The 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.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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:
- BSB But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.
- NKJV Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
- NASB But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
- NLT Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from.
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
Rahab hides the two men and tells the king's messengers that they had already left. She acts to protect the spies, aligning herself with Israel's cause.
Overview
Rahab's concealment of the spies is presented by Scripture as an act of faith (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25). Her words to the king involve deception, and faithful interpreters have long discussed whether this was sin tolerated or commended; the text praises her faith and protective loyalty rather than endorsing falsehood as such. The narrative's focus is on her courageous trust that Israel's God would prevail.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- 2 Sam 17:19–20The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out bruised grain on it; and nothing was known.
- 2 Kgs 6:19Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria.
- 2 Sam 16:18–19Hushai said to Absalom, “No; but whomever Yahweh, and this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his will I be, and with him I will stay.
- Exod 1:19The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous, and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 2:4 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.