Joshua 2:19

If anyone goes out the door of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if a hand is laid on anyone with you in the house, his blood will be on our heads.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Rahab speaks to the two Israelite spies from her rooftop dwelling, finalizing the conditions of their protective oath. She establishes that anyone leaving her house to the street bears personal liability for death, while anyone killed inside her home would be charged to her household.

The words — The Hebrew כֹּל (kol) means "every" or "all," and יֵצֵא֩ (ye.Tze') translates to "he will go out," structuring the conditional exclusion from safety. The phrase דָּמ֥/וֹ (da.M/o) literally reads "his blood," marking the precise point of transferred responsibility.

The thread — This conditional boundary echoes the blood-marked doorframes in Exodus 12:13 and Exodus 12:23, where divine judgment bypasses those under the protective sign. It also parallels the survival principle in Acts 27:31, where remaining within the designated space determines deliverance.

Why it lands — The text demands strict adherence to the agreed terms, making physical survival contingent on staying within the marked boundary. It requires the reader to accept that covenant protection carries non-negotiable operational limits and personal accountability.

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 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.

Cross-references

Acts 27:31 But Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain with the ship, you cannot be saved.”
Exodus 12:13 The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:23 When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.
1 Kings 2:36 Then the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself in Jerusalem and live there, but do not go anywhere else.
Ezekiel 33:4 Then if anyone hears the sound of the horn but fails to heed the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.
Acts 18:6 But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
Leviticus 20:9 If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother; his blood shall be upon him.
Leviticus 20:11 If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Numbers 35:26 But if the manslayer ever goes outside the limits of the city of refuge to which he fled
Joshua 2:14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men agreed. “If you do not report our mission, we will show you kindness and faithfulness when the LORD gives us the land.”