John Calvin Commentary Joshua 2

And Joshua the son of Nun sent, etc. (Joshua 2:1). The object of the exploration now under consideration was different from the previous one, when Joshua was sent with eleven others to survey all the regions of the land. Their mission was to bring back information to the whole people concerning its position, nature, fertility, and other properties, the magnitude and number of the cities, the inhabitants, and their customs.

The present object was to motivate those who might be inclined to be sluggish to engage with more eagerness in the campaign. And though it appears from the first chapter of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 1:22) that Moses, at the request of the people, sent chosen men to spy out the land, he elsewhere relates (Numbers 13:4) that he did it by command from God. Those twelve, therefore, set out divinely commissioned for a somewhat different purpose: namely, to make a thorough survey of the land and be the heralds of its excellence to stir up the courage of the people.

Now Joshua secretly sends two persons to ascertain whether or not a free passage could be made over the Jordan, whether the citizens of Jericho were complacent, or whether they were alert and prepared to resist. In short, he sends spies on whose report he might prepare for all dangers.

Therefore, a twofold question may be raised here: Are we to approve of his prudence? Or are we to condemn him for excessive anxiety, especially as he seems to have trusted more than was right to his own prudence when, without consulting God, he was so careful in taking precautions against danger?

But, since it is not expressly said that he received a message from heaven to order the people to collect their equipment and to publish his proclamation concerning the passage of the Jordan—although it is perfectly obvious that he never would have thought of moving the camp unless God had ordered it—it is also probable that in sending the spies he consulted God about His will in the matter. Or it may be that God Himself, knowing how much need there was for this additional confirmation, had spontaneously suggested it to the mind of His servant. However that may be, while Joshua commands his messengers to spy out Jericho, he is preparing to besiege it, and accordingly desires to ascertain in what direction it can be most easily and safely approached.

They came into a harlot’s house, etc. (Joshua 2:1). I do not see why some try to avoid the name harlot and interpret זונה (zonah) as meaning one who keeps an inn, unless it is that they think it disgraceful to be the guests of a courtesan, or wish to wipe off a stigma from a woman who not only received the messengers kindly but also secured their safety by remarkable courage and prudence.

It is indeed a regular practice with the Rabbis, when they wish to preserve the honor of their nation, to presumptuously wrest Scripture and twist its meaning with their fabrications concerning anything that seems less than reputable. But the probability is that while the messengers were seeking secrecy, avoiding observation and all public places, they came to a woman who lived in a retired spot.

Her house was next to the wall of the city; indeed, its outer side was actually situated in the wall. From this we can infer that it was some obscure corner remote from the public thoroughfare, just as persons of her description usually live in narrow lanes and secret places. It cannot be consistently supposed to have been a common inn open to all indiscriminately, because they could not have felt free to converse privately, and it must have been difficult in such circumstances to obtain concealment.

My conclusion, therefore, is that they obtained admission privately and immediately went to a hiding-place. Moreover, in the fact that a woman who had gained a shameful livelihood by prostitution was shortly after admitted into the body of the chosen people and became a member of the Church, we see a striking display of divine grace. This grace could penetrate into a place of shame and draw forth from it not only Rahab but also her father and the other members of her family. Most assuredly, while the term זונה (zonah) almost invariably means harlot, there is nothing here to compel us to depart from the received meaning.

And it was told the king (Joshua 2:2). It is probable that watchmen had been appointed to take notice of suspicious strangers, as is customary in uncertain emergencies or during an apprehension of war. The Israelites were nearby; they had openly declared to the Edomites and Moabites that they were seeking a settlement in the land of Canaan. They were formidable for their number; they had already made a large conquest after slaying two neighboring kings, and as we will shortly perceive, their famous passage of the Red Sea had spread abroad. It would therefore have indicated extreme negligence in such clear danger to allow any strangers whatever to pass freely through the city of Jericho, situated as it was on the frontier.

It is not surprising, therefore, that men who were unknown and who appeared from many circumstances to have come with a hostile intention were reported to the king. At the same time, however, we may infer that they were supernaturally blinded in not guarding their gates more carefully; for with moderate diligence, the messengers, after they had once entered, might easily have been detained.

