Jewish and Christian traditions remember Rahab as a hero of the faith. As the most outsider of outsiders—a woman in a man’s world, a prostitute, and a Canaanite foreigner saved by Israel—her shocking faith propelled her into the Davidic and Messianic lineage .
Rahab, A Strong Rescue for The Spies
In Genesis 2:18 God creates woman as an ezer, a strong rescue, and Rahab becomes exactly that by saving both the Israelites and her entire household. Astonishingly, Old Testament books often begin with women as a clue that something good is about to happen. Rahab’s story of rescuing the spies begins the book of Joshua and reminds readers of the women who risked their lives to rescue Moses at the start of Exodus. Like Moses’s mother, Rahab hides the spies.[1] Like the clever midwives Puah and Shiphrah who deceive the king to rescue the Hebrew baby boys’ lives, Rahab rescues the spies from the Canaanite king. Then she gives them instructions in how to remain unseen and lets them down through her window.[2]
Rahab and her Prophetic Oracle
Rahab sides with the spies because she knows God’s plans. Using Miriam’s prophetic words of the warrior God YHWH in Exodus 15, she prophesies of the warrior God who intends to give the land to the Israelites, saying,[3]
I know that the Lord has given you this land, and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan who you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below (Josh. 2:9–11, NIV).
The spies use her prophecy as their report to Joshua about the land. And through her faithfulness (hesed) to them, they faithfully saved her whole household.
What can a Prostitute Teach Us?
Rahab’s status as a prostitute sets the stage for both ancient adult comedy and important theological truths. Though some doubt whether Rahab was a prostitute, both the ancient near east culture and structure of Joshua offers important clues to this being central to her situation.[4] The quick succession of Hebrew sexual innuendos point to prostitution: “they came,” “house of a prostitute,” “and lay down there.”[5] Adding to the sexual innuendo is the adult comedy of two young men who make a beeline from the desert to a prostitute’s house.[6] What is more, news spread widely about the Israelites’ destruction of Sihon and Og, very likely spreading fear.[7] So any newcomers in a walled city would be quickly recognized, especially in a brothel, the traditional hangout for men. The spies might have thought it would be a good place for them to hear the news, but instead it immediately blew their cover. The king heard about them that day, calling into question the judgement of these spies!
On a more serious note, the book of Joshua purposefully reminds readers of Exodus as the lamb’s red blood marked Israelite homes, protecting the firstborn from the angel of destruction. Likewise, Rahab is instructed to hang a scarlet-red cord from her window, and all who remain inside her home will be protected from the ensuing destruction.[8] This Exodus theme is important in considering Rahab as a prostitute. Rahab’s escape from destruction paralleled Israel’s exodus from demeaning slavery. The Israelites remembered the exodus from Egypt as freedom from debt slavery. Rahab’s position as a prostitute speaks to her social marginalization and deep indebtedness. As Bible scholar Robert Coote says, “she is a woman who is forced by poverty—and by her poor father or brothers—to seek income that would either help to keep her family from falling disastrously into debt or to pay off the debt they have already incurred.”[9] Rahab represents extreme marginalization, a situation where the previously enslaved Israel would sympathize and “cheer her on as she dares to make fools out of the king and his men.”[10]As the destruction of Egypt led to Israel’s freedom from slavery, so too the destruction of Canaan eliminated Rahab’s family debt and allowed them freedom and new life as part of the people of God.
Rahab as Hope for Future
Rahab’s story continually turns expectations on their head in the interest of elevating the most ostracized—the woman, the prostitute, the foreigner. Centering Rahab at the start of Joshua symbolized hope that once again God’s redemption would ensure dignity, leadership, and partnership for all human beings created in the image of God.
Notes
[1] Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of their Stories, (New York: Schocken Books, 2002), 36. Notably, the same Hebrew word for “hiding” is only used in these two cases of hiding.
[2] Everett Fox, The Early Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, A New Translation with Introductions, Commentary and Notes, (New York: Schocken Books, 2014), 16. Fox notes the similarities between the Exodus liberation begun by the decisive actions of women, and here where the conquest of the land is begun by the decisive factors of Rahab.
[3] Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible, 298. Frymer-Kensky demonstrates that Rahab is the “first oracle of Israel’s destiny.”
[4] Though some doubt whether Rahab was a prostitute, the earliest Hebrew manuscripts call Rahab a prostitute. Later traditions, though still ancient, soften this designation and instead call her an innkeeper. Read Aliyah Jacobs’ Rahab the Innkeeper to see some of these traditions and perspectives.
[5] Carolyn J. Sharp, Joshua: Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary, (Macon, GA: Smith & Hewys, 2019), 107-108.
[6] Peter Enns, “Episode 227-Pete Ruins Joshua: The Bible for Normal People,” produced by B4NP Podcast, Bible for Normal People, November 21, 2022. Sharp, Joshua, 104, 109. Enns and Sharp note that many have seen ancient comedy in this scene.
[7] Sharp, Joshua, 112. Sharp explains how a group of people moving across the desert and successfully annihilating two kingdoms would spread fear to any walled city that might be in their path.
[8] Tikva Frymer-Kensky, Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of their Stories, (New York: Schocken Books, 2002), 35. Sharp, Joshua, 117-118.
[9] Robert B. Coote, “The Book of Joshua: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections,” The New Interpreter’s Bible, Volume II (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998), 591.
[10] Coote, “The Book of Joshua,” 592. Fox, The Early Prophets, 16. Fox notes Rahab’s low status signifying God’s hand at work.
Learn More
About Women Prophets: Women Prophets in the Old Testament by Christine Marchetti
Rahab the Innkeeper by Aliyah Jacobs
Rahab the Righteous by Crystal Lutton
Rahab – A Woman to be Admired by John Sowalsky