Joshua 2:15-21

2:15 Then Rahab ¹  let them down by a rope ²  through the window. (Her ³  house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) ⁴  2:16 She told them, “Head ⁵  to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don’t find you. ⁶  Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you ⁷  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: ⁸  2:18 When we invade the land ⁹ , tie this red rope ¹⁰  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. ¹¹  2:19 Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death – we are innocent in that case! ¹²  But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. ¹³  2:20 If you should report what we’ve been up to, ¹⁴  we are not bound by this oath you made us swear.” 2:21 She said, “I agree to these conditions.” ¹⁵  She sent them on their way ¹⁶  and then tied the red rope in the window.

[2:15]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Rahab) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  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.

[2:15]  ³ tn Heb “For her house.”

[2:15]  ⁴ tc These explanatory statements are omitted in the LXX and probably represent a later scribal addition.

[2:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “Go.”

[2:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “so that the pursuers might not meet you.”

[2:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “the pursuers.” The object (“you”) is not in the Hebrew text but is implied.

[2:17]  ⁹ 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.

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “Look! We are about to enter the land.”

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the cord of this red thread.”

[2:18]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and your father and your mother and your brothers and all the house of your father gather to yourself to the house.”

[2:19]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Anyone who goes out from the doors of your house to the outside, his blood is on his head. We are innocent.”

[2:19]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “But anyone who is with you in the house, his blood is on our head if a hand should be on him.”

[2:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “and if you report this matter of ours.”

[2:21]  ²⁵ tn Heb “According to your words, so it [will be].”

[2:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “she sent them away and they went.”