Joshua 2:4

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I did not know where they had come from.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Rahab addresses the king’s messengers at dusk, immediately after concealing the two men inside her house.

The words — וַתִּצְפְּנֵם (va./titz.pe.N/o) literally means “and she hid them,” while כֵּן (Ken) translates as “right” or “yes,” marking her immediate verbal compliance.

The thread — This pattern of protective concealment and strategic misdirection recurs in 2 Samuel 17:19, where a woman hides men under a well cover, and 2 Kings 6:19, where Elisha misleads a pursuing army.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that survival often requires concealing truth from those in power, framing Rahab’s actions as a necessary narrative pivot rather than a moral endorsement.

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

וַתִּקַּ֧חva./ti.Kachand/ she took הָֽאִשָּׁ֛הha./'i.Shahthe/ woman אֶת־'et-<obj.>שְׁנֵ֥יshe.Nei[the] two הָאֲנָשִׁ֖יםha./'a.na.Shimthe/ men וַֽתִּצְפְּנ֑וֹva./titz.pe.N/oand/ she hid/ him וַתֹּ֣אמֶר׀va./To.merand/ she said כֵּ֗ןKenright בָּ֤אוּBa.'uthey came אֵלַי֙'e.La/ito/ me הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔יםha./'a.na.Shimthe/ men וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not יָדַ֖עְתִּיya.Da'.tiI knew מֵאַ֥יִןme./'A.yinfrom/ where הֵֽמָּה׃He.mah[were] they

King James Version

And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:

Cross-references

2 Samuel 17:19 Then the man’s wife took a covering, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain over it so nobody would know a thing.
2 Kings 6:19 And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.” And he led them to Samaria.
2 Samuel 16:18 “Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by this people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.
Exodus 1:19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before a midwife arrives.”