Joshua 2:1

Joshua Sends Spies into the Land

2:1 Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: ¹  “Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho.” ²  They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. ³ 

Joshua 2:3

2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: ⁴  “Turn over ⁵  the men who came to you ⁶  – the ones who came to your house ⁷  – for they have come to spy on the whole land!”

Joshua 6:17

6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, ⁸  except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies ⁹  we sent.

Joshua 6:23

6:23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside ¹⁰  the Israelite camp.

Joshua 6:25

6:25 Yet Joshua spared ¹¹  Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, ¹²  and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel ¹³  to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “Joshua, son of Nun, sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying.”

² tn Heb “go, see the land, and Jericho.”

³ tn Heb “they went and entered the house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rahab, and they slept there.”

⁴ tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”

⁵ tn Heb “bring out.”

⁶ tn The idiom “come to” (בוֹא אֶל, bo’ ’el) probably has sexual connotations here, as it often does elsewhere when a man “comes to” a woman. If so, the phrase could be translated “your clients.” The instructions reflect Rahab’s perspective as to the identity of the men.

⁷ tn The words “the ones who came to your house” (Heb “who came to your house”) may be a euphemistic scribal addition designed to blur the sexual connotation of the preceding words.

⁷ tn Or “dedicated to the Lord.”

⁸ tn Heb “messengers.”

¹⁰ tn Or “placed them outside.”

¹³ tn Heb “kept alive.”

¹⁴ tn Heb the house of her father.”

¹⁵ tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.