Indeed, a search ought to have been immediately instituted, and thus they would certainly have been caught. The citizens of Jericho were in such trepidation and so struck with judicial amazement that they acted in everything without method or counsel. Meanwhile, the two messengers were reduced to such extremities that they seemed on the verge of being handed over for punishment.

The king sends for them; they are lurking in the house; their life hangs on the tongue of a woman, just as if it were hanging by a thread. Some have thought that this was a punishment for Joshua's distrust, who should have boldly crossed the Jordan, trusting in divine guidance.

The result, however, would rather lead us to conclude differently: that God, by rescuing the messengers from extreme danger, gave new courage to the people. For in that manifestation of his power, he plainly showed that he was watching over their safety and providing for their successful entry into the promised land.

And the woman took the two men, etc. We may presume that before Rahab was ordered to bring them out, the rumor of their arrival had spread, and that in this way some little time had been given for concealing them. Indeed, on receiving the king’s command, if measures for concealment had not 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 hidden her guests in this manner, since the search would have been difficult, she comes boldly forward and escapes by a crafty answer.

Now, the questions that arise here are:

1. Was treachery to her country excusable?
2. Could her lie be free from fault?

We know that the love of our country, which is, as it were, our common mother, has been implanted in us by nature. Therefore, when Rahab knew that the intended object was the overthrow of the city in which she had been born and brought up, it seems a detestable act of inhumanity to give her aid and counsel to the spies. It is a childish evasion to say that they were not yet avowed enemies, because war had not been declared, since it is plain enough that they had conspired the destruction of her fellow-citizens. It was therefore only the knowledge communicated to her mind by God that exempted her from fault, as having been set free from the common rule. Her faith is commended by two Apostles, who at the same time declare (Hebrews 11:31; James 2:25) that the service she rendered to the spies was acceptable to God.

It is not surprising, then, that when the Lord condescended to transfer a foreign female to his people, and to engraft her into the body of the Church, he separated her from a profane and accursed nation. Therefore, although she had been bound to her countrymen up to that very day, yet when she was adopted into the body of the Church, her new condition was a kind of manumission from the common law by which citizens are bound toward each other. In short, in order to pass by faith to a new people, she had to renounce her countrymen. And as in this she only acquiesced in the judgment of God, there was no criminality in abandoning them.

Regarding the falsehood, we must admit that although it was done for a good purpose, it was not free from fault. For those who hold what is called a "dutiful lie" to be altogether excusable do not sufficiently consider how precious truth is in the sight of God. Therefore, although our purpose may be to assist our brethren, to consult for their safety and relieve them, it never can be lawful to lie, because that cannot be right which is contrary to the nature of God. And God is truth. Yet the act of Rahab is not devoid of the praise of virtue, although it was not spotlessly pure. For it often happens that while the saints strive to keep to the right path, they deviate into roundabout ways.

Rebecca (Genesis 27), in procuring the blessing for her son Jacob, follows the prediction. In this kind of obedience, a pious and praiseworthy zeal is perceived. But it cannot be doubted that in substituting her son Jacob in the place of Esau, she deviated from the path of duty. The crafty proceeding, therefore, to that extent taints an act which was laudable in itself. And yet the particular fault does not wholly deprive the deed of the merit of holy zeal, for by the kindness of God the fault is suppressed and not taken into account. Rahab also does wrong when she falsely declares that the messengers were gone, and yet the principal action was agreeable to God, because the bad mixed with the good was not imputed. On the whole, it was the will of God that the spies should be delivered, but he did not approve of saving their life by falsehood.

And the men pursued, etc. Their great credulity shows that God had blinded them. Although Rahab had gained much by deluding them, a new course of anxiety arose, for with the gates shut, the city, like a prison, cut off all hope of escape. They were therefore again stirred by a serious trial to call upon God.

Since this history was written based on their report, they could not have been ignorant of what was then happening, especially as God, to magnify His grace, purposely exposed them to a series of dangers. And now, when they were informed that a search was being made for them, we infer from the fact that they were still awake that they were anxious and alarmed. Their fear must have greatly increased when they were told that their exit was blocked.

