--- title: "Joshua 2 - Study King James Bible with clarkes commentary" description: "Read Joshua 2 with clarkes commentary commentary. 1 And 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 harlot’s" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/clarkes-commentary/joshua/2" --- [ Read](/kjv/joshua/2)[ Commentary](/study/joshua/2)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/joshua/2) Audio 1 And 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 harlot’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 father’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 father’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. 22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought *them* throughout all the way, but found *them* not. 23 ¶ So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all *things* that befell them: 24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.* [Joshua 1](/study/joshua/1) [Joshua 3](/study/joshua/3) ## Commentary To verse 1 Verse [Joshua 2:1](/kjv/joshua/2/1). ***Joshua - sent - two men to spy secretly*** — It is very likely that these spies had been sent out soon after the death of Moses, and therefore our marginal reading, *had sent*, is to be preferred. *Secretly*- It is very probable also that these were confidential persons, and that the transaction was between them and him alone. As they were to pass over the Jordan opposite to Jericho, it was necessary that they should have possession of this city, that in case of any reverses they might have no enemies in their rear. He sent the men, therefore, to see the state of the city, avenues of approach, fortifications, c., that he might the better concert his mode of attack. ***A harlot's house*** — *Harlots* and *inn-keepers* seem to have been called by the same name, as no doubt many who followed this mode of life, from their exposed situation, were not the most correct in their morals. Among the ancients *women* generally kept houses of entertainment, and among the Egyptians and Greeks this was common. I shall subjoin a few proofs. HERODOTUS, speaking concerning the many differences between Egypt and other countries, and the peculiarity of their laws and customs, expressly says: Εν τοισι αἱ μεν γυναικες αγοραζουσι και καπηλευουσι· οἱ δε ανδρες, κατ' οικους εοντες, ὑφαινουσι. "Among the Egyptians the women carry on all commercial concerns, and *keep taverns*, while the men continue at home and weave." Herod. in Euterp., c. xxxv. DIODORUS SICULUS, lib. i., s. 8, and c. xxvii., asserts that "the men were the slaves of the women in Egypt, and that it is stipulated in the marriage contract that the woman shall be the ruler of her husband, and that he shall obey her in all things." The same historian supposes that women had these high privileges among the Egyptians, to perpetuate the memory of the beneficent administration of *Isis*, who was afterwards deified among them. NYMPHODORUS, quoted by the ancient scholiast on the *OEdipus* *Coloneus* of Sophocles, accounts for these customs: he says that "Sesostris, finding the population of Egypt rapidly increasing, fearing that he should not be able to govern the people or keep them united under one head, obliged the *men* to assume the occupations of women, in order that they might be rendered effeminate." That the same custom prevailed among the *Greeks* we have the following proof from APULEIUS: *Ego vero quod primate ingressui* *stabulum conspicatus sum, accessi, et de QUADAM ANU CAUPONA illico* *percontor*. - Aletam. lib. i., p. 18, Edit. Bip. "Having entered into the first *inn* I met with, and there seeing a certain OLD WOMAN, the INN-KEEPER, I inquired of her." It is very likely that women kept the places of public entertainment among the *Philistines* and that it was with *such a* *one*, and not with a *harlot*, that Samson lodged; (see [Judges 16:1](/kjv/judges/16/1), c.) for as this custom certainly did prevail among the *Egyptians*, of which we have the fullest proof above, we may naturally expect it to have prevailed also among the Canaanites and Philistines, as we find from *Apuleius* that it did afterwards among the Greeks. Besides there is more than presumptive proof that this custom obtained among the Israelites themselves, even in the most polished period of their history; for it is much more reasonable to suppose that the two women, who came to Solomon for judgment, relative to the *dead child*, ([1 Kings 3:16](/kjv/1-kings/3/16), c.), were *inn-keepers*, than that they were *harlots*. It is well known that common prostitutes, from their abandoned course of life, scarcely ever have children and the laws were so strict against such in Israel, ([Deuteronomy 23:18](/kjv/deuteronomy/23/18)), that if these had been of that class it is not at all likely they would have dared to appear before Solomon. All these circumstances considered, I am fully satisfied that the term זונה *zonah* in the text, which we translate *harlot*, should be rendered *tavern* or *inn-keeper*, or *hostess*. The *spies* who were sent out on this occasion were undoubtedly the most confidential persons that Joshua had in his host; they went on an errand of the most weighty importance, and which involved the greatest consequences. The risk they ran of losing their lives in this enterprise was extreme. Is it therefore likely that persons who could not escape apprehension and death, without the miraculous interference of God, should in despite of that law which at this time must have been so well known unto them, go into a place where they might expect, not the blessing, but the curse, of God? Is it not therefore more likely that they went rather to an *inn* to lodge than to a *brothel*? But what completes in my judgment the evidence on this point is, that this very Rahab, whom we call a *harlot*, was actually married to *Salmon*, a Jewish *prince,* see [Matthew 1:5](/kjv/matthew/1/5). And is it probable that a *prince of Judah* would have taken to wife such a person as our text represents Rahab to be? It is granted that the Septuagint, who are followed by [Hebrews 11:31](/kjv/hebrews/11/31), and [James 2:25](/kjv/james/2/25), translate the Hebrew זונה *zonah* by πορνη, which generally signifies a *prostitute*; but it is not absolutely evident that the Septuagint used the word in this sense. Every scholar knows that the Greek word πορνη comes from περναω, to *sell*, as this does from περαω, to *pass from one to* *another; transire facio a me ad alterum*; DAMM. But may not this be spoken as well of the woman's *goods* as of her *person*? In this sense the Chaldee Targum understood the term, and has therefore translated it אתתא פונדקיתא *ittetha pundekitha, a woman*, a TAVERN-KEEPER. That this is the true sense many eminent men are of opinion; and the preceding arguments render it at least very probable. To all this may be added, that as our blessed Lord came through the line of this woman, it cannot be a matter of little consequence to know what moral character she sustained; as an *inn-keeper* she might be *respectable*, if not *honourable*; as a *public prostitute* she could be neither; and it is not very likely that the providence of God would have suffered a person of such a notoriously bad character to enter into the sacred line of his genealogy. It is true that the cases of Tamar and Bathsheba may be thought sufficient to destroy this argument; but whoever considers these two cases maturely will see that they differ totally from that of *Rahab*, if we allow the word *harlot* to be legitimate. As to the objection that her *husband* is nowhere mentioned in the account here given; it appears to me to have little weight. She might have been either a *single woman* or a *widow*; and in either of these cases there could have been no mention of a *husband*; or if she even had a husband it is not likely *he* would have been mentioned on this occasion, as the secret seems to have been kept religiously between *her* and the *spies*. If she were a *married* woman her husband might be included in the general terms, *all that she had*, and *all her kindred*, [Joshua 6:23](/kjv/joshua/6/23). But it is most likely that she was a *single woman* or a *widow*, who got her bread honestly by *keeping a* *house of entertainment for strangers*. 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