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Joshua 2:22

in Joshua 2

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

KJV

And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

This verse in Joshua 2

Commentary

7 notes on this verse
Unto the mountain - Probably the mountains to the west and north of Jericho, called afterward, from the belief that the 40 days of our Lord’s temptation were passed among them, the Quarantania. The spies avoided at the first the neighhourhood of the Jordan, where the pursuers sought them: and amidst the grottoes of the limestone rocks, which in later ages were the abode of numerous hermits, they could readily shelter themselves for three days.

This site's exposition

stayed there three days

on Joshua 2:22-24

The report at verse 24 hands Rahab’s sentence from verse 9 back to Joshua. Beside Numbers 13:31-33, where ten spies said Israel could not go up, this reports the same country the opposite way. Clarke marks the contrast and reads this report as what Joshua needed to plan the campaign.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers2 voices

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.

A commentator

Clement of Rome

1 CLEMENT 12 · Written before 99.

proposed

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 Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Three days - Supporting themselves there with the provisions, which Rahab had furnished them with. The ways - That is, in the road to Jordan, and the places near it, but not in the mountains.
And they went, and came unto the mountain,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

And that which makes this story most remarkable is that Rahab, the person principally concerned in it, is twice celebrated in the New Testament as a great believer ( Heb. xi. 31 ) and as one whose faith proved itself by good works, James ii.

The words behind it

16 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֵּלְכוּ֙and they went

    vaiyelekhuH1980 →1546 times

  • וַיָּבֹ֣אוּand they came

    vaiyavouH935 →2568 times

  • הָהָ֔רָהthe hill country towards

    haharahH2022 →546 times

  • וַיֵּ֤שְׁבוּand they remained

    vaiyeshevuH3427 →1079 times

  • שָׁם֙there

    shamH8033 →834 times

  • שְׁלֹ֣שֶׁתthree

    sheloshetH7969 →432 times

  • יָמִ֔יםdays

    yamimH3117 →2304 times

  • עַד־until

    ʾad-H5704 →1261 times

  • שָׁ֖בוּthey returned

    shavuH7725 →1056 times

  • הָרֹדְפִ֑יםthe pursuers

    harodefimH7291 →143 times

  • וַיְבַקְשׁ֧וּand they searched

    vayvakshuH1245 →

  • הָרֹדְפִ֛יםthe pursuers

    harodefimH7291 →143 times

  • בְּכָל־in all

    bekholH3605 →5413 times

  • הַדֶּ֖רֶךְthe way

    haderekhH1870 →707 times

  • וְלֹ֥אand not

    velo'H3808 →5168 times

  • מָצָֽאוּ׃they found [them]

    matzauH4672 →455 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

5 stops

Each 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

    2 Samuel 17:20

    When 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…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 1:19

      The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”

    • 1 Samuel 27:11–12

      David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the…

    • 1 Samuel 21:2

      “The king has given me a mission,” David replied. “He told me no one is to know about the mission or charge. And I have directed my young men to meet me at a…

    • 1 Samuel 19:12–17

      So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.

    • Joshua 2:22–23

      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.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12; Clement of Rome, 1 CLEMENT 12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.