Joshua 2:4-5 NLT

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 2:1-7

In these verses we have, I. The prudence of Joshua, in sending spies to observe this important pass, which was likely to be disputed at the entrance of Israel into Canaan (Josh. 2:1). Go view the land, even Jericho. Moses had sent spies (Num. 13:1-33) Joshua himself was one of them and it proved of ill consequence. Yet Joshua now sent spies, not, as the former were sent, to survey the whole land, but Jericho only; not to bring the account to the whole congregation, but to Joshua only, who,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 2:4

And the woman took the two men ,.... Or "she had taken" them F26 ותפח "duxerat, tulerat"; so Syr. Ar. Kimchi, & Ben Melech. before the messengers came, upon a rumour she understood was gone abroad, that she had got Israelitish spies in her house, and so might expect to be visited and searched by the king's officers, and therefore took this precaution: and hid them ; the Hebrew word is singular, "him" F1 ותצפנו "et abscondit eum", Montanus; "abdiderat eum", Vatablus. :... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 2:5

And it came to pass, about the time of the shutting of the gate ,.... Of the city, which was done every night, and at a certain time: when it was dark ; the sun set, and night come on: that the men went out ; out of her house, and out of the city too, as she said, though it was a downright lie, as well as what follows: whither the men went I wot not ; though she knew they were not gone, but were now in her house; she might not scruple telling a lie, being brought up a Heathen,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:4

And hid them - Probably she secreted them for the time being in some private corner, till she had the opportunity of concealing them on the house-top in the manner mentioned Joshua 2:6 . read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:5

When it was dark - So it appears that it was after night that the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, ordering her to produce the persons who lodged with her. The season itself was friendly to the whole plot: had these transactions taken place in daylight, it is scarcely possible that the spies could have escaped. But this is no excuse for the woman's prevarication, for God could have saved his messengers independently of her falsity. God never says to any, Do evil that good may come of it.... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:4

Verse 4 4.And the woman took the two men, etc. We may presume that before Rahab was ordered to bring them forth the rumor of their arrival had been spread, and that thus some little time had been given for concealing them. (34) And indeed on receiving the king’s command, had not measures for concealment been well taken, there would have been no room for denial; much less would she have dared to lie so coolly. But after she had thus hidden her guests, as the search would have been difficult, she... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:1-12

Rahab and the spies. Three points demand our attention in this narrative. First, the conduct of Joshua; secondly, of the spies; and thirdly, of Rahab. I. JOSHUA 'S CONDUCT . Here we may observe that— 1. He does not despise the use of means. He was under God's special protection. God had promised ( Joshua 1:5 ) that he would not fail him nor forsake him." He had seen miracles wrought in abundance, and was destined to receive other proofs of God's extraordinary presence with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:4

And the woman took the two men. The majority of commentators are of opinion that here, as in Joshua 2:1 , we must render by the pluperfect. For, as Calvin remarks, Rahab would hardly have dared to lie so coolly had she not previously taken precautions to conceal her guests. And therefore she must have told a twofold falsehood. She must have discovered, or been made acquainted with, their errand, and therefore have "known whence they were," in addition to her assertion that she did not know... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:4

The harlot Rahab. A peculiar interest has always attached to this woman's case. Of the doomed nations with whom Israel came into collision, she is the first to be known, and the first to escape the doom ordained for them: an early type of the calling of the Gentiles; a whisper that the faith which was a sacred secret for Israel would yet become the heritage of the world; a study for early theologians on the sovereign grace of God, which can call those farthest off and make them vessels of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:5

I wot not. Much has Been said about Rahab's falsehood which is little to the point. The sacred historian simply narrates the fact, and makes no comment whatever upon it. But the fact that Rahab afterwards became the wife of Salmon, a prince of the tribe of Judah, as the genealogy in St. Matthew informs us, shows that neither her falsehood nor her mode of life excited much disapprobation among the Jews. Nor need this surprise us. There is no need, with Keil, to repudiate energetically the... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 2:1-7

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 2:4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 2:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:5

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 2:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:1-12

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 2:5

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