13. Rahab and the spies in Jericho
The book of Joshua tells the story of the fall of Jericho to the Israelites following a siege directed by Joshua. Prior to the siege, Joshua sent two spies to Jericho, where they “came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there”. The spies had been seen in the city, and word of their presence had been relayed to the king, who sent men to Rahab to demand they be handed over. “And the woman took the two men, and hid them” before telling the agents of the king that they had left the city. Rahab hid Joshua’s spies in the attic of her house beneath stalks of flax, sending the agents of the king on a wild goose chase.
Joshua does not record how the spies knew to approach Rahab or how they determined that she was a harlot. She took advantage of her situation however, and in return for helping the Israelite spies, extracted a promise that she and her family would be spared after the city fell. She was told to mark her house with a red cord to ensure her safety. By the time of the New Testament, the harlot in the Book of Joshua had become an example of saintliness (Hebrews and James). In the gospel of Matthew, the author listed her in the genealogical records of the ancestors of Jesus.
