Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
Parallel translations
- WEB Before they had lain down, she came up to them on the roof.
- KJV And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
- BSB Before the spies lay down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof
- NASB Now before the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
- NLT Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them.
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
Before the spies lie down to sleep, Rahab comes up to them on the roof to speak. She is about to make a remarkable confession of faith.
Overview
This brief verse sets the stage for one of the most striking declarations in the book. Rahab approaches the men not merely as a protector but as a believer ready to confess what God has done. Her coming up to them signals her intent to bind herself and her family to Israel's God and people.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 2:8 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.