Rahab
Rahab, a Canaanite woman from Jericho, hid the Israelite spies and was spared during the city's destruction.
Biography
Rahab was a Canaanite woman who operated an inn or lodging house on the wall of Jericho. When Joshua sent two spies to reconnoiter the city before Israel's invasion, Rahab sheltered them at great personal risk, hiding them on her roof under stalks of flax (Joshua 2:1-6). She confessed remarkable faith in Yahweh, declaring that the Lord had given the land to Israel and that He was "God in heaven above and on earth below" (Joshua 2:11). In exchange for her protection, the spies promised to spare her household, marking her home with a scarlet cord in the window. When Jericho fell, Rahab and her entire family were rescued (Joshua 6:22-25). She subsequently married Salmon and bore Boaz, entering directly into the lineage of David and of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).
Significance
Rahab stands as one of Scripture's most powerful testimonies to the transforming reach of God's grace. A Gentile woman living in a city under divine judgment, she responded to what she had heard about Yahweh with a faith that the New Testament twice commends: Hebrews 11:31 places her among the heroes of faith, and James 2:25 cites her as evidence that genuine faith produces action. Her inclusion in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5) demonstrates that God's redemptive plan transcends ethnic, moral, and social boundaries. The scarlet cord marking her salvation has long been seen as a typological echo of the Passover blood, pointing forward to redemption through Christ.
Verse Appearances (8)
Hebrews
James
Matthew
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Individualised Proper Names with all References (TIPNR). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]