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You can find previous episodes of “The Stone Chapel Podcast” at Lanier Theological Library.
“The Stone Chapel Podcast” is part of the ChurchLeaders Podcast Network.
This transcript has been edited for clarity and space.
Nancy Dawson
Thank you, David, for having me. I’m Dr. Nancy Dawson, and I’m an independent biblical scholar.
David Capes
Dr. Nancy Dawson, welcome back to “The Stone Chapel Podcast.”
Nancy Dawson
Thank you so very much for having me.
David Capes
We’re in this series talking about the genealogy of Matthew and going through the women that are named there. There five of them. Matthew has a lot of men’s names in the genealogy but you’ve also got five women’s name. In the that last podcast, we talked about Tamar, who’s story is unfamiliar to many people. Maybe better known is the woman from the city of Jericho, Rahav, or Rahab. Tell us about Rahab, because this is what the text says, that Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
Nancy Dawson
Rahab clearly is identified in the Old Testament narratives as a harlot of Jericho. That was the city of palms. It’s an oasis, one of the oldest cities in the world. And of course, this is one of the oldest professions. Her story is found in Joshua 2 and Joshua 6. Her name means broad or spacious and this suggests her placement where she lives. There are casement walls between the two major walls of Jericho, and that becomes her dwelling place. She runs an inn or a house of prostitution, and it’s very clear that she’s a secular harlot. She has a family, a mother, father, brothers and sisters.
And it’s from there that she sees the Israelites who are coming up out of Egypt under the direction of Joshua. They’re going to come into the promised land by way of Jericho. This is the key entry place. She is a type of metaphor for what is going on with the nation of Israel. You would think that they would have complete fidelity to Yahweh. But instead, when they camp on the east side of Jericho, they end up having what’s called “spiritual harlotry” with the Canaanite gods like Baal. Her story is intermingled, if you will, with what is going on with the nation of Israel.
David Capes
So, that’s what’s happening on the spiritual level. And she represents a real, earthy manifestation. Joshua sends some spies into the city.
Nancy Dawson
Joshua sends a couple of spies into Jericho. And where else can you be anonymous, but at a house or inn that she is running? So, they stay with her and it’s here that she realizes the Israelite God is the true God.
David Capes
She in a way, confesses. It’s her confession of faith.
Nancy Dawson
Confession of faith, yes, exactly.
David Capes
She has a conversion, as it were, at that point, and she pledges to send the spies out safely
Nancy Dawson
Exactly. She said, I know that everyone here is afraid of you, that our city is going to be destroyed. And she cast her lot with the Israelites. And she says that your God is the God in heaven above and on earth beneath. And she hides the spies under these drying stalks of flax on her roof and protects them. And flax is also symbolic, really, of her life. The Royal grades of flax were used to make the fine linen of the priest, the altar cloths at the tabernacle. And so, of course, it was left out in the open. The stalks were beaten and the fibers were combed. And her life is the story of becoming a morally pure person. And she makes this decision: I am going to leave my life of harlotry, and I am going to follow the God of Israel.
She protects the spies. When the King comes with messengers and says, give me the spies, she lies to him. You might think lying would not be something that is condoned in Scripture, but it actually is, because you are protecting the life of the person. This is what the Hebrew midwives did to Pharaoh. It’s an out and out lie. It’s not a half truth. It is lie. She protects them. They say, we will save you and your household, as she requested, by putting a scarlet thread, a cord, a linen flax cord, through the window. She lowers them at night, they go into the hills and she protects them in this way. And so, of course, Jericho is destroyed completely. It’s under the ban. It’s doomed to destruction. And she becomes the mother of this wealthy landowner named Boaz. Her story is just incredible. She marries an Israelite, Salmon who’s thought to be one of these two spies. They moved to Bethlehem, and their son is Boaz. And so, it’s a great transition to the story of Ruth.
David Capes
The other thing that I want to mention here is that Rahab becomes very famous even in the book of Hebrews. Her story is mentioned and she is celebrated and celebrated and celebrated for generations because of her heroism and because of her confession of faith. And she enters in. She wasn’t an Israelite. She actually enters into the line. She’s grafted in. She enters into the line through the force of her confession of faith about God being the only true God.
