Joshua 2

Before crossing the Jordan, Joshua sends two spies to look at Jericho. They are sheltered by Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, who has heard of the LORD’s mighty acts and trusts that He is the true God. She hides the men and asks for her family’s life in return. The spies promise protection, mark her house with a scarlet cord, and return to report that the land is ready to fall.

Joshua 2:1

Forty years earlier, spies had brought back a fearful report. Now Joshua sends two men quietly from Shittim, east of the Jordan. They end up in Rahab’s house, a place where strangers could come and go without much notice. God’s purposes can work through unlikely doors.

BSA: secretly (“in a hidden manner, without being seen”): Joshua keeps the mission quiet, since a large army across the river already worries Jericho.

Hebrew: מְרַגְּלִים (meraggelim, H7270) — “spies, foot-men.” The Hebrew word comes from the word for foot. These are men who go about on foot to look over the ground.

See also: Numbers 13:1-3; Hebrews 11:31.

Joshua 2:2-3

Jericho was a walled city with a watchful king. News of the strangers reaches him the same night, and he demands that Rahab hand them over. The danger is real from the start, and Rahab must choose between her king and the God of Israel.

BSA: spy out (“search, explore, investigate”): The king understands the visit as a careful investigation of his defenses, not a casual look.

Joshua 2:4-5

Rahab protects the men with a plausible story. She admits they came, but says they left at dusk as the gate was closing, and she urges the king’s men to chase them. The Bible simply reports what she did. It does not hold up her deception as a pattern to copy. It shows her taking the side of God’s people at great risk to herself.

BSA: hidden (“treasured, stored away”): The Hebrew word carries the sense of keeping something precious safe, and that is how she treats the two men.

See also: James 2:25.

Joshua 2:6-7

The truth is told in a parenthesis: the men are on her flat roof under stalks of flax laid out to dry. The pursuers rush off toward the Jordan crossings, and the city gate is shut behind them, so the spies are now locked in with their only protector.

BSA: fords (“crossing places, river crossings”): The soldiers guess that the spies are heading for the shallow places where they could cross back to Israel.

Joshua 2:8-9

That night Rahab climbs to the roof and makes a remarkable confession. She says plainly that the LORD has given Israel the land. She uses the covenant name of God, and she tells the men that terror has fallen on the whole country. This is faith from someone outside Israel.

BSA: melting (“fainting, dissolving”): The people are not just nervous. Their courage is running out of them like wax before a fire.

Hebrew: נָמֹגוּ (namogu, H4127) — “have melted, dissolved.” The picture is of something solid turning to liquid. It echoes the song of Moses, where the people of Canaan melt away before the LORD.

See also: Exodus 15:14-16.

Joshua 2:10

Rahab’s faith rests on what she has heard. News of the Red Sea crossing, forty years old, and of the recent defeat of Sihon and Og has traveled through Canaan. What God did for His people has become a testimony even to those who live outside His covenant.

BSA: devoted (“utterly destroyed, completely annihilated”): Sihon and Og were placed under God’s judgment, completely given over to destruction.

Hebrew: הֶחֱרַמְתֶּם (heḥermetem, H2763) — “you devoted to destruction.” This is the language of the ḥerem, where something is set apart for God and removed from ordinary use. It is a solemn judgment, not mere plunder.

See also: Exodus 14:21-22; Numbers 21:21-35.

Joshua 2:11

Fear alone does not make Rahab different, since her whole city is afraid. What sets her apart is her conclusion. She declares that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on the earth below. She does not only dread Israel’s God. She bows to Him as the only one.

BSA: hearts (“the innermost part of our being, including mind, will, and emotions”): Their whole inner life was shaken, not just their feelings.

See also: Deuteronomy 4:39.

Joshua 2:12-13

Rahab asks for mercy in return for the mercy she showed. She wants an oath in the LORD’s name, and she asks for more than her own life. She wants her whole family spared. She believes that judgment is coming, and she asks to be on the safe side of it.

BSA: kindness (“mercy, loving actions”): She asks for kindness that shows itself in deeds, not only in kind words.

Hebrew: חֶסֶד (ḥesed, H2617) — “loyal, covenant kindness.” This is the faithful love one keeps toward those one is bound to. Rahab has shown it to strangers, and she asks that it be returned to her household.

Joshua 2:14

The spies answer with a life-for-life pledge. If Rahab keeps their secret, they will deal with her kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives them the land. Notice that they speak of God giving the land, so even their promise rests on His faithfulness.

BSA: faithfulness (“truth, reliability”): Their promise is meant to be dependable and true, not just generous words.

Joshua 2:15-16

Her house is built into the city wall, so the window opens to the outside. She lowers the men by a rope and advises them to hide in the hill country for three days until the search dies down. Rahab, who has believed, now acts on her faith.

BSA: pursuers (“those who chase after you with hostile intent”): The danger is genuine, and her advice is meant to keep the men alive.

Joshua 2:17-18

The men set the terms of the oath. When Israel comes, Rahab must tie a scarlet cord in the window and gather her whole family inside her house. The way of rescue is simple and clear. She must trust the sign and stay under its protection.

Hebrew: תִּקְוַת (tiqvat, H8615) — “cord, also hope.” The same Hebrew word is used for a cord and for hope. The cord in her window becomes a picture of the hope she holds.

See also: Exodus 12:13.

Joshua 2:19-20

Safety lies inside the house. Anyone who leaves it takes responsibility for his own fate. Anyone harmed inside it will be the spies’ responsibility. The oath also depends on Rahab keeping silent about their mission.

BSA: blood (“life, vital force”): The blood stands for a person’s life, so responsibility for a death falls on whoever causes it.

Hebrew: דָּמוֹ בְרֹאשׁוֹ (damo veroshó, H1818) — “his blood on his head.” This is an expression for personal responsibility for one’s own death. It means the guilt rests on the one who brings it on himself.

See also: Acts 18:6.

Joshua 2:21

Rahab agrees to the terms at once, sends the men away, and ties the scarlet cord in the window. She does not wait for the attack to begin. She puts the sign in place immediately, trusting a promise about something that has not yet happened.

See also: Hebrews 11:1.

Joshua 2:22-23

The spies hide in the hills for three days, as Rahab advised, and the pursuers give up and go home. The two men then cross back over the river and tell Joshua everything. God has kept them safe in a hostile place.

BSA: reported (“to recount, tell in detail”): They gave Joshua a full account, not just a summary.

Joshua 2:24

The spies’ report is short and sure. The LORD has handed over the land, and the people are melting with fear. They do not say that Jericho is weak. They say that God has already acted. This news strengthens Israel before the crossing of the Jordan in chapter 3.

BSA: delivered (“given, placed”): They speak as if the land has already been placed in Israel’s hands by God.

See also: Joshua 6:22-25; Matthew 1:5.