Rahab, also known as Rahab in Biblical history, is associated with a promiscuous woman. A prostitute lived in a house that formed part of the city wall of Jericho towards the end of the Bronze Age. Joshua’s two scouts stayed with her. The pursuers were sent in the wrong direction, and then Rahab made a deal with the scouts. She knew Jericho would fall into the hands of Jehovah’s servants, so she asked for protection for herself and her family. The scouts escaped through a window with her help.
By reading this article, you will understand why Rahab is so important and that she did marry Salmon, the son of Nahshon. In the New Testament, the Epistle to the Hebrews writer includes her among the examples of ancient faith in God, and she is cited as one who was justified by her works. She was the wife of Salmon and mother of Boaz, David’s ancestor, who is included in the genealogy of our Lord. Rahab enjoyed the tribe of Israel.
What is the story of Rahab?
Rahab from Jericho. We do not know the circumstances under which she became a prostitute. But we know that she had heard of the God of Israel and His care for His children. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land². Joshua sent two scouts to Jericho, and someone saw them enter Rahab’s house. In Joshua, we learn that she hid the two under sheaves of flax and refused to tell the king of Jericho where they were.
Rahab longed with all his heart to belong to their God, to give up the old life and start over. She hid the two spies in exchange for the promise that she and her family would be spared when Israel attacked Jericho, and they were. Rahab became part of God’s people and even married a man from the family of the great King David.
Rahab’s Courage (Yahweh’s Legacy). I’d like you to see it on Amazon.
Why is Rahab important in the Bible?
Rahab is always described as a prostitute, even though Scripture uses beautiful words about her: By faith Rahab, the harlot¹ did not perish with the rebellious because she had accommodated the scouts willingly. She came to be listed among the heroes of faith.
Rahab is essential in Bible because she helped the Israelites, the men of God, defeat her nation, the pagan city of Jericho. She also went through a total transformation in her life.
God doesn’t wait until we are perfect before He can use us. This is a story of hope for every woman. No matter what our background is, we have the opportunity to change and live an honorable life.
Did Rahab marry Salmon or Joshua?
Rahab reminds us that God casts all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. Rahab was among the first of those who heard. She now knew that God’s judgments were at the Jordan. Rahab knew her life was miserable, and I think she had had enough of such a life. She had decided to change everything. That’s probably why the scouts didn’t seek her out as much as she sought them out. She found them and took them in. She tells the two that she and the inhabitants of Jericho are afraid of the Israelites. They had heard of their passage through the Red Sea.
Rahab married Salmon when she became a follower of God.
When she was asked about the two spies, she lied. Interestingly, although they were afraid, only the prostitute had faith. Rahav held great value in God’s eyes, not for her past but for her choice.
Is Boaz the son of Rahab?
God saw something good in Rahab when He was about to bless her:
- a great faith
- the courage that will stand for God and save the scouts.
He saw in Rahab a woman who keeps her word at the risk of her life. She was brave and knew her future would only be safe in God’s hand, not the emperor’s. So she preferred the risk of life to the blessings of God. Rahab tells us that serving God involves risk, but it is worth assuming it.
Rahab, after marrying Salmon, became the mother of Boaz and thus became part of King David’s family line.
We know more about Boaz from the book of Ruth. He was a man of integrity and good to his servants. Boaz begat Obed, Obed begat Jesse, Jesse begat David. Boaz’s mother was a prostitute who chose to rise above her past. She could decide to move on with her life. But she decided to put her past aside and allow God to make her a virtuous woman. This is why she became a hero of faith. She did not want to continue her life of sin.
Who was Rahab to King David?
Rahab saved her and her family’s lives, received eternal life, became the great-grandmother of Jesus, and entered the Mausoleum of the Heroes of Faith. She saw her family saved because she believed in the word of God, and her family believed in what she said.
Since God forgave her past, Rahab was blessed to be his great,t, great-grandmother to David.
She is no longer portrayed in the book of Ruth as a prostitute but as a faithful woman in the lineage of Jesus. Because of God’s great grace to forgive sins. In conclusion, she was David’s 2xgreat grandmother, Israel’s greatest earthly king.
Primary Takeaways
- She had heard about the God of Israel and His care for His children, the people of Israel.
- So she feared God.
- Her name appears in the genealogy of Jesus.
- Rahab became part of God’s people and even married a man from the family of David and the tribe of Jesus Christ.
Key Verse
“In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging² to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?”
Jacob 2:25 (NIV)
Biography of Rahab
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Rahab was a Canaanite, a witch. She was an Amorite, belonging to idolatrous people. She was a prostitute, and five times this is mentioned in Scripture. Because she chose to change her background, she is listed in the list of biblical heroes and the genealogical line of Jesus.
