Text -- Joshua 2:12-24 (NET)

2:12 So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord’s name. Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. Give me a solemn pledge 2:13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us from death.” 2:14 The men said to her, “If you die, may we die too! If you do not report what we’ve been up to, then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance to you.” 2:15 Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window. (Her house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) 2:16 She told them, “Head to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you to return. Then you can be on your way.” 2:17 The men said to her, “We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: 2:18 When we invade the land, tie this red rope in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father’s house. 2:19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death– we are innocent in that case! But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. 2:20 If you should report what we’ve been up to, we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 2:21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.” She sent them on their way and then tied the red rope in the window. 2:22 They went to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them to return. Their pursuers looked all along the way but did not find them. 2:23 Then the two men returned– they came down from the hills, crossed the river, came to Joshua son of Nun, and reported to him all they had discovered. 2:24 They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us! All who live in the land are cringing before us!”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jos 2:12

¹ tn Heb “Now, swear to me by the Lord.”

sn To swear an oath in the Lord’s name would make the Lord the witness and guarantor of the promise attached to the oath. If the person making the oath should go back on the promise, the Lord would judge him for breaking the contract.

² tn Heb “with the house of my father.”

³ tn Heb “true sign,” that is, “an inviolable token or pledge.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:13

¹ tn Or “our lives.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:14

¹ tn The second person pronoun is masculine plural, indicating that Rahab’s entire family is in view.

² tn Heb “Our lives in return for you to die.” If the lives of Rahab’s family are not spared, then the spies will pay for the broken vow with their own lives.

³ tn Heb “If you do not report this matter of ours.”

⁴ tn Heb “allegiance and faithfulness.” These virtual synonyms are joined in the translation as “unswerving allegiance” to emphasize the degree of promised loyalty.

⁵ tn The second person pronoun is feminine singular, referring specifically to Rahab.

NET Notes: Jos 2:15

¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc The phrase “by a rope” is omitted in the LXX. It may be a later clarifying addition. If original, the omission in the LXX is likely due to an error of homoioarcton. A scribe’s or translator’s eye could have jumped from the initial ב (bet) in the phrase בַּחֶבֶל (bakhevel, “with a rope”) to the initial ב on the immediately following בְּעַד (bÿ’ad, “through”) and accidentally omitted the intervening letters.

³ tn Heb “For her house.”

⁴ tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.

NET Notes: Jos 2:16

¹ tn Heb “Go.”

² tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”

³ tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

NET Notes: Jos 2:17

¹ tn Heb “We are free from this oath of yours which you made us swear.” The words “unless the following conditions are met” are not in the Hebrew text, but are added for clarification.

NET Notes: Jos 2:18

¹ tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”

² tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”

³ tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:19

¹ tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”

² tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:20

¹ tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:21

¹ tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”

² tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”

NET Notes: Jos 2:22

¹ tn Heb “they went and came.”

² tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“them”) is added for clarification.

³ tn Heb “the ones chasing them.” This has been rendered as “their pursuers” in the translation to avoid redundancy with the preceding clause.

⁴ tn Heb “The pursuers looked in all the way and did not find [them].”

NET Notes: Jos 2:23

¹ tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, are added for clarification.

NET Notes: Jos 2:24

¹ tn Heb “Surely the Lord has given into our hand all the land.” The report by the spies uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

² tn Heb “are melting away because of us.”