Joshua 2, CJB, My
comments in endnotes.
Concise opinion: Viewed as an agent of the-God, Rahab seems a traitor
to humankind. Respecting Yahweh, Rahab broke several of the 10 commandments. As
a Canaanite, Rahab seems an egocentric traitor to her people, excepting her
immediate family. If I were an Israelite contemporary, I would not trust her or
her family, because of their fears and errors. Making Rahab a hero to any
ideology or religion bemuses believers.
[In
studying the Bible, I ponder reliability to the-God’s message in Genesis
1:26-28, NIV, “make mankind in our image so they may rule over the [lesser
species] . . . [and] fill and subdue the earth”. Coming from the-God, “may” implies can choose to. Each person may and can choose to responsibly pursue order on earth.
Happy is the person whose actions the-God both appreciates and would mimic if
on earth. I want to behave to so represent the-good against the-bad. I want to
be a civic citizen. “Civic” means responsible in human connections and
transactions.
“May
choose to rule” is not equivalent to free-will, which accommodates no-rule, or
chaos, or evil. Necessity requires constraint, so those who choose free-will
get ruled by citizens who accept and never doubt the-God’s appreciation. “May
rule” implies that the-God appreciates the-good and will not usurp mankind’s
role. In other words, the-God’s gift to mankind is their opportunity to pursue
the-good on earth. It seems “subdue” refers to humankind’s erroneous behavior.
I
perceive that John 1:1 asserts that Jesus is the-God. Further, Matthew 5:48
asserts that a human-being may and can pursue unique perfection that mimics
Jesus’ reliability. No surrogate can pursue a person’s unique perfection: the
person must rule his/her way of living. Also, Matthew 25:41-45 expresses
that citizens who do not treat fellow-civic-citizens as unique images of Jesus
accept neither Genesis 1:26-28 nor the-God. Each person may accept the-God’s
appreciation and pursue Jesus’ civic influence.
Jesus’
civic influence may be discerned in the gospels when he speaks with
individuals. Happy is the person who joins with fellow-citizens to pursue,
facilitate, and promote Jesus’ civic influence. That is, pursue reliability to
Jesus' civic influence to the-good to each generation – “to ourselves and our
Posterity”, quoting the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.
I
write opinion, because I do not know the-ineluctable-truth. Ineluctable means:
not to be assailed, avoided, changed, escaped, neglected, obfuscated,
rationalized, or resisted.]
2 Y’hoshua
[Israelite] the son
of Nun secretly sent
two spies from Sheetim with these instructions: “Go, inspect the land and
Yericho.”[A] They
left and came to the house of a prostitute named Rachav, where they spent the
night. 2 The king[B] of Yericho [Canaanite] was told[C] about it — “Tonight some men from
Isra’el came here to reconnoiter the land.”
3 The king
of Yericho sent a message to Rachav [Canaanite], “Bring out the men who came to you and are staying
in your house, because they have come to reconnoiter all the land.” 4 However,
the woman, after taking the two men and hiding them, replied, “Yes, the men did
come to me; but I didn’t know where they had come from [a lie]. 5 The
men left around the time when they shut the gate, when it was dark. Where they
went I don’t know [a lie];
but if you chase after them quickly, you will overtake them.”[D] 6 Actually
she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax
she had spread out there. 7 The men pursued them
all the way to the fords at the Yarden; as soon as the pursuit party had left,
the gate was shut.
8 The two
men had not yet lain down when she returned to the roof 9 and
said to them, “I know that Adonai has
given you the land. Fear[E] of you has fallen on us; everyone in the
land is terrified at the thought of you. 10 We’ve
heard how Adonai dried
up the water in the Sea of Suf ahead of you, when you left Egypt; and what you
did to the two kings of the Emori on the other side of the Yarden, Sichon and
‘Og, that you completely
destroyed them. 11 As soon as we heard it,
our hearts failed us. Because of you, everyone is in a state of depression. For Adonai your God — he is God in heaven above and on the earth
below. 12 So, please, swear to me by Adonai that,
since I have been kind to you, you will also be kind to my father’s family. Give me some evidence of
your good faith, 13 that you will spare the lives
of my father, mother, brothers and sisters and all who are theirs, so that we
won’t be killed.”[F] 14 The
men replied to her, “Our lives are certainly worth yours [the bargain for favor],
provided you don’t betray our mission. So when Adonai gives us the land [we completely destroy Jericho],
we will treat you kindly and in good faith.”
15 Then she
lowered them by a rope through the window; since her house abutted the city
wall, indeed was actually built into it. 16 She
told them, “Head for the hills, so that the pursuit party won’t get their hands
on you; and hide yourselves there for three days, until the pursuers have
returned. After that, you can go on your way.” 17 The
men said to her, “We will not be guilty of violating the oath you made us
swear, provided that 18 when we enter the land, you tie this piece of scarlet
cord in the window you let us down from; and you gather together in your house your father, mother,
brothers, and your father’s entire household. 19 If
anyone goes out the doors of your house into the street, he will be responsible
for his own blood, and we will be guiltless. But everyone who stays with you in
the house — we will be responsible for his blood if anyone lays a hand on
him. 20 However, if you say a word about this business of ours, then we
will be free of your oath that you made us swear.” 21 “According
to your words, so be it,” she said, and sent them away. As they departed, she tied the scarlet cord in the
window.
22 They
left, arrived in the hills, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had
returned. The pursuers had searched for them all the way but hadn’t found
them. 23 Then the two men returned. Descending from
the hills they crossed over and came to Y’hoshua the son of Nun, and reported
everything that had happened to them. 24 “Truly Adonai has handed over all
the land to us,” they told Y’hoshua. “Everyone in the land is terrified that we’re coming.”
[A] Yericho
was a Canaanite city; https://www.bibleodyssey.org/places/main-articles/jericho.
[B] The
Canaanites (and the Hebrews) were Northern Semites; Ancient
Semitic-speaking peoples - Wikipedia.
[C]
Who leaked the secret?
[D]
Rachav or Rahab deceived her king, her city, her family, and her neighbors, I
think breaking at least the 1st, 3rd, and 9th
of 10 commandments.
[E]
Rahab committed treason against everyone in Jericho to save her life and her
immediate family who could and would come to her home.
[F]
Did Rahab’s quid pro quo exclude her 4 grandparents and theirs from protection?
Seems so.
