101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

yth #84:
Rahab aided the Israelite spies.
The Myth: And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy
secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s
house, named Rahab, and lodged there. ( Josh. 2:1)
The Reality: Hebrew scribes adapted an ancient folktale and added it to the fictional
account of Jericho.
If Jericho had no residents at the time of Joshua, then we need to re-examine the
story of Rahab, a harlot who lived in the city and provided aid and comfort to Joshua’s
spies. According to the biblical account, Joshua sent two spies to check out Jericho and
the surrounding communities. The king of Jericho learned that they had come to the
house of Rahab and sent her a message saying she should turn the spies over to his
troops. When the soldiers arrived at her house, she falsely told them that the Israelites
had already left.
Later, Rahab said to the spies that she had heard about the mighty deeds of the
Israelite god and knew that Joshua’s army would roll right over the city. She offered
to hide them if during the attack the Israelites would spare her life and the lives of
her family.
The spies agreed but told her to make sure that when Joshua’s army attacked,
everyone remained inside her house. Then they gave her a scarlet cord to hang from
her window as a sign to the Israelite soldiers. When Jericho fell, Joshua spared her and
her family.
The Rahab story bears significant similarities to another story appearing in the
Book of Judges, but that story is about the House of Joseph trying to capture Beth-el.
The spies saw a man coming out of the city and agreed that if he would show them
how to sneak into the city, they would deal kindly with him after the attack. He led
them through a hidden entrance and, after the Israelites captured Beth-el, they spared
the man and his family.
241