1. Her History. — At the time of the arrival of the Israelites in Canaan she was a young unmarried wom- an, dwelling in a house of her own alone, though she had a father and mother, and brothers and sisters, liv- ing in Jericho. She was a " harlot," and probably com- bined the trade of lodging-keeper for wayfaring men. She seems also to have been engaged in the manufact- ure of linen, and the art of dyeing, for which the Phoe- nicians were early famous; since we find the flat roof of her house covered with stalks of flax put there to dry, and a stock of scarlet or crimson (h5^, skani) thread in her house — a circumstance which, coupled with the mention of Babylonish garments at vii, 21 as among the spoils of Jericho, indicates the existence of a trade in such articles between Phoenicia and Mesopotamia. Her house was situated on the wall, probably near the town gate, so as to be convenient for persons coming in and going out of the city. Traders coming from Mes- opotamia or Egypt to Phoenicia would frequently pass through Jericho, situated as it was near the fords of the Jordan; and of these many would resort to the house of Rahab. Rahab, therefore, had been well informed with regard to the events of the Exodus. She had heard of the passage through the Red Sea, of the ut- ter destruction of Sihon and Og, and of the irresistible progress of the Israelitish host. The effect upon her mind had been what one would not have expected in a person of her way of life : it led her to a firm faith in Jehovah as the true God, and to the conviction that he purposed to give the land of Canaan to the Israelites. When, therefore, the two spies sent by Joshua came to her house, they found themselves under the roof of one who, alone, probably, of the whole population, was friend- ly to their nation. Their coming, however, was quickly known : and the king of Jericho, having received infor- mation of it — while at supper, according to Josephus — sent, that very evening, to require her to deliver them up. It is very likely that, her house being a public one, some one who resorted there may have seen and recognised the spies, and gone off at once to report the matter to the authorities. But not without awakening Rahab's suspicions; for she immediately hid the men among the flax -stalks which were piled on the flat roof of her house, and, on the arrival of the officers sent to search her house, was ready with the story that two
EAHAB
8S0
KAUAI)
men— of what country she knew not— had, it was true.
be her house, bul bad left it just before the gates
; for the night, If the) pursued th< m at once, she added, thej would I"' Bure to overtake them. Mis- led by the false information, the men Btarted in pursuit !- of the Jordan, the gates having been opened to lit them out, and immediately closed again. When , :. and the people were gone to bi d, Rahab stole up i" the house-top, told the spies what had hap- pened, :u h1 assured them of her faith in the God of Is- rael, and her confident expectation of the capture of the whole land by them -an expectation, she added, which v, as shared bj her countrymen, and had produced a great panic among them. She then told them her plan lor their escape: it was to let them down by a cord from the window of her house, which looked over the city wall, and that they should flee into the mountains which bounded the plains of Jerii ho, and lie hidden there for three days, by which time the pursuers would have re- turned, and the lords of the Jordan be open to them again. She asked, in return for her kindness to them. that they should swear by Jehovah that, when their countrymen had taken the city, they would spare her life, and the tives of her lather and mother, brothers and sisters, and all that belonged to them. The men readily consented; and it was agreed between them that she should bang out her scarlet line al the window from which they had escaped, and bring all her family under her roof. If any of her kindred went out-of-doors into
the street, his blood would be upon his own head; and the Israelites, in that case, would be guiltless. The evenl proved the wisdom of her precautions. The pur- suers returned to Jericho after a fruitless search, and tin- spies got safe hack to the [sraelitish camp. The news thej brought of the terror of the Canaanites doubtless inspired Israel with fresh courage, and within three days of their return the passage of the Jordan was effected, [n the utter destruction of Jericho which ensued, Joshua gave the strictest orders for the preservation of Rahab and her family: and. accordingly, hefore the city was
burned, the two spies were sent to her house, and they brought out her. her father, and mother, ami brothers, and kindred, and all that she had. and placed them in Saf i\ in the [sraelitish camp. The narrator adds, "and she dwelleth in Israel unto this day:" not necessarily