Limitless Word
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
Hebrews 11:31 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
  • KJV By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
  • NKJV By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
  • NASB By faith the prostitute Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
  • NLT It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the Israelite spies and so was spared when the disobedient perished. Faith receives God's people and finds mercy, even for an outsider with a sinful past.

Overview

Joshua 2 and 6 tell how Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute, hid the spies because she believed in Israel's God, and was saved when Jericho fell. Her faith, shown in welcoming God's messengers, set her apart from the "disobedient." A Gentile and a sinner brought into God's people, she appears in the line of Christ (Matthew 1:5), displaying the reach of saving grace.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 9

  • Jas 2:25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
  • Josh 6:22–25Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
  • Matt 1:5Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
  • Josh 2:1–24Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
  • Matt 1:1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
  • Josh 1:1Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying,
  • 1 Pet 3:20who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
  • 1 Pet 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
  • Heb 3:18And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hebrews videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hebrews 11:31YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HebrewsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.

How Hebrews 11:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.