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Rahab
Harlot Who Believed
c. 1400 BC
Joshua Spares Rahab — Gustave Doré, The Holy Bible (1866), public domain
Biography
Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho who hid the Israelite spies and helped them escape. Her confession reveals remarkable faith: "The LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." When Jericho fell, Rahab and her family alone were spared, identified by the scarlet cord in her window. She married Salmon, an Israelite, and became an ancestor of David and Christ—her name appearing in Matthew's genealogy. James holds up Rahab alongside Abraham as an example of faith demonstrated by works. Hebrews includes her in the roll call of faith. This Canaanite prostitute became a mother in Israel, demonstrating that no background is beyond God's transforming grace.
For the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
Rahab's confession of faith
Key events
- 1Hid the spiesJoshua 2:1-7→
Rahab hid Israelite spies and lied to protect them
Read the verse here
Joshua 2:1-7Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- 2Confessed faithJoshua 2:8-13→
Rahab declared faith in Israel's God
Read the verse here
Joshua 2:8-13Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof
- 3Scarlet cordJoshua 2:17-21→
The cord marked her house for salvation
Read the verse here
Joshua 2:17-21The men said to her, “We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear
- 4Saved from destructionJoshua 6:22-25→
Rahab and her family alone were spared
Read the verse here
Joshua 6:22-25Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
More key verses
“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient.”
“And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers?”
What they got right, and what they got wrong
Strengths
Faith in God of Israel, courage to hide spies, acted on faith
Weaknesses
Former prostitute, lied to protect the spies (though this may show wisdom rather than weakness)
Lessons
No past is beyond redemption. Faith acts on belief. Outsiders can become insiders through faith. God uses unlikely people.
Spiritual significance
Rahab demonstrates that faith saves regardless of past sins or ethnic background. Her scarlet cord pictures Christ's blood that marks believers for salvation.
How Rahab points to Jesus
The scarlet cord marking Rahab's house for salvation pictures the blood of Christ marking believers for deliverance from judgment.
Rahab in Scripture
17 verses use this name, in 7 books. Open a book to read its mentions here. Text: Berean Standard Bible. Names repeat in Scripture, some of these verses may speak of another person called Rahab.
Old TestamentNew Testamentsegment width = share of mentions
Old Testament4 books · 14 mentions
Joshua8 mentions
- Joshua 2:1Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Joshua 2:3So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they have come to spy out the whole land.”
- Joshua 2:6(But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.)
- Joshua 2:8Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof
- Joshua 2:15Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city.
3 further mentions in Joshua — read them in the book.
Job2 mentions
Psalms2 mentions
Isaiah2 mentions
New Testament3 books · 3 mentions
Matthew1 mention
Hebrews1 mention
Study trails
that mention Rahab
Named in passing:The Fruit of the Spirit
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