Joshua 2:10 is Rahab, a woman in Jericho, explaining to two Israelite spies why she has hidden them and why her city is afraid. She has heard the stories of how the LORD opened the Red Sea for Israel and how Israel defeated the Amorite kings Sihon and Og east of the Jordan. Her words show that the fear of Israel’s God had already reached the people of Canaan before the army crossed the river.
For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
Joshua 2:10 (WEB)
What Joshua 2:10 Means
Rahab begins with “we have heard,” which tells you that her knowledge came secondhand. The stories had traveled through the region, and in the ancient world news of a people’s victories and their gods’ power spread quickly along trade routes. She is not describing something she witnessed. She is describing what reached her ears and what that reputation meant for her city.
The verse names two great events. The first is the crossing of the Red Sea, the rescue from Egypt that Israel remembered as the foundation of its identity. The second is the defeat of Sihon and Og, kings who ruled the land east of the Jordan and whom Israel destroyed on the way into Canaan. Rahab is saying that the people of Jericho recognized a pattern: the LORD had acted decisively for this people before, and their enemies had not survived.
What the verse does not do is promise that Rahab fully understood the God of Israel or that she had already become a worshiper. It shows fear and recognition, a realization that resistance was futile. The faith that later marks her story in the New Testament develops from this starting point, but Joshua 2:10 itself describes a woman reading the situation accurately and deciding what to do about it.
The Context of Joshua 2:10
The book of Joshua records Israel’s entry into the promised land after the wilderness wandering, and this scene comes at the start of the conquest. Moses had died, and Joshua had been commissioned to lead the people across the Jordan. Before any battle, Joshua sends two men to scout Jericho, the first fortified city in their path. Traditionally the book is attributed to Joshua himself, though its final form likely came later, and its original audience was an Israel preparing to live in the land God had promised.
Verses 7 through 13 show Rahab hiding the spies on her roof and then bargaining with them for her family’s safety. Her words in verse 10 are the reason she makes that request. Verse 11 adds that the people’s hearts melted in fear, and verse 13 states what she asks for. Read in that setting, the verse is not a mere report of rumors. It is the basis for a negotiated promise of mercy, and it helps explain why the spies agree to protect her.
Key Phrases in Joshua 2:10
Exodus 14:21
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
(WEB)
This verse describes the parting of the Red Sea that Rahab mentions. Reading it alongside Joshua 2:10 shows how the story she heard was rooted in the original act of deliverance from Egypt, which Israel never forgot.
Hebrews 11:31
By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
(WEB)
This verse commends Rahab for her faith and reminds readers that she welcomed the spies in peace. It shows how the New Testament later honored the trust she placed in God through the choice she made in Jericho.
A Short Prayer From Joshua 2:10
Lord, you are the God who opened the sea and gave your people victory, and you are the same God who is faithful today. Like Rahab, I have heard of your power, and I want my fear to give way to trust in you. Help me to remember what you have done and to act on it when I feel uncertain. Keep my heart open to your mercy and make me faithful in the small choices before me this week. Amen.
