Bible Gem 2146 – The Examples of Faith: Rahab

It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Hebrews 11:31

The example of Rahab contains a problem and many attempts have been made to remove the difficulty. The main difficulty has been that a woman of dubious character should be listed among those who were chosen as examples of faith. Many expositors, preachers and commentators have attempted to show that the word rendered [זונה] (zownah) ‘harlot’ or ‘prostitute’ does not necessarily denote a woman of abandoned character, but may be used to denote a hostess. It was said that she kept a public house, Chrysostom calls her a [pandoxeutrian] a harlot but who afterward repented. A softer, less harsh definition was given by Schleusner, who says that the word may mean one who prepares and sells food and who receives strangers to entertain them. Others have supposed that the word means “an idolatress,” because those devoted to idolatry were frequently of abandoned character. But there are no clear instances in which the Greek word nor the corresponding Hebrew word was used in this sense. There is no reason to think that Rahab was a practising prostitute at the time the spies overnighted in her dwelling. There is nothing in the text of Joshua 6 which gives any hint that was the case. Many have tried from all sorts of time periods to soften the harshness of the word used. A Jewish Targum (commentary) includes a reading  [אתתא פונדקיתא] “a woman, that kept a victualling house”. This paraphrase was highlighted by Jarchi and Kimchi in a later commentary then the phrase was interpreted as “a seller of food”.

All claims aside that Rahab was a prostitute, it is also remarkable that this woman was a Canaanite and a woman. The reason why the book of Ruth only made it into the K^ethuvim (the Writings) and not the N^eviim (the Prophets: the combination of history and prophets) was because she was a Moabite woman. Here we see this woman Rahab’s story not only included in the Tanakh but she was recorded as being a Canaanite who did not follow the other people of her culture in rejecting the Hebrew God. In fact, Joshua knew before the attack on Jericho that Rahab had protected the Israelite spies and James tells us that she showed herself to be right with God by that action.

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

James 2:25

We have one more Scripture to consider in our evaluation of Rahab which is found in Matthew’s Gospel.

Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.

Matthew 1:5

In Rahab we find a Canaanite woman, dare I commit myself to say a former prostitute, who was not only a woman of a gentile nation, but was also included in the line of the descendants of the coming Jewish Messiah. This woman is listed as being an example of faith by the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. In his estimation Rahab was worthy to be named among the heroes and heroines of faith. Why? Because she protected the Jewish spies and clearly did not side with the gods of the Canaanites. Instead, she believed what the spies had claimed about God. In fact she went against her own people and harboured the spies. Her astounding act of protecting the spies not only earned her a place in the genealogy of Jesus but all gave her the honour of being included in the list of men and women of faith.

There were other women in the Bible who were classified as prostitutes or women of ill-repute at one stage in their lives, only to ultimately find themselves accepted by Jesus Messiah and accepted into the Kingdom of God. Why not Rahab? Salvation and inclusion as the children of God is open to anyone who repents and believes. The fact that Rahab’s name is in the list of the examples of faith in Hebrews 11 ought to be an encouragement to all Gentile women who have made some mistakes in the past. God accepts whoever repents and turns to Him in trust and faith; even a Canaanite, former prostitute who then became the mother of Obed, the grandmother of Jesse.

There is hope for anyone to not only enter the family of God but also to be listed as an example of faith; Rahab is the proof.

Ian

If you were on trial for your faith, is there enough evidence to convict you?

Ian

Prayer is more than a wish; it is the voice of faith directed to God.

Billy Graham

Without risk, faith is an impossibility!

Rick Godwin