It appears, however, that Rahab was not at all dismayed, since she bargains with so much presence of mind, and so calmly, for her own safety and that of her family. In this composure and firmness, her faith, which is commended elsewhere, is clearly visible. For, humanly speaking, she never would have braved the fury of the king and people, and appealed to guests who were half dead with terror.

Indeed, many think there is something ridiculous in the praise given to her by both St. James and the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (James 2:25; Hebrews 11:31) when they place her in the list of the faithful. But anyone who carefully considers all the circumstances will easily see that she was endowed with a lively faith.

1. First, if the tree is known by its fruits, we see here no ordinary effects, which are clear evidences of faith.

2. Secondly, a principle of piety must have been the origin of her conviction that the neighboring nations were already, in a way, vanquished and laid prostrate, since terror sent from above had filled all minds with dismay.

   It is true that in secular writers we also find similar expressions, which God has extorted from them so that He might assert His power to rule and turn the hearts of men in whatever way He pleases. But while these writers chatter like parrots, Rahab, sincerely declaring that God has destined the land for the children of Israel because all the inhabitants have lost courage before them, ascribes to Him supreme rule over the hearts of men—a rule which the pride of the world denies.

For although the experience of all ages has shown that more armies have fallen or been routed by sudden and unexpected terror than by the enemy's force and prowess, the impression of this truth has immediately vanished. Consequently, conquerors have always extolled their own valor and, after any successful outcome, gloried in their own efforts and talents for war.

They have felt, I admit, that daring and courage are occasionally given or withheld by some external cause, and accordingly, men confess that in war fortune does much or even reigns supreme. Hence their common proverb regarding panic terrors, and their vows made both to Pavor (Dread) and to Jupiter Stator.

But it never became a serious and deep-seated impression in their minds that every man is brave as God has inspired him with present courage, or cowardly as He has suppressed his daring.

Rahab, however, recognizes the operation of a divine hand in striking the nations of Canaan with dismay, thus making them, as it were, pronounce their own doom in advance. She infers that the terror inspired by the children of Israel is a sign of victory, because they fight under God as their Leader.

Although the courage of everyone had thus melted away, they nevertheless prepared to resist with the obstinacy of despair. In this, we see that when the wicked are broken and crushed by the hand of God, they are not so subdued as to receive the yoke, but in their terror and anxiety become incapable of being tamed.

Here, too, we must observe how, in a common fear, believers differ from unbelievers, and how Rahab's faith displays itself.

She herself was afraid like any other of the people. But when she reflects that she is dealing with God, she concludes that her only remedy is to turn from evil by yielding humbly and calmly, as resistance would be entirely futile.

But what is the course taken by all the wretched inhabitants of the country? Although terror-stricken, their perverseness is so far from being overcome that they incite each other to the conflict.

For we have heard how, etc. She mentions, as the special cause of consternation, that the widespread rumor of miracles, previously without example, had impressed it on the minds of all that God was warring for the Israelites. For it was impossible to doubt that the way through the Red Sea had been miraculously opened up, as the water would never have changed its nature and become piled up in solid heaps if God, the author of nature, had not so ordered. The transmutation of the element, therefore, plainly showed that God was on the side of the people, to whom he had given a dry passage through the depths of the sea.

The signal victories also gained over Og and Bashan were justly regarded as testimonies of divine favor toward the Israelites. This latter conclusion, indeed, rested only on conjecture, whereas the passage of the sea was a full and indisputable proof, as much so as if God had stretched out his hand from heaven. All minds, therefore, were seized with a conviction that in the expedition of the Israelite people God was the principal leader; hence their terror and consternation. At the same time, it is probable that they were deceived by some vain imagination that the God of Israel had proved superior in the contest to the gods of Egypt; just as the poets depict that every god has taken some nation or other under his protection, wars with others, and that so conflicts take place among the gods themselves while they are protecting their favorites.

But the faith of Rahab takes a higher flight, as she ascribes supreme power and eternity to the God of Israel alone. These are the true attributes of Jehovah. She does not dream, according to the common notion, that some one, out of a crowd of deities, is giving his assistance to the Israelites; but she acknowledges that He whose favor they were known to possess is the true and only God. We see, then, how in a case where all received the same information, she, in the application of it, went far beyond her countrymen.