Josué 2

BLIVRE · Chapter 2/24

¹E Josué, filho de Num, enviou desde Sitim dois espias secretamente, dizendo-lhes: Andai, reconhecei a terra, e a Jericó. Os quais foram, e entraram em casa de uma mulher prostituta que se chamava Raabe, e passaram a noite ali.

²E foi dado aviso ao rei de Jericó, dizendo: Eis que homens dos filhos de Israel vieram aqui esta noite a espiar a terra.

³Então o rei de Jericó, enviou a dizer a Raabe: Tira fora os homens que vieram a ti, e entraram em tua casa; porque vieram a espiar toda a terra.

⁴Mas a mulher havia tomado os dois homens, e os havia escondido; e disse: Verdade que homens vieram a mim, mas não soube de onde eram:

⁵E ao fechar-se a porta, sendo já escuro, esses homens saíram, e não sei para onde se foram: segui-os depressa, que os alcançareis.

⁶Mas ela os havia feito subir ao terraço, e havia os escondido entre talos de linho que naquele terraço tinha posto.

⁷E os homens foram atrás eles pelo caminho do Jordão, até os vaus: e a porta foi fechada depois que saíram os que atrás eles iam.

⁸Mas antes que eles dormissem, ela subiu a eles ao terraço, e disse-lhes:

⁹Eu sei que o SENHOR vos deu esta terra; porque o temor de vós caiu sobre nós, e todos os moradores desta terra estão apavorados por causa de vós;

¹⁰Porque ouvimos que o SENHOR fez secar as águas do mar Vermelho diante de vós, quando saístes do Egito, e o que fizestes aos dois reis pelos amorreus que estavam da parte dali do Jordão, a Seom e a Ogue, aos quais destruístes.

¹¹Ouvindo isto, desmaiou nosso coração; nem restou mais espírito em alguém por causa de vós: porque o SENHOR vosso Deus é Deus acima nos céus e abaixo na terra.

¹²Rogo-vos, pois, agora, me jureis pelo SENHOR, que como fiz misericórdia convosco, assim a fareis vós com a casa de meu pai, do qual me dareis um sinal certo;

¹³E que salvareis a vida a meu pai e a minha mãe, e a meus irmãos e irmãs, e a todo o que for seu; e que livrareis nossas vidas da morte.

¹⁴E eles lhe responderam: Nossa vida esteja pela vossa até a morte, se não denunciardes este nosso negócio; e quando o SENHOR houver nos dado a terra, nós a trataremos com misericórdia e fidelidade.

¹⁵Então ela os fez descer com uma corda pela janela; porque sua casa estava à parede do muro, e ela vivia no muro.

¹⁶E disse-lhes: Marchai-vos ao monte, porque os que foram atrás vós não vos encontrem; e estai escondidos ali três dias, até que os que vos seguem tenham voltado; e depois vos ireis vosso caminho.

¹⁷E eles lhe disseram: Nós seremos desobrigados deste juramento com que nos hás conjurado.

¹⁸Eis que, quando nós entrarmos na terra, tu atarás este cordão de escarlate à janela pela qual nos fizeste descer: e tu juntarás em tua casa teu pai e tua mãe, teus irmãos e toda a família de teu pai.

¹⁹Qualquer um que sair fora das portas de tua casa, seu sangue será sobre sua cabeça, e nós sem culpa. Mas qualquer um que estiver em casa contigo, seu sangue será sobre nossa cabeça, se mão o tocar.

²⁰E se tu denunciares este nosso negócio, nós seremos desobrigados deste teu juramento com que nos fizeste jurar.

²¹E ela respondeu: Seja assim como dissestes. Logo os despediu, e se foram: e ela atou o cordão de escarlate à janela.

²²E caminhando eles, chegaram ao monte, e estiveram ali três dias, até que os que os seguiam se houvessem voltado: e os que os seguiram, buscaram por todo aquele caminho, mas não os acharam.

²³E voltando-se os dois homens, desceram do monte, e passaram, e vieram a Josué filho de Num, e contaram-lhe todas as coisas que lhes haviam acontecido.

²⁴E disseram a Josué: O SENHOR entregou toda esta terra em nossas mãos; e também todos os moradores desta terra estão apavorados por nossa causa.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joshua sends two spies to Jericho, who hide in Rahab's house. She protects them and makes an agreement: in exchange for sparing her family when the city falls, she hangs a scarlet cord in the window.

