Joshua 2:13 records Rahab, a woman living in Jericho, asking the two Israelite spies she has hidden to promise that her family will be spared when Israel attacks the city. She asks them to save her father, mother, brothers, sisters, and everything they own, and to rescue their lives from death. The words are spoken by Rahab to the two men Joshua sent to scout the land.
And that you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.”
Joshua 2:13 (WEB)
What Joshua 2:13 Means
Rahab begins by asking for a promise, and the request is specific. She does not ask for vague mercy. She names the people she wants saved: her father, her mother, her brothers, and her sisters. She also includes “all that they have,” which means their household possessions and means of living. Finally she asks that their lives be delivered from death, which is the heart of her plea. She knows an attack is coming and she is asking for a way out for her entire family.
The verse shows a request made in fear and hope at the same time. Rahab has already heard how the LORD brought Israel through the Red Sea and defeated the Amorite kings, and she has concluded that Jericho cannot stand. Her request rests on the kindness she has shown the spies, so she asks them to return that kindness. The verse does not promise that the spies will agree, and it does not describe their answer here. It records only what Rahab asks for.
The Context of Joshua 2:13
The Book of Joshua tells how Israel, after Moses’ death, entered and took possession of the land of Canaan under Joshua’s leadership. Tradition holds Joshua as the principal figure in the book, though it does not name him as the author of every part. The first audience would have been the Israelite community, who needed to see how God had kept the promise of the land and how the conquest of Jericho came about.
Just before verse 13, Rahab speaks of what she has heard about the LORD’s power, and in verse 12 she asks the men to swear to her by the LORD. Verses 14 through 16 show the spies agreeing to her request on condition that she keep their business secret, then letting her down through her window so they can escape. Reading verse 13 alongside these lines shows that it is part of a negotiated agreement, not just a wish. It also shows that Rahab’s kindness toward the spies is the basis for the promise she seeks.
Key Phrases in Joshua 2:13
Joshua 2:9
She said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
(WEB)
In this verse Rahab tells the spies that the fear of Israel has fallen on the land and that the inhabitants have melted in fear. It explains why she is asking for mercy in verse 13, since she has already concluded that Jericho will fall and that her family needs protection.
Joshua 2:11
As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
(WEB)
Rahab’s confession here that the LORD is God in heaven above and on earth beneath gives the reason behind her request. Her plea in verse 13 rests on her recognition of the LORD’s power, which is why she asks the spies to swear by Him.
