Bible Figure
Rahab
human biblical figure
Rahab was a woman of Jericho who sheltered the Israelite spies sent by Joshua before Israel entered the Promised Land. Having heard of God's mighty acts for Israel, she confessed her belief that the Lord was God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Rahab hid the spies, helped them escape, and asked that her family be spared when Jericho fell. The spies agreed, identifying her house by a scarlet cord. Rahab and her family survived the destruction of the city and were incorporated into Israel. The New Testament remembers her as an example of faith expressed through action and includes her in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus.
Biography
Rahab appears principally in Joshua 2 and Joshua 6. She lived in Jericho at the time Israel was preparing to cross the Jordan and enter Canaan. Joshua secretly sent two men to spy out the land, especially Jericho, and they entered Rahab's house.
When the king of Jericho learned that Israelite men had entered the city, he ordered Rahab to surrender them. Instead, she hid the spies on her roof beneath stalks of flax and misdirected the king's men. She then explained why she had acted on their behalf. The inhabitants of Jericho had heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea and how Israel defeated kings east of the Jordan. Rahab acknowledged Israel's God as God in heaven and on earth.
In return for protecting the spies, Rahab asked for protection for her father, mother, brothers, sisters, and their households. The spies agreed on several conditions. Her family was to remain inside her house, and she was to tie a scarlet cord in the window through which she helped the spies escape.
When Israel later captured Jericho, Joshua ordered that Rahab and her household be spared. She subsequently lived among the Israelites.
Rahab appears again in the New Testament. Matthew names Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus as the mother of Boaz. Hebrews includes her among examples of faith because she welcomed the spies, and James cites her actions as evidence that genuine faith produces works.
Biblical Significance
Rahab is a striking biblical example of faith arising in an unexpected person. Although she belonged to Jericho, a city under judgment, she responded to what she had heard about the God of Israel with belief and decisive action. Her rescue demonstrates God's mercy toward those who turn to Him in faith. Hebrews emphasizes her faith, while James emphasizes the works that demonstrated it. Matthew's inclusion of Rahab in the ancestry of Jesus also places this Gentile woman within the unfolding history of redemption. Her story therefore joins faith, courage, mercy, and inclusion in God's covenant purposes.