1 And Joshua son of Nun sent from the Acacias i two men, secret spies, saying, “Go, see the land and Jericho.” And they went and entered a house of a woman, a prostitute, and her name was Rachab. ii And they laid down there. 2 And it was told to the king of Jericho saying, “Behold, men came in here tonight from sons of Israel to search out the land.” 3 And king of Jericho sent to Rachab saying, “Bring out the men who came in to you who came into your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 And the woman took the two men and hid him. iii And she said, “So, they came in to me, the men, and I did not know from where they were. 5 And it was, at the shutting of the gate at darkness, so the men went out. I don't know where the men went. Pursue after them quickly, for you may overtake them.” 6 And she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax arranged iv by her v upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way of the Jordan to the fords. And they shut the gate afterwards just as the pursuers went out after them.
8 And before they lay down, so she went up to them upon the roof. 9 And she said to the men, “I know that Yehvah has given to you the land, and that terror of you has fallen upon us. And that all the inhabitants of the land are melting vi before you. 10 For we have heard how Yehvah dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds vii before you in your going out from Egypt. And what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that are over the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, how you utterly destroyed them. 11 And we heard and our heart melted. And no spirit in a man viii remained to arise before you, for Yehvah your Gods, he is Gods in the heavens above and on the earth beneath. 12 And now, swear to me, please, in Yehvah, for I dealt with you kindly. So, you also deal with my father's house kindly, and give to me a sign of truth. 13 And preserve my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our souls from death.”
14 And the men said to her, “Our souls for yours to die. ix If you x do not declare this thing of ours, so it shall be, in Yehvah giving to us the land, so we shall deal with you kindly and truly.” 15 And she let them down the rope through the window, for her house was on a side xi of the wall xii and on the wall she dwelt. 16 And she said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you, and hide there three days until the return of the pursuers. And afterward, go to your way.” 17 And the men said to her, “We will be free from this oath of yours that you made us swear. 18 Behold, we are coming in the land, bind this scarlet hope xiii of thread in the window that you let us down in it, and your father, and your mother, and your brothers, and all in your father's house gather to yourself to the house. 19 And it shall be, anyone who goes out from doors of your house to the outside, his blood shall be on his head. And we shall be free. And everyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand is against him. 20 And if you declare this thing of ours, so we will be free from your oath that you made us swear.”
21 And she said, “According to your words, so be it.” And she sent them away and they went. And she bound the scarlet hope in the window. 22 And they went and came to the mountain and stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned. And the pursuers searched all the way and did not find. 23 And the two men returned and came down from the mountain and crossed over and came to Joshua, son of Nun. And they recounted to him all the things that found xiv them. 24 And they said to Joshua, “For Yehvah has given in our hand all the land. And also, all the inhabitants of the land are melting before us.”
Translated by Darwin Fish. See original pdf. xv
- שִּׁטִּים (shittiym) “Acacias” - NKJV “Acacia Grove”; KJV, NAS “Shittim” - see footnote for Numbers 25:1. ^
- רָחָב (râchâv) “Rachab”; CJB, OJB “Rachav”; NKJV, etc. “Rahab” - LXX Ῥααβ (Hraab) - found also in Joshua 2:3; 6:17, 23, 25. In the NT “Rachab” the harlot is Ῥαὰβ (hraab) in Hebrews 11:31 & James 2:25. Matthew 1:5 has Ῥαχάβ (hrachab), see footnote for Matthew 1:5. In Hebrew רָחָב (râchâv) is an adjective meaning “wide” or “broad” (e.g. Genesis 34:21; Exodus 3:8; Job 30:14; etc.), but her name given here is likely from her native Canaanite language. Also, this “Rachab” is NOT the “Rahab” רַחַב (rahav) of Job 9:13; 26:12 (NAS); Psalm 87:4; 89:10 (H11); Isaiah 30:7; 51:9. ^
- תִּצְפְּנוֹ (titspeno) “hid him” third masculine singular suffix “him” - LXX ἔκρυψεν αὐτοὺς (ekrupsen autous) “hid them”; NKJV “hid them” ^
- הָעֲרֻכוֹת (hâ`arukhot) “arranged” - qal passive plural participle ^
- לָהּ (lâh) “by her” ^
- נָמֹגוּ (nâmogu) “melting” - NKJV “are fainthearted”; KJV “faint”; NAS “have melted away” - same word translated “melt away” NKJV, KJV; “melted away” NAS in Exodus 15:15. See also 1 Samuel 14:16 (“melting away” NKJV). ^
- יַם־סוּף (yam-suph) “Sea of Reeds” - see footnote for Exodus 13:18. ^
- רוַּח בְּאִישׁ (ruach be'iysh) “spirit in a man” - YLT “spirit in [any] man”; NKJV “courage in anyone”; KJV “courage in any man”; NAS “courage . . . in any man”; LXX πνεῦμα ἐν οὐδενὶ (pneuma en oudeni) “spirit in no one” ^
- לָמוּת (lâmut) “to die” (YLT, GNV) - NKJV, KJV, NAS, etc., do not translate ^
- תַגִּידוּ (taggiydu) “you [plural] . . . declare” - her family also has to be quiet in order to be saved. ^
- קִיר (qiyr) “side” (YLT); “city” NKJV, NAS; “town” KJV – can also be translated “wall” (e.g. in David's and God's description of men in 1 Samuel 25:22, 34; 1 Kings 14:10; 16:11; 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8 מַשְׁתִּין בְּקִיר [mashtiyn beqiyr] “one who urinates on a wall”) ^
- חוֹמָה (chomâh) “wall” ^
- תִּקְוַת (tiqvat) “cord” - used here and in Joshua 2:21 for “cord.” Elsewhere, used for “hope” (e.g. Ruth 1:12; Job 4:6) or a name “Tikvah” (e.g. 2 Kings 22:14; Ezra 10:15). ^
- הַמֹּצְאוֹת (hammots'ot) “the things that found” - NKJV “that had befallen”; NAS “that had happened” ^
- Mirrored here. ^