But 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.
Parallel translations
- KJV 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.
- BSB (But Rahab had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had laid out there.)
- NKJV (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
- NASB But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.
- NLT (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.)
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 had hidden the spies on her roof under stalks of flax. She had carefully prepared their concealment in advance.
Overview
The detail of the flax drying on the roof grounds the account in everyday life and shows Rahab's deliberate, calculated protection of the men. Her resourcefulness serves the unfolding purpose of God. This humble Canaanite woman becomes an instrument in advancing Israel's God-given mission, foreshadowing her place among the people of faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Heb 11:23By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.
- Jas 2:25In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?
- 2 Sam 17:19The woman took and spread the covering over the well’s mouth, and spread out bruised grain on it; and nothing was known.
- Col 3:3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Exod 1:15–21The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,
- 1 Kgs 18:4for when Jezebel cut off Yahweh’s prophets, Obadiah took one hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)
- Matt 24:17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.
- Josh 2:8Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof.
- Exod 2:2The woman conceived, and bore a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months.
- Jer 36:26The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
- 1 Kgs 18:13Wasn’t it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed Yahweh’s prophets, how I hid one hundred men of Yahweh’s prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
- Deut 22:8When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.
- 2 Sam 11:2At evening, David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. From the roof, he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to look at.
- 2 Kgs 11:2But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were slain, even him and his nurse, and put them in the bedroom; and they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain.
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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 2:6 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.