Joshua 2:20
in Joshua 2And if you report our mission, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if thou utter this our business, then we shall be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
KJV
And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
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This verse in Joshua 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
if thou utter this our
on Joshua 2:20-21
She binds the line the moment they are gone, while the city stands whole and no army is in sight. The scarlet has been read as a figure of the blood since the early church: Clement of Rome makes the link in his letter to Corinth, Ambrose of Milan calls it a banner of the Lord's passion, Origen reads the house as the one place of safety, and Charles Spurgeon preached the whole scene as The Scarlet Line in the Window. The New Testament names Rahab three times and never mentions the cord, so the reading belongs to those writers rather than to an apostle, and Matthew Henry gives it as a resemblance and not as an argument.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12 · Written before 99.
proposed
On account of her faith and hospitality, Rahab the harlot was saved. For when spies were sent by Joshua, the son of Nun, to Jericho, the king of the country ascertained that they had come to spy out their land, and sent men to seize them, in order that, when taken, they might be put to death. But the hospitable Rahab receiving them, concealed them on the roof of her house under some stalks of flax. And when the men sent by the king arrived and said, "There came men unto you who are to spy out our land; bring them forth, for so the king commands," she answered them, "The two men whom you seek came unto me, but quickly departed again and are gone," thus not discovering the spies to them. Then she said to the men, "I know assuredly that the Lord your God has given you this city, for the fear and dread of you have fallen on its inhabitants. When therefore you shall have taken it, keep ye me and the house of my father in safety." And they said to her, "It shall be as you have spoken to us. As soon, therefore, as you know that we are at hand, you shall gather all your family under your roof, and they shall be preserved, but all that are found outside of your dwelling shall perish." Moreover, they gave her a sign to this effect, that she should hang forth from her house a scarlet thread. And thus they made it manifest that redemption should flow through the blood of the Lord to all them that believe and hope in God. You see, beloved, that there was not only faith, but prophecy, in this woman.
For her faith and hospitality Rahab the harlot was saved. For when the spies were sent forth into Jericho by Joshua the son of Nun, the king of the land perceived that they were coming to spy out his country, and [he] sent forth men to seize them, that being seized they might be put to death. So the hospitable Rahab received them and hid them in the upper chamber under the flax stalks. And when the messengers of the king came near and said, "The spies of our land entered into your house; bring them forth, for the king so orders," then she answered, "The men truly, whom you seek, came to me, but they departed immediately and are journeying on the way"; and she pointed out to them the opposite road. And she said to the men, "Without a doubt I perceive that the Lord your God will deliver this city to you; for the fear and the dread of you is fallen upon its inhabitants. When therefore it shall come to pass that you take it, save me and the house of my father." And they said to her, "It shall be even so as you have spoken to us. Therefore, when you perceive that we are coming, you shall gather all your folk beneath your roof, and they shall be saved; for as many as shall be found outside of the house shall perish." And moreover they gave her a sign, that she should hang out from her house a scarlet thread, thereby showing beforehand that through the blood of the Lord there shall be redemption for all them that believe and hope on God. You see, dearly beloved, not only faith, but prophecy, is found in the woman.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): If thou utter this our business, that is, "If thou betray us when we are gone, or if thou make this agreement public, so as that others tie scarlet lines in their windows and so confound us, then we will be clear of thy oath." Those are unworthy of the secret of the Lord that know now how to keep it to themselves when there is occasion.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And if thou utter this our business,.... So that others would either hang out scarlet threads or get into her house for shelter; see Gill on Jos 2:14, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear; be under no obligation to make it good, by saving her and her father's house.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
she said--rather "she had said," for what follows must have been part of the previous conversation. Get you to the mountain--A range of white limestone hills extends on the north, called Quarantania (now Jebel Karantu), rising to a height of from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet, and the sides of which are perforated with caves.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
If thou utter this our business - It was prudent to make her life depend on her secresy; had it been otherwise she might have been tempted to give information, not only concerning the spies, but concerning the designs of the Israelites. But her life being at stake, added to every other motive, she kept the secret for the sake of her own personal safety and that of all her relatives.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| תַּגִּ֖ידִי | tagidi | you will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבָרֵ֣נוּ | devarenu | business our | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| זֶ֑ה | zeh | this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְהָיִ֣ינוּ | vehayinu | and we will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נְקִיִּ֔ם | nekiyim | free | H5355 → | 43 times |
| מִשְּׁבֻעָתֵ֖ךְ | mishevuatekh | from oath your | H7621 → | 30 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִשְׁבַּעְתָּֽנוּ׃ | hishba'tanu | you made swear us | H7650 → | 186 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
תַּגִּ֖ידִיyou will tell
tagidiH5046 →370 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
דְּבָרֵ֣נוּbusiness our
devarenuH1697 →1440 times
זֶ֑הthis
zehH2088 →1180 times
וְהָיִ֣ינוּand we will be
vehayinuH1961 →3559 times
נְקִיִּ֔םfree
nekiyimH5355 →43 times
מִשְּׁבֻעָתֵ֖ךְfrom oath your
mishevuatekhH7621 →30 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
הִשְׁבַּעְתָּֽנוּ׃you made swear us
hishba'tanuH7650 →186 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 11:13A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
it leads to
- Proverbs 20:19
He who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid the one who babbles with his lips.
- Proverbs 25:9
Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
- Leviticus 19:16
You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not endanger the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD.
- 1 Timothy 5:13
At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.
- Proverbs 26:20–22
Without wood, a fire goes out; without gossip, a conflict ceases.
- Proverbs 20:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12; Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 12; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
