Joshua 2:3-5

2:3 So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: ¹  “Turn over ²  the men who came to you ³  – the ones who came to your house ⁴  – for they have come to spy on the whole land!” 2:4 But the woman hid the two men ⁵  and replied, “Yes, these men were clients of mine, ⁶  but I didn’t know where they came from. 2:5 When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. ⁷  I don’t know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!”

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “and the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying.”

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “bring out.”

[2:3]  ³ 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.

[2:3]  ⁴ 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.

[2:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “The woman took the two men and hid him.” The third masculine singular pronominal suffix on “hid” has to be a scribal error (see GKC §135.p).

[2:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “the men came to me.” See the note on this phrase in v. 3.

[2:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “And the gate was to be shut in the darkness and the men went out.”