Explanation

Jericho was a strategic walled city, and scouting before an attack was common military practice at the time. Rahab, a Canaanite woman and a prostitute, recognizes that 'the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath' - a remarkable confession of faith coming from outside the people of Israel. Her willingness to shelter the spies and trust their promise is remembered later as an example of genuine faith, even coming from someone with no religious background. Today's application is that God welcomes whoever turns to him sincerely, no matter their past or origin.

Fun facts

Rahab is mentioned in the New Testament as an ancestor of David and Jesus (Matthew 1:5), and is also cited as an example of faith in Hebrews 11:31 and of works in James 2:25.
The scarlet cord in the window is seen by many scholars as an image echoing the blood on the doorposts at the Passover in Egypt - a sign that saves those inside.

Verse-by-verse explanation

Josué 2:1Joshua sends two spies in disguise to Jericho, and they end up at the house of Rahab. She was a prostitute, but the text does not hide that fact or treat it as shameful — that is simply how she enters the story.
Josué 2:2News that Israelite spies are in the city reaches the king of Jericho quickly, showing just how much the city was already on alert as the people of Israel approached.
Josué 2:3The king orders Rahab to hand over the spies. This is the moment she has to decide which side to be on.
Josué 2:4Rahab lies to the king’s soldiers to protect the spies hidden in her house; the text does not judge the lie, it simply records what she did and why. The focus of the account is on her courage and faith, not on an ethical evaluation of the lie itself.
Josué 2:5Rahab tells the king’s soldiers that the men had already left the city, buying time to protect the hidden spies.
Josué 2:6While lying to the soldiers, Rahab had already hidden the spies on the roof, under stalks of flax laid out to dry — a common hiding place at the time.
Josué 2:7The king’s soldiers chase after the spies in the wrong direction, toward the Jordan, giving Rahab’s plan time to work.
Josué 2:8Before the spies go to sleep, Rahab goes up to the roof to negotiate with them face to face.
Josué 2:9Rahab tells them what she has already heard: that God has given this land to Israel and that everyone in Jericho is terrified by the reputation of the people who are coming.
Josué 2:10She cites two facts that had already spread through the whole region: the crossing of the Red Sea and the defeat of kings Sihon and Og. That track record had already broken Jericho’s morale before the war even began.
Josué 2:11Rahab describes the dread that gripped Jericho on hearing what happened at the Red Sea and in the battles against the Amorite kings; this is the explanation she gives for deciding to help the spies instead of turning them in. This kind of reputation that runs ahead of an army is a common feature in ancient conquest accounts.
Josué 2:12Rahab asks the spies for an oath: since she helped them, she wants her family spared when Israel takes the city.
Josué 2:13She spells out the request: she wants her parents, brothers, and sisters saved along with her, not just herself alone.
Josué 2:14The spies accept the deal and promise, staking their own lives as the guarantee, that they will save Rahab’s family — as long as she tells no one about the plan.
Josué 2:15Rahab’s house is built right into the city wall, which lets her lower the spies by a rope through the window, straight outside the walls.
Josué 2:16Rahab gives them practical advice: flee to the hill country and wait there three days, because their pursuers will search the roads first.
Josué 2:17Before leaving, the spies make clear that the oath they swore only holds if certain conditions are met afterward.
Josué 2:18The scarlet cord tied to the window works as an agreed-upon sign: when the attack on Jericho begins, it marks Rahab’s house as the one to be spared. It is similar to the blood on the doorposts at the Egyptian Passover — a visible marker separating who is protected from who is not.
Josué 2:19The condition of the agreement is very specific: whoever is inside Rahab’s house at the time of the attack is protected; whoever goes out into the street is not.
Josué 2:20The spies repeat the warning: if Rahab tells the secret to anyone, the agreement falls apart and she loses her protection.
Josué 2:21Rahab accepts the conditions, the spies leave, and she ties the scarlet cord in the window — the agreed sign that will save her household.
Josué 2:22The spies follow Rahab’s advice: they go up into the hill country and stay hidden for three days, while their pursuers search the road without success.
Josué 2:23After losing their pursuers, the spies return and report everything to Joshua.
Josué 2:24The spies’ final report is optimistic: the city is terrified, and they are certain that God has already delivered the land into Israel’s hands.