Joshua 2

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¹Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there. ✦ ²The king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men of the children of Israel came in here tonight to spy out the land.” ✦ ³Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.” ✦ ⁴The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I didn’t know where they came from. ✦ ⁵About the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, the men went out. Where the men went, I don’t know. Pursue them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ✦ ⁶But she had brought them up to the roof, and hidden them under the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. ✦ ⁷The men pursued them along the way to the fords of the Jordan River. As soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. ✦ ⁸Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof. ⁹She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. ✦ ¹⁰For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. ✦ ¹¹As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. ✦ ¹²Now therefore, please swear to me by Yahweh, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true sign; ✦ ¹³and that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.” ¹⁴The men said to her, “Our life for yours, if you don’t talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Yahweh gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.” ✦ ¹⁵Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall, and she lived on the wall. ✦ ¹⁶She said to them, “Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you. Hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you may go your way.” ✦ ¹⁷The men said to her, “We will be guiltless of this your oath which you’ve made us to swear. ✦ ¹⁸Behold, when we come into the land, tie this line of scarlet thread in the window which you used to let us down. Gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father’s household. ✦ ¹⁹It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him. ✦ ²⁰But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you’ve made us to swear.” ✦ ²¹She said, “Let it be as you have said.” She sent them away, and they departed. Then she tied the scarlet line in the window. ✦ ²²They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them all along the way, but didn’t find them. ✦ ²³Then the two men returned, descended from the mountain, crossed the river, and came to Joshua the son of Nun. They told him all that had happened to them. ²⁴They said to Joshua, “Truly Yahweh has delivered all the land into our hands. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us.” ✦

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Where this chapter connects

Josh 2 ·13 Josh 6 ·5 Gen 24 ·4 2 Sam 17 ·4 Exod 15 ·4 Jas 2 ·4 Num 13 ·3 Judg 18 ·3

Christ at the center

Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.

How Joshua 2 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 2YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Joshua 2David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Joshua 2Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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