Charles Ellicott Commentary Joshua 2

There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were. —A falsehood which evidently left no stain on Rahab’s conscience, although all falsehood is sin. The same may be said of Jael’s slaying Sisera. The Divine standard of sin and holiness never varies; but the standard of man’s conscience, even when faith is a dominant principle in the character, may vary to a very considerable degree. In Jesus Christ all that believe are justified from all things; but by the deeds of the law no one. Here, as elsewhere, the application of the law only brings the discovery of sin.

The stalks of flax. —It is noted that flax and barley are both early crops (Exodus 9:31), and that the first month was the time of barley harvest (Compare to 2 Samuel 21:9).

She said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land... The words of this confession are memorable in every way. Note the fulfilment of the prophetic song of Moses, which is partly repeated here (Exodus 15:15–16, with Joshua 2:9-11), All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away; fear and dread shall fall upon them. But especially observe the expression of Rahab’s own belief, Jehovah, your God, He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath. Did the faith of the men of Israel go much further than this?

Did it always go so far? (1 Kings 18:21; Jonah 1:9–10). The prophets themselves could not assert much more. The greatest of them were satisfied if they could bring the people of Israel to acknowledge this. Rahab’s confession is also one of a series. The Egyptians, Philistines, Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, were all in turn brought to the same acknowledgment by their contact with Israel. The reason is stated in Joshua 4:24, That all the people of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty.

Save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters. —Whatever Rahab may have been herself, her acknowledgment of all her family is observable. She was in no way separated or degraded from their society. When we remember what Moses describes the Canaanites to have been (in certain passages of the Pentateuch, as Leviticus 18:24-28; Leviticus 20:22–23), and compare this chapter, we may reasonably conclude Rahab to have been morally not inferior to her countrymen at that time, but rather their superior.

We are reminded that the publicans and harlots were not the worst members of the evil and adulterous generation to whom the Word of God came. They believed John the Baptist, and were among the most constant hearers of the true Joshua (Matthew 21:32; Luke 15:1).

Her house was upon the town wall —Happily for the two spies. Perhaps, indeed, they selected it for this reason, as it enabled them to leave the town without passing the gate.