"As the harlot who made her deeds comely..."

(1) And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two spies secretly, saying: ‘Go view the land, and Jericho.’ And they went, and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there. (2) And it was told the king of Jericho, saying: ‘Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land.’ (3) And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying: ‘Bring forth the men that are come to thee, that are entered into thy house; for they are come to search out all the land.’ (4) And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said: ‘Yea, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were; (5) and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I know not; pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.’ (6) But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had spread out upon the roof. (7) And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, the gate was shut. (8) And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; (9) and she said unto the men: ‘I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. (10) For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. (11) And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. (12) Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye also will deal kindly with my father’s house—and give me a true token— (13) and save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.’ (14) And the men said unto her: ‘Our life for yours, if ye tell not this our business; and it shall be, when the LORD giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.’ (15) Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was upon the side of the wall, and she dwelt upon the wall. (16) And she said unto them: ‘Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward may ye go your way.’ (17) And the men said unto her: ‘We will be guiltless of this thine oath which thou hast made us to swear. (18) Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by; and thou shalt gather unto thee into the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household. (19) And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. (20) But if thou utter this our business, then we will be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.’ (21) And she said: ‘According unto your words, so be it.’ And she sent them away, and they departed; and she bound the scarlet line in the window. (22) And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not. (23) Then the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them. (24) And they said unto Joshua: ‘Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away before us.’

(25) But Rahab the harlot, and her father’s household, and all that she had, did Joshua save alive; and she dwelt in the midst of Israel, unto this day; because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

(29) Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot, lest the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of lewdness.

R. Eleazar said: He heard about the dividing of the Red Sea, and came, for it is said, And it came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites heard [. . . how that the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the children of Israel] ;and Rahab the harlot too said to Joshua's messengers [spies]: For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea. Why is, 'neither was there spirit in them any more written in the first text, whereas in the second it says, 'neither did there remain [stand] any more spirit in any man'?...

- [She meant that] they even lost their virility. And how did she know this? - Because, as a master said, There was no prince or ruler who had not possessed Rahab the harlot. It was said: She was ten years old when the Israelites departed from Egypt, and she played the harlot the whole of the forty years spent by the Israelites in the wilderness. At the age of fifty she became a proselyte. Said she: May I be forgiven as a reward for the cord, window, and flax.

Rabbi Joshua of Sikhnin, in the name of Rabbi Levi began to speak: "A capable servant will dominate an incompetent son and share the inheritance with the brothers..." [Prov. 17:2] A capable servant this is Jeremiah. will dominate an incompetent son this is Israel which brought shame on itself through the practice of idolatry. Said R' Abba bar Kahana, it is written: "Yet you were not like a prostitute, for you spurned fees."...Everything that is written about Israel in disgrace is written about Rahab in praise. Regarding Rahab it is written : "Now since I have shown loyalty to you, swear to me by the Lord that you in turn will show loyalty to my family. [Josh. 2:12] And regarding Israel it is written , "Even when they say, 'As the Lord lives' they are sure to be swearing falsely." [Jer. 5:2] With regard to Rahab "That you will spare the lives of my mother and father." [Josh. 2:13] And regarding Israel it is written: "Fathers and mothers have been humiliated within you." [Ezek. 22:7] With regard to Rahab it is written: "Now she had taken them up to the roof." [Josh. 2:6]. With regard to Israel it is written: "And those who bow down to the roofs, to the host of heaven." [Zeph.1:5] With regard to Rahab it is written: "and hid them with the stalks of flax..." [Josh. 2:6] With regard to Israel it is written: "They say to wood, 'You are my father.'" [Jer. 2:27] With regard to Rahab it is written: "Make for the hills...[Josh. 2:16] With regard to Israel it is written: "They sacrifice on mountaintops," [Hosea 4:13] With regard to Rahab it is written: "Provide me with a reliable [lit. truthful] sign." [Josh. 2:12] With regard to Israel it is written: "They will not speak truth." [Jer. 9:4] Therefore everything that was written about Israel in disgrace, with regard to Rahab it was written in praise. "And share the inheritance with the brothers." [Prov. 16:2]

Eight prophets who are priests come out from Rahab the harlot, and they are: Neriyah, Baruch, and Serayah; Mahseyah, Jeremiah, Hilkiah, Hanamel, and Shallum. Rabbi Yehudah says: Even Huldah the prophetess was from the descendants of Rahab the harlot. Here it is written "son of Tikvah", and there it is written (Joshua 2:18) "the cord (tikvat) of scarlet thread". [Rav Nahman] said to him: Ena the Elder! And some say 'black vessel', my word and your word [form] a treasured outcome... That [Rahab] became a convert and she married Joshua. But did Joshua have any offspring? And isn't it written (I Chronicles 7:27) "Nun his son, Joshua his son"? He did not have sons, but he did have daughters.