Bible Strands
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua son of Nun dispatches two agents from the camp at Shittim to survey Jericho. The narrative immediately follows their arrival at Rahab’s house, after which the king of Jericho is informed of their presence.
The words — וַיִּשְלַח (va-yishlach) means "and he sent," indicating a completed, deliberate dispatch. שְׁנַיִם אֲנָשִׁים (shnayim anashim) literally translates to "two men," specifying the exact number deployed.
The thread — Rahab’s sheltering of these agents is later recorded as an act of faith in Hebrews 11:31 and as justification by works in James 2:25. Her genealogical line is traced in Matthew 1:5 as an ancestor in the royal and messianic lineage.
Why it lands — The text records a covert military reconnaissance initiated by Joshua and executed through a marginalized resident. It requires a reader to note how the narrative framework positions hidden movements and specific locations as the immediate mechanism for the coming conquest.
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 Hebrew words
King James Version
And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
Cross-references
- Hebrews 11:31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- 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?
- Matthew 1:5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
- Numbers 13:17 When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up through the Negev and into the hill country.
- Numbers 25:1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Numbers 13:2 “Send out for yourself men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each of their fathers’ tribes send one man who is a leader among them.”
- Joshua 3:1 Early the next morning Joshua got up and left Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over.
- Matthew 10:16 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
- Ephesians 5:5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
- Numbers 33:49 And there on the plains of Moab they camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth to Abel-shittim.