Rahab

Biblical Account

Rahab first appears in Joshua 2. Two spies whom Joshua sent from Shittim to Jericho lodge at her house. The Korean Revised Korean Version calls her "Rahab the harlot," and her house was "upon the town wall" (Joshua 2:15).

When the king of Jericho demands that she hand over the spies, Rahab hides them under the stalks of flax on her roof and replies that they have already left the city. She then confesses to the spies, "for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath" (Joshua 2:11), and asks them to spare her family. The spies promise to do so and tell her to bind a scarlet cord in her window as a sign, and Rahab lets them down through the window so that they can escape.

In Joshua 6, when Jericho falls, Rahab and her family are rescued as promised, and the text records that "she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day" (Joshua 6:25).

Significance Within Scripture

The New Testament mentions Rahab three times.

• Matthew 1:5: Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, which places her in the genealogy of David and of Jesus Christ. She is one of the few women named in this genealogy, and her status as a Gentile is frequently noted.
• Hebrews 11:31: By faith she received the spies with peace and did not perish with those who believed not.
• James 2:25: She was justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way.

Interpretation and Issues

• Occupation: The Hebrew word generally denotes a prostitute. However, some ancient Jewish interpreters, including Josephus, are reported to have understood her to be an innkeeper.
• The ethics of lying: Interpreters differ over the lie she told the king's messengers. Many, including Augustine and Calvin, held that the lie itself was wrong but that what Scripture commends is her faith. Others regard it as an unavoidable act to protect life.
• Faith and works: Hebrews emphasizes Rahab's faith, while James emphasizes her works. How to harmonize the two passages is a frequent topic in discussions of justification. Protestant interpreters generally read them to mean that works give evidence of genuine faith.
• Symbolism of the scarlet cord: Since the letter of Clement of Rome (late first century), a typological interpretation has persisted that reads the scarlet cord as a sign foreshadowing the blood of Christ. The text itself describes the cord only as a sign of the promise.
• Extrabiblical traditions: The Jewish tradition that Rahab married Joshua and the story that her husband Salmon was one of the spies do not appear in the Bible. In addition, "Rahab" in passages such as Psalm 87:4 and 89:10 is a different word referring to a sea monster or to Egypt and is unrelated to this figure.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Rahab frequently appears in sermons on the theme that even a person regarded as a Gentile and a sinner can be saved through faith. Korean preachers commonly present the scarlet cord, together with the blood of the Passover lamb in the Exodus, as a symbol of salvation through the cross. In Korean Sunday schools she is taught alongside the stories of the spies sent to Jericho and the fall of Jericho.