Who is rahab the harlot

I can think of many other similar cases. She binds the scarlet line to the window. This is not a hole in the wall, but window on top of the wall used to secure the line.

They escape through the scarlet line which comes from above, wherein sin is represented by the harlot and the color of the line which reaches to earth as grace from heaven to earth as an act of mercy. Also, it is more likely that they did escape through the wall and that her house was in the crack of a wall. Firstly, the language here is bizzare.

Even poetically. How do you translate that? Kir is obviously more like the wall of a room, i. Where as homah is more like the wall of a fortification or a city or the whole thing, but bigger.

Probably intentionally, too. Especially since poor people tended to live on the outskirts of the city and those kinds of areas. This reflects the thought of Jewish translators in the BC era since Joshua would have been among the first of the books so translated as it is part of the Hexateuch. Theologically and prophetically, the fact that a sinner and an enemy of Israel was entrusted with a part in the plan of God is an indication of the role of the gentiles in the history of salvation.

The red cloth by which the spies were lowered to safety is a symbol of the saving blood of Christ, which dripped down from the cross for the sons of promise. Translation of is also important. Mercy is shown to the sinner in the destruction and she is saved — indicating future salvation and pardon from sin for the gentiles.

The word can be read either way. The Talmud also states in different places, or at least infers, that she was very beautiful and had been a prostitute since the age of The word itself, Zonah, by itself, means basically a prostitute.

Which means to run to and fro, wander, run away from, run after,to run about as a prostitute, faithless, or to be unchaste. So, obviously, Zonah meaning prostitute is a simple reading of the word.

Zonah, however, can also mean one who provides provisions. Mazon, zoon, etc — all connotative of sustenance, support, nourish, etc. There is a close connection between the words.

Again, there is a tanaaic aramaic translation of the book of Joshua, Targum Yonatan, which supports this. Biblical scholars and anyone who reads Hebrew, only know the definition of Hebrew words because their definitions and how to read them were passed down as an oral tradition. So, having an Aramaic translation from some years ago holds a lot more authority than the Jehovah Witness understanding.

Daniel, you seem ignorant of the fact that Biblical Hebrew used only consonants. The choice of vowels can alter the meaning, so the article asks an important question.

I think this story is a great illustration how anyone can be used of God. There are so many in the bible who are full of weakness and sin according to the O. They experienced the grace of God and so can I. Jeff… Amen to that! Cobb, high fives! Daniel, praise God for discernment right! She went from bad to good. Em Hebraico, esta palavra significa prostituta.

Fato que velou ajudar os espias. A prostitute of Jericho who became a worshiper of Jehovah. In the spring of B. Jos The duration of their stay there is not stated, but Jericho was not so big that it would take a long time to spy it out. That Rahab really was a harlot, or prostitute, in the common sense of the word has been denied in some circles, especially among Jewish traditionalists, but this does not seem to have support in fact.

Besides, among the Canaanites harlotry was not a business of ill repute. Terrible exegesis. Possibly … we do not know. I would give this article zero credence. Rahab is used poetically in Psalms to mean Egypt.

The spies sent to Jericho were culturally Egyptian. Where else would Egyptians go in Jericho. The better question is how far it can go to present truth and to clarify untruth which man continues to foster. By divine decree, it was to be given over to a perpetual desolation. When Joshua entered the city he set about the execution of the divine command, but respected the promise made to Rahab by the spies. Under the protection of the scarlet line, Rahab and all her kindred were brought out of the house.

The spies came to her house, not to indulge in sin with Rahab, but to prepare the way for Joshua to take Jericho. She saved the spies not out of human pity, or because of expediency, but because she knew that they were servants of the Lord.

In turn, she was saved. The spies she had hid brought her, and her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had out of her doomed house, and made them secure without the camp of Israel Joshua Brought out of an accursed city, and from her own sins which were as scarlet, Rahab is a fitting illustration of another miracle of divine grace, namely, the calling forth of His church out of a godless, Gentile world.

The threefold reference to Rahab in the New Testament reveals how she became a faithful follower of the Lord. She had been taken from the dunghill and placed among the saints in the genealogy of the Saviour Matthew where Rachab [ kjv ] and Rahab [ asv ], are to be identified as the same person. Her remarkable faith was a sanctifying faith leading her to a pure life and honorable career.

Paul highly commends Rahab for her energetic faith and gives her a place on the illustrious roll of the Old Testament of those who triumphed by faith. She knew the rest of faith. In fact, Rahab is the only woman besides Sarah who is designated as an example of faith in the great cloud of witnesses. What a manifestation of divine grace it is to find the one-time harlot ranked along with saints like Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David!

Faith had wrought in her a change of heart and life, and it likewise enabled her to shield the spies as she did in the confidence God would triumph over His enemies. She exemplified her faith by her brave act, and so James quotes Rahab as exemplifying justification by works evidentially. As Fausset puts it—. She believed with the heart Romans , 10 , confessed with the mouth, and acted on her profession at the risk of her life.

In conclusion, what are the lessons to be gathered from the harlot whom God used to fulfill His purpose? While the door of mercy stands ajar, the vilest sinner can return and know what it is to be saved and safe.

A further lesson to be gleaned from Rahab the harlot is that of deep concern for the salvation of others. While her life of sin and shame had estranged her from her family, self was not her sole consideration in her request for safety. The spies hid in Rahab's house, which was constructed into the city wall. The men who were sent to seize the spies asked Rahab to bring them out.

Rather, she covered them under bunches of flax on the roof, protecting them from capture. Rahab said to the spies:. We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.

Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.

After escaping, the spies agreed to spare Rahab and her family after conquering the city. By placing a red cord out her window, Rahab secured her and her family's safety. When the city of Jericho fell, Rahab and her whole family were saved from the agreement of the spies and were included among the Jewish people. Finally, the epistle by James cites Rahab as an example of one who demonstrated her faith by her works.

Although James doesn't actually use the word courage in connection with Rahab, he compares her to Abraham and makes the point that "faith without works is dead. In the past, I've never put much emphasis on teaching the story of Rahab in Sunday School. I plan to rectify this because her role in helping the early Hebrews conquer Canaan was clearly revered by the biblical authors of Matthew, Hebrews, and James. If you have any questions related to the Bible, please feel free to email us. The author writes: "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

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