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Rahab

Portrait of Rahab

Rahab, a Canaanite woman and resident of Jericho, sheltered two Israelite spies sent by Joshua ahead of the conquest of Canaan, hiding them on her roof and helping them escape after they promised protection for her family. In return she displayed a scarlet cord from her window as a signal, and when the city walls fell she and her household were spared amid the destruction, allowing them to join the Israelite community. Her actions reflected a confession of faith in the God of Israel, as later affirmed in the New Testament book of Hebrews. Rahab eventually married Salmon of the tribe of Judah and appears in the genealogy of Jesus recorded in Matthewโ€™s Gospel, underscoring themes of redemption and the inclusion of Gentiles in the messianic line.

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Biography

Occupation
Innkeeper
Spouse
Salmon
Children
Boaz
Era
Conquest (c. 1400 BC)
Nationality
Canaanite

Family

Rahab โšญ Salmon
โ†“
Children
Old Testament Exodus Woman Joshua

Did You Know?

1

Rahab's name derives from the Hebrew root for 'broad' or 'spacious,' fitting her role as an innkeeper whose house was built into Jericho's double city wall, enabling the spies' nighttime escape by rope from her window in Joshua 2:15.

2

The scarlet cord Rahab tied in her window as a signal for protection during Jericho's fall parallels the Passover lamb's blood on Israelite doorposts, serving as the sole biblical instance of such a marker guaranteeing family-wide salvation from conquest.

3

Though a Canaanite outsider, Rahab appears among only five women in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus as the wife of Salmon and mother of Boaz, placing her directly in the lineage leading to King David and underscoring Gentile inclusion in the messianic line.

4

Rahab's confession in Joshua 2:10-11 reveals detailed knowledge of the Exodus plagues and Red Sea crossing among Jericho's residents decades later, illustrating how news of Israel's God spread through Canaanite trade networks before the conquest.

5

New Testament writers cite Rahab as a dual exemplar of faith in Hebrews 11:31 for welcoming the spies and of works in James 2:25 for her active deception of Jericho's king, bridging Old Testament narrative with early Christian theology on justification.

Key Passages

Rahab Hides the Spies

Joshua 2:1-21

A Canaanite prostitute risks everything to protect Israel's spies because she recognizes the true God - demonstrating that faith transcends ethnicity, gender, and moral background.

A1nd 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 harlotโ€™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. 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 fatherโ€™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 fatherโ€™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.

Read full chapter: Joshua 2 โ†’

Rahab's Family Saved

Joshua 6:22-25

Rahab's scarlet cord in the window saves her household from Jericho's destruction - a picture of salvation through faith that parallels the Passover blood on the doorposts.

B22ut Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied out the country, Go into the harlotโ€™s house, and bring out thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto her.

23 And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel. 24 And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. 25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her fatherโ€™s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Read full chapter: Joshua 6 โ†’

Faith of Rahab

Hebrews 11:31

Hebrews lists Rahab among the heroes of faith alongside Abraham and Moses - confirming that God honors genuine faith regardless of one's past.

B31y faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

Read full chapter: Hebrews 11 โ†’