Bible Strands
Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author of Hebrews writes to a Jewish Christian audience under pressure, cataloging Old Testament figures to demonstrate how trust in God’s promises functions across history. This verse sits in a continuous list between the destruction of Jericho’s walls and a transition to the judges and prophets.
The words — Πίστει (Pistei) = By faith, placing the cause of deliverance on trust rather than status. ἀπειθεῖσιν (apeithesin) = having disobeyed, marking the boundary between those who reject God’s word and those who act on it.
The thread — The event originates in Joshua 6:22, where Joshua instructs the spies to rescue Rahab and her household. Her account resurfaces in James 2:25 as evidence that faith produces visible action, and in Matthew 1:5 as a named ancestor in the genealogy of Jesus.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to act on God’s word even when surrounded by judgment. It demands concrete obedience that distinguishes the believer from the disobedient majority.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
Cross-references
- James 2:25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
- Joshua 6:22 Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised her.”
- Matthew 1:5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
- Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
- Matthew 1:1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
- Joshua 1:1 Now after the death of His servant Moses, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying,
- Hebrews 3:18 And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?
- 1 Peter 2:8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
- 1 Peter 3:20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.