Rahab(rachab)
“Wide or broad”
Summary
Rahab was a Canaanite woman of Jericho who hid the Israelite spies and, by faith, was delivered from the city's destruction, becoming an ancestor of Jesus Christ.
☩Her History and Rescue
Rahab was a young unmarried woman living in Jericho at the time of the Israelite conquest, dwelling in a house built upon the city wall. She was a harlot, though she may have also kept a lodging house for travelers. Her house was covered with stalks of flax drying on the roof, and she possessed scarlet thread, indicating she may have been engaged in linen manufacture and dyeing. When Joshua sent two spies to reconnoiter Jericho, they came to her house. She hid them among the flax stalks on her roof when the king's messengers came searching. Having heard of Israel's miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea and victories over Sihon and Og, she confessed faith in Jehovah as "God in heaven above and on earth beneath." She let the spies down by a cord from her window and directed them to hide in the mountains for three days. In return, they promised to spare her and her family when Jericho fell, instructing her to hang the scarlet cord from her window as a sign.
☩Her Faith and Legacy
When Jericho was destroyed, Joshua commanded that Rahab and her family be brought out safely before the city was burned. The New Testament honors her faith: Hebrews 11:31 states that "by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that disobeyed," while James 2:25 cites her as an example of justification by works that evidence genuine faith. According to Matthew 1:5, she became the wife of Salmon and the mother of Boaz, thus becoming an ancestor of David and ultimately of Jesus Christ. Jewish tradition held that eight prophets descended from her. The scarlet cord she displayed has been interpreted by early Church fathers, including Clement of Rome, as a symbol of redemption through the blood of Christ.
☩Rahab as Poetic Name for Egypt
A separate Hebrew word, also rendered "Rahab" in English translations, is used as a poetic name for Egypt, signifying insolence, fierceness, or pride. This symbolic name appears in Psalm 87:4, Psalm 89:10, Isaiah 30:7, and Isaiah 51:9, where it represents Egypt's proud and boastful nature. The Talmud identifies this Rahab as "master of the sea," and in Isaiah 51:9 it is used in parallelism with "the dragon."
Related Verses11 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Rahab," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Rahab," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. IV (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Rahab," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Rahab," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 5.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "Rahab," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. IX (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 6.George Morrish, "Rahab," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 7.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Rahab," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).