Joshua 2:21
in Joshua 2“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
KJV
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
⋯
This verse in Joshua 2
Commentary
13 notes on this verseA harlot saw this; and she who in the destruction of the city lost all hope of any means of safety, because her faith had conquered, bound a scarlet thread in her window, and thus uplifted a sign of her faith and the banner of the Lord's passion; so that the semblance of the mystic blood, which should redeem the world, might be in memory. So, from outside the city, the name of Joshua was a sign of victory to those who fought. From within, the semblance of the Lord's passion was a sign of salvation to those in danger.
This site's exposition
And if you report our mission
on Joshua 2:20-21
Clement of Rome, Ambrose of Milan and Origen read the scarlet as a figure of the blood. Charles Spurgeon preached it as The Scarlet Line in the Window. The New Testament names Rahab three times without the cord, and Matthew Henry gives the reading as a resemblance only.
This site's exposition
Let it be as you say
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown picture the cord hanging straight down the outside of the wall, where its red would be seen. Some had supposed it was woven into a lattice. They set that view aside.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
She herself puts the scarlet-colored sign in her house, through which she is bound to be saved from the destruction of the city. No other sign would have been accepted, except the scarlet-colored one that carried the sign of blood. For she knew there was no salvation for anyone except in the blood of Christ.
In that the sign hangs in a window I think this is indicated: A window is that which illumines the house and through which we receive light, not wholly but enough, enough to suffice for the eye and for our vision. Even the incarnation of the Savior did not give us pure wine and the whole aspect of divinity, but through his incarnation, just as through the window, he makes us behold the splendor of the divinity. For that reason, so it seems to me, the sign of salvation was given through a window.
So, too, with a mystic reference to the shedding of blood, it was a scarlet cord which the harlot Rahab (a type of the church) hung in her window that she might be saved at the destruction of Jericho.
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.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And she said, according to your words, so be it,....
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
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
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
she bound the scarlet line in the window--probably soon after the departure of the spies. It was not formed, as some suppose, into network, as a lattice, but simply to hang down the wall. Its red color made it conspicuous, and it was thus a sign and pledge of safety to Rahab's house, as the bloody mark on the lintels of the houses of the Israelites in Egypt to that people.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3168: “The Scarlet Line in the Window” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
EVERY little incident in a remarkable conversion like that of the harlot Rahab is worthy of notice. The Apostle James selected her as an illustration of the fact that faith is always attended by good works, and he asks, "Was she not justified by works when she had received the messengers?" while Paul quotes her as an instance of justification by faith, and says, "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not." If both these eminent Apostles found an illustration of an important Doctrine in her life, we may surely do the same.
A commentator
Charles Spurgeon1834–1892
The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3168: “The Scarlet Line in the Window” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition) · Written before 1892.
proposed
EVERY little incident in a remarkable conversion like that of the harlot Rahab is worthy of notice. The Apostle James selected her as an illustration of the fact that faith is always attended by good works, and he asks, "Was she not justified by works when she had received the messengers?" while Paul quotes her as an instance of justification by faith, and says, "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not." If both these eminent Apostles found an illustration of an important Doctrine in her life, we may surely do the same. If the hiding of the spies under the flax had some significance, so also had the hanging out of the scarlet line. The two spies whom Rahab had concealed made an agreement with her that she should hang out a scarlet line in the window by which she had let them down, that they might know, in the day of battle, the house in which she dwelt. She fulfilled their request and displayed the chosen emblem. In connection with that scarlet line, I observe four things. I. First, I see here AN OBEDIENT BELIEVER. She was told to tie the scarlet thread in the window and she did it—there was exact obedience. It was not merely a thread, a line, but the scarlet line. She did not substitute a blue, or a green, or a white line. The order was this scarlet line, not another, and she took that particular one. Obedience to God will be very much seen in small matters. Love always delights to attend to the little things and thereby makes the little things great. I have heard of a Puritan who was charged with being too precise, but his answer was excellent, "I serve a precise God." The Lord our God is a jealous God and He is very jealous of His commands.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כְּדִבְרֵיכֶ֣ם | kedivreikhem | according to words your | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| כֶּן־ | ken- | [be] so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| ה֔וּא | hu' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַֽתְּשַׁלְּחֵ֖ם | vateshalechem | and she sent off them | H7971 → | 845 times |
| וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּ | vaiyelekhu | and they went | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וַתִּקְשֹׁ֛ר | vatikshor | and she bound | H7194 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| תִּקְוַ֥ת | tikvat | [the] cord of | H8615 → | |
| הַשָּׁנִ֖י | hashani | the scarlet | H8144 → | |
| בַּחַלּֽוֹן׃ | bachalon | in the window | H2474 → | 31 times |
וַתֹּ֙אמֶר֙and she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
כְּדִבְרֵיכֶ֣םaccording to words your
kedivreikhemH1697 →1440 times
כֶּן־[be] so
ken-H3651 →771 times
ה֔וּאit
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַֽתְּשַׁלְּחֵ֖םand she sent off them
vateshalechemH7971 →845 times
וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּand they went
vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times
וַתִּקְשֹׁ֛רand she bound
vatikshorH7194 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
תִּקְוַ֥ת[the] cord of
tikvatH8615 →
הַשָּׁנִ֖יthe scarlet
hashaniH8144 →
בַּחַלּֽוֹן׃in the window
bachalonH2474 →31 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Matthew 7:24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
it leads to
- Luke 6:47–49
I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:
- John 13:17
If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- Luke 11:28
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:10–11
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.
- James 2:17–26
So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
- Luke 6:47–49
Through
John 2:5His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.”
it leads to
- Genesis 6:22
So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.
- John 15:14
You are My friends if you do what I command you.
- Hebrews 11:8
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.
- Genesis 6:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies14
On this verse
About Joshua

This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.10.127; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 3168: “The Scarlet Line in the Window” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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; Jerome, LETTER 52.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 3.5.
