Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 2:21
And she said, According unto your words, so [be] it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.
Forthwith, partly, that the spies might see it hung out before their departure, and so the better know it at some distance; partly, lest some accident might occasion a mistake or neglect about it; and partly, for her own comfort, it being pleasant and encouraging to her to have in her eye the pledge of her deliverance.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. she bound the scarlet line inthe windowprobably soon after the departure of the spies. Itwas not formed, as some suppose, into network, as a lattice, butsimply to hang down the wall. Its red color made it conspicuous, andit was thus a sign and pledge of safety to Rahab’s house, as thebloody mark on the lintels of the houses of the Israelites in Egyptto that people.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And she said, according to your words, so [be] it,…. She agreed, that if the conditions required were not performed, they would be quit of their oath, but if they were, she expected it would be fulfilled:
and she sent them away, and they departed; took their leave of each other:
and she bound the scarlet line in the window; immediately, as Abarbinel thinks, and in the sight of the spies, that they might see that she conformed to their direction, and that they might take notice where she fastened it; and that she herself might, at the sight of it, be put in mind of the design of it, and be an encouragement to her faith as to the safety of her and her father’s house; and it being a thing so trifling and insignificant in itself, would not be taken notice of by the inhabitants, or be thought to be done with any design; though, according to the instruction of the spies, it seems as if it was to be done when they came into the land, and into the city, and which seems most likely that it was then done.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When Rahab had accepted all these conditions, she let the men go, and bound the red cord in the window. It is not to be supposed that she did this at once, but merely as soon as it was necessary. It is mentioned here for the purpose of bringing the subject to a close.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
21. And she bound the scarlet line in the window This statement is here made to complete the account, not to indicate that she bound the line in the window as soon as the spies were gone. She did this on the approach of the Hebrew host, in season to secure the deliverance of which this was the token. To have displayed it immediately would have been unnecessary, and would have incurred the suspicions of her watchful countrymen.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And she said, “Let it be as you have said.” And she sent them away, and they departed, and she bound the scarlet line in the window.’
She sent the spies away to safety and ensured her own safety by fastening the scarlet cord in the window. Not necessarily immediately, but in good time for it to do its work. (It does not say when she did it. It is we, not they, who are slaves to chronology).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 21. And she bound the scarlet line in the window It is pretty generally supposed, that Rahab bound it there immediately, and there left it till Joshua made himself master of Jericho. But, as this affectation might have made her suspected by the people of the city, it has seemed most reasonable to others to suppose, that Rahab did not place this token at the window till the army of Israel had approached the city.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jos 2:21-23
LOVE RECONCILING-ISRAEL IS LOVED
TEXT: Hos 2:21-23
In highly figurative language the prophet now describes the overflowing love which Jehovah promises to shower down upon the new Israel
Hos 2:21 And it shall come to passH1961 in thatH1931 day,H3117 I will hear,H6030 saithH5002 the LORD,H3068 I will hearH6030 (H853) the heavens,H8064 and theyH1992 shall hearH6030 (H853) the earth;H776
Hos 2:22 And the earthH776 shall hearH6030 (H853) the corn,H1715 and the wine,H8492 and the oil;H3323 and theyH1992 shall hearH6030 (H853) Jezreel.H3157
Hos 2:21-22 . . . IN THAT DAY, I WILL ANSWER, SAITH JEHOVAH . . . AND THEY SHALL ANSWER JEZREEL. The phrase in that day, refers to the same time as the preceding section-which is the Messianic age. This is plainly evident from 1Pe 2:10 where the apostle quotes Hos 2:23 as being fulfilled in the establishment of the church and calling of men and women to become a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Gods own people . . . There is double apostolic confirmation of this section in Hosea being a Messianic prophecy. The apostle Paul says (Rom 9:19-26) that Hos 2:23 is a prophecy of the receiving of the Gentiles into the scheme of Gods redemption through their faith in Christ.
The word answer should be translated hear. Hosea uses highly figurative language here to depict the shower of blessings upon this new betrothal of God to new Israel. The