Joshuachapter 2
24 verses · BSBJoshua book hub →
A.Two spies hidden under the stalks of flaxvv. 1-7
1 Then 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. 2 And it was reported to the king of Jericho: “Behold, some men of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 3 So 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.” 4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from. 5 At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them!” 6 (But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.) 7 So the king’s men set out in pursuit of the spies along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they had gone out, the gate was shut.
B.Rahab's confession and the oath she asks forvv. 8-14
8 Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites across the Jordan, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 When we heard this, our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. 12 Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will deliver us from death.” 14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men agreed. “If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land.”
C.The scarlet line in the windowvv. 15-24
15 Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window, since the house where she lived was built into the wall of the city. 16 “Go to the hill country,” she said, “so that your pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there for three days until they have returned; then go on your way.” 17 The men said to her, “We will not be bound by this oath you made us swear 18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads. 20 And if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.” 21 “Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. And when they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window. 22 So the spies went out into the hill country and stayed there three days, until their pursuers had returned without finding them, having searched all along the road. 23 Then the two men started back, came down from the hill country, and crossed the river. So they came to Joshua son of Nun and reported all that had happened to them. 24 “The LORD has surely delivered the entire land into our hands,” they said to Joshua. “Indeed, all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of us.”
Chapter summary
Two spies enter Jericho and lodge with Rahab the harlot.
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Chapter summary
Two spies enter Jericho and lodge with Rahab the harlot.
Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴
Two spies enter Jericho and lodge with Rahab the harlot. She hides them under the stalks of flax on her roof and confesses more than Israel's own generation had: 'Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.' The city's heart has already melted at the Red Sea report and at Sihon and Og. She asks for kindness, and they answer with the scarlet line bound in her window, long read as a type of the blood that marks a house for sparing. Hebrews 11 enrolls Rahab by faith, James 2 by her works, and Matthew 1 in the Messiah's line.
Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.
Context
History · Joshua — Joshua overview
- A. 1–7 Two spies hidden under the stalks of flax
- B. 8–14 Rahab's confession and the oath she asks for
- C. 15–24 The scarlet line in the window
Top cross-references8 chapters ▾
Joshua 24 verses
- Joshua 2:5At dusk, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I do not know which way they went. Pursue them quickly, and you may catch them!”
- Joshua 2:12Now therefore, please swear to me by the LORD that you will indeed show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign
- Joshua 2:18unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house.
- Joshua 2:21“Let it be as you say,” she replied, and she sent them away. And when they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
- Read Joshua 2 →
Hebrews 112 verses
- Hebrews 11:23By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.
- Hebrews 11:31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- Read Hebrews 11 →
2 Samuel 172 verses
- 2 Samuel 17:19Then the man’s wife took a covering and spread it over the mouth of the well, scattering grain over it so nobody would know a thing.
- 2 Samuel 17:20When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” “They have crossed over the brook,” she replied. The men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
- Read 2 Samuel 17 →
Exodus 232 verses
- Exodus 23:27I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
- Exodus 23:31And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
- Read Exodus 23 →
4 more chapters this one speaks with
Deuteronomy 22 verses
- Deuteronomy 2:25This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
- Deuteronomy 2:30But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
- Read Deuteronomy 2 →
Exodus 122 verses
- Exodus 12:13The blood on the houses where you are staying will distinguish them; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 12:23When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
- Read Exodus 12 →
1 Samuel 192 verses
- 1 Samuel 19:10Saul tried to pin him to the wall with his spear. But the spear struck the wall and David eluded him, ran away, and escaped that night.
- 1 Samuel 19:12So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.
- Read 1 Samuel 19 →
2 Samuel 212 verses
- 2 Samuel 21:1During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
- 2 Samuel 21:7Now the king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between David and Jonathan son of Saul.
- Read 2 Samuel 21 →
Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.