Joshua 6:16-17 Rahab the Harlot, part II of II

Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2012 in Bible Commentary | 0 comments

The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent.

//Joshua and his armies roll across the Jordan River, preparing to conquer the land of Canaan, and the first obstacle in their way is a fortress-town named Jericho. Recall from yesterday’s post that Jericho’s famous harlot, Rahab, is no small force to be reckoned with. Her beauty is beyond compare; her will is unbendable; her name likens her to the dragon ruling over the primordial chaos before God brought order to the universe. She is no outcast in Jericho; rather, she epitomizes the city. She is its very essence. And she waits for Joshua. Waits to be rescued … or perhaps to swallow him up and spew him forth like the mythical beast she’s named after.

Jericho’s walls are high, an impenetrable circle, A Freudian image if ever I’ve heard one. Round and round goes Joshua with his armies, seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, until finally the time comes to act. Israel breaks down the walls and plunges into the Promised Land. Rahab is rescued.

Tradition holds that after the conquest, Joshua and Rahab were married.