Tyndale Open Study NotesJoshua 2

• Like any good military commander, Joshua sent out spies or scouts to get information about his objective.

• Because Israel planned to approach Canaan from the east, they could not avoid Jericho.

• Shittim was about 13 kilometers (8 miles) east of the Jordan River on the plains of Moab, across from Jericho (see Numbers 25:1).

• the house of a prostitute: In the house of a prostitute, strangers could avoid attention they did not want. According to tradition, Rahab was an innkeeper as well as a prostitute (Josephus, Antiquities 5.1.2). Other evidence from the ancient Near East suggests that women who owned and operated inns were often prostitutes.

The spies’ speech probably made them recognizable as foreigners. Hebrew and the languages spoken in Canaan were closely related dialects within the same language family, but they differed in vocabulary and grammar.

Jericho’s king assumed Rahab was both loyal to the city and unaware of the men’s mission.

It is not necessary to either approve or condemn Rahab’s lie to the king’s messengers. She may not have known the ethical standards that God later gave to Israel. Another possibility is that saving a human life was a higher moral value than telling the truth in that situation.

The inner fibers of flax were processed to make linen. The first step involved laying out the flax stems to dry on the flat rooftop.

Medium-sized towns such as Jericho had one main gate made of two very large wooden doors reinforced with bronze. The gate was barred for the night and opened again in the morning.

The authorities took a sensible precaution by shutting the gate immediately after the pursuers left. If the spies had not left the city, as Rahab said, the authorities might still find them in Jericho during the night.

• Rahab began to declare her faith in the Lord.

• dried up the waters: God parted the waters of the Red Sea for Israel (Exodus 14:21–28).

• Israel defeated Sihon and Og (Numbers 21:21–35).

• devoted to destruction: See Leviticus 27:28–29; 1 Samuel 15:3.

Even though the people of Canaan experienced God's judgment, Rahab’s statement of faith was genuine and shown by her help to the spies. Because of this, God included her among his people (Hebrews 11:31).

Rahab’s request demonstrated her faith in Israel and Israel’s God.

When Israel attacked Jericho, Joshua and the two spies kept their promise to save Rahab (6:22).

Because Rahab's house was built into the wall of the city, she could hide the men on the flat roof of her house (2:6). She let them escape through the window down the wall's outer side.

The hill country of central Canaan rises steeply just west of Jericho. The pursuers from Jericho expected the two spies to go east toward Israel’s camp across the Jordan. When the pursuers stopped searching, the spies were able to cross the Jordan without trouble.

we will be innocent. But … his blood will be on our heads: The spies used a standard formula to accept responsibility for any of Rahab’s family remaining with her in her house, but not for those who did not.

The spies’ report encouraged the Israelites and gave them new confidence.