitute [Rick Brannan et al., eds., The Lexham English Septuagint (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jos 2:1–2.] In Josh 2:1 we have the two words denoting a female prostitute “ʾishshāh zônāh designates a woman who has sexual intercourse with someone with whom she does not have a formal covenant relationship” [S. Erlandsson, “זָנָה,” ed. G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren, trans. David E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980), 100.] The expression occurs over 30 times and as the Complete Word Study Dictionary says the word zonah means: to fornicate, to prostitute. It is typically used for women and only twice in reference to men (Num. 25:1). This verb occurs in connection with prostitution (Lev. 21:7; Prov. 7:10); figuratively, Israel’s improper relationships with other nations [Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 297.]
[11] The English Rahab occurs a few times in Job, Psalms and Isaiah but this is NOT a reference to the woman in Jericho, it’s a different Hebrew word [Marten H. Woudstra, The Book of Joshua, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981), 69–70]
[12] Warren Baker and Eugene E. Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2003), 1046.
[13] R. Bartelmus, “רָחַב,” ed. G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, trans. David E. Green, Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004), 430.
[14] Joseph Coleson, “Joshua,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, ed. Philip W. Comfort, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012), 46.
[15] The prostitute’s low social status and low reputation are essential, and related, features. The reader does not expect anything from her, or at least not anything of moral strength, courage, or insight. For she is the lowest of the low, and, as Jeremiah’s search illustrates, Israel did not expect much from the lowly (Jer 5:4–5). The harlot is viewed as lacking in wisdom, morals, and religious knowledge. Her low status and despised state must be due either to unfortunate circumstance or personal fault, and neither, I think, would elicit much sympathy or charity from an ancient audience. The harlot may be a victim, but she is commonly viewed as a predator, preying on the weakness of men, a mercenary out for her own gain, an opportunist with no loyalty beyond herself, acknowledging no principle or charity in her actions. Phyllis A. Bird, “The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition in Three Old Testament Texts,” ed. Miri Amihai, George W. Coats, and Anne M. Solomon, Semeia 46 (1989): 130.
[16] Phyllis A. Bird, “The Harlot as Heroine: Narrative Art and Social Presupposition in Three Old Testament Texts,” ed. Miri Amihai, George W. Coats, and Anne M. Solomon, Semeia 46 (1989): 129.
[17] David M. Howard Jr., Joshua, vol. 5, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 98–99.
[18] Eg Gen 38:16 Judges 16:1 [Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).]
[19] Eg you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy Deut 7:2 and You must destroy all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you Deut 7:16
[20] Her speech affirms the correctness of the Hebrews’ actions and erases doubt from the mind of the reader about the acceptability of these acts of conquest. According to Rahab, even the conquered recognize the validity of the actions of God and the colonizers (the Hebrews). [Amy C. Cottrill, “Joshua,” in Women’s Bible Commentary, ed. Carol A. Newsom, Jacqueline E. Lapsley, and Sharon H. Ringe, Revised and Updated. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 105.] I don’t believe this is an accurate reading of the story. Rahab doesn’t discuss whether her neighbours deserve death, she merely discloses the inhabitants fear the Israelites. She proffers no opinion on the validity of the conquest just its certainty.
[21] Thomas B. Dozeman, Joshua 1–12: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, ed. John J. Collins, vol. 6B, Anchor Yale Bible (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2015), 246.
[22] Coleson and also Woudstra claim loyalty to God is the ultimate truth and point to the example of the midwives lying to Pharoah and Moses asking for a three-day holiday for Israel. [Joseph Coleson, “Joshua,” in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, ed. Philip W. Comfort, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2012), 47.]
[23] John Calvin and Henry Beveridge, Commentary on the Book of Joshua (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 47.
[24] Charles H. Spurgeon and Chas. T. Cook, Men and Women of the Old Testament: Sermons by C.H. Spurgeon, electronic edition., Logos Library System; Pulpit Legends (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1995).
[25] Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1–13, vol. 33A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1993), 10.
Living Faith 