Joshua, chapter 2, comments

 Joshua 2:1 ¶ And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. 2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to search out the country. 3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country. 4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: 5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. 6 But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. 7 And the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate. 

The mythologies of other ancient nations are often the stories of kings and great warriors but the narrative that our Creator gives us of His ministry of reconciling mankind to Himself is the story of common men and women and even prostitutes; people God makes great and useful to Himself.  

Rahab is an ancestor of Christ. Rachab is from the Greek manuscripts. It is the same name. 

Matthew 1:5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 

Verse 15 will tell us that her house was on the wall. Although I cannot prove this, common sense would dictate that a house on the wall was important as its contribution to the defense of an ancient city.  

What we do know is that according to some sources under the walls was where the prostitute would ply her trade as John Gill quotes an earlier source, a Roman poet named Martial.  

Roofs were flat and used for storage and other activities. A battlement would be a low wall at the edge of a roof, on medieval castles containing openings to shoot from at various intervals.  

 

Joshua 2:6  But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof…8  And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 

 

Judges 16:27  Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. 

 

2Samuel 11:2  And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 

 

Nehemiah 8:16  So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. 

 

Here is one website’s explanation of the usage of flat roofs in Egypt from whence the Israelites came. 

Egyptians developed sun-dried mud bricks that could resist the flooding from the Nile and rain for much longer than undried mud bricks. These new dried bricks also proved useful for constructing flat roofs, which virtually all Egyptian homes had. In order to bear the weight of people, the roof was supported by palm trunks. The roof wasn’t just a convenient covering for the home. Instead, it was often used as a secondary living area and the primary sleeping area. These early homes couldn’t ventilate heat easily and would even retain uncomfortable amounts of heat during the night. Rooftops were cooler, especially at night or when equipped with reed canopies for shade, so people naturally preferred to spend time on them. Rooms in the home were used for storage, cooking or other activities. 

 

Flax is a food and fiber crop that is often made into linen or clothing. Egyptian mummies were embalmed in linen and Egyptian priests only wore linen as it symbolized purity. Flax fibers are two to three times as strong as cotton fibers. There are a lot of possible sermons out of this.  

 

Joshua 2:8 ¶ And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; 9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. 11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. 12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father's house, and give me a true token: 13 And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. 14 And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. 16 And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. 17 And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. 18 Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee. 19 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. 20 And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. 21 And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. 

Joshua 2:23 ¶ So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. 

Verse 18 is of special note in this narrative in that there is a scarlet thread in type that runs through history, a thread of mercy and deliverance, and that thread is Christ and His blood. Other than that the narrative speaks for itself.