A Heart for God

However, Rahab the harlot and her father’s household and all she had, Joshua spared; and she has lived in the midst of Israel to this day; for she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. Joshua 6:25  NASB

In the midst – Rahab’s life changed when those two spies came to visit.  She and her household are rescued from destruction, but even this part of her story is filled with linguistic surprises.  First, we need to clear up some “Christianized” interpretations.  W. A. Criswell says, “Rahab the harlot is an example of the grace of God at work. Her salvation was not based on her character or merits: she lived in a doomed city, practiced a condemned profession, engaged in subversive activities, and falsified [lied about] her actions. Nevertheless she…acted upon faith, and was spared the judgment of God.”[1] Our study of shava-na certainly raises questions about ignoring her actions and her character.  The other “Christianized” interpretation focuses on the scarlet thread Rahab hangs in her window.  Some Christian commentators suggest that this is an allusion to the saving blood of Christ.  That’s possible, of course, but the significance of this allusion would be totally lost on the actors in this story.  Such an interpretation violates the canon of context.

However, we do discover some other significant allusions.  First, of course, is the description of the two men as messengers.  Don’t you find that word a bit odd?  Spies don’t bring messages.  In fact, their job is to do just the opposite – to keep secrets.  The word is ha-malakim.  While it certainly describes human envoys carrying information to others (like the messengers Jacob sent to Esau or the prophets God sent to the people), it is predominately used to describe angels who bring divine judgment and punishment. Do you think ha-malakim in this verse has an extra layer of meaning?  Why would the narrator of the story add this word when it doesn’t seem to fit the context of the story at all?

Secondly, Rahab’s new domicile in Israel is described with the word qerev.  This word is specifically about the inner part of something.  Once again, this seems very odd.  The word implies that Rahab lived in the very center of Israel.  But how could that be?  Rahab is a Gentile.  Rahab has a reputation.  Rahab comes from the enemy’s city.  And she lives in the very center of the camp? This word is often used to describe the inner being of a person, the seat of one’s moral disposition, affection and desires.  It’s the heart of a person, or the heart of a people.  Rahab dwells in the center of Israel’s affection.  This woman whose moral actions were perhaps exactly the opposite of God’s Torah instructions finds her place in  the heart of Israel.  The homophone of qerev means “to draw near.”  That seems to fit Rahab as well.  She has drawn near to her God, to YHWH, the King of the universe.

Finally, let’s consider the unique statement that Rahab has lived in the midst to this day.  The verb is actually a Qal imperfect and perhaps is more accurately translated “she continues to inhabit.”  This could simply mean that at the time of the writing of this text, Rahab was will living “in the midst” of the camp.  But the text must have been written long after this event occurred.  Conservative scholars date Joshua around the time of Samuel, at the beginning of the Israel monarchy.  If that is so, why isn’t this verb a completed action, as are most Hebrew verbs expressing a past tense?  How can Rahab still be living in the midst if the text was written more than 400 years later?  Could it be that Rahab lived on in the inner part of Israel, in Israel’s heart, as an example of a Gentile who knew YHWH, acted righteously toward Israel and was adopted into its commonwealth?  Could it be that Rahab is symbolically every Gentile who encounters messengers from God?  Could God have seen us in the heart of Rahab?  Could it be that in the very heart of the God of Israel is a place for those “outside” the camp?

Rahab is you.  Rahab is me.  Adopted into the House of the King.

Topical Index:  Rahab, in the midst, qerev, Joshua 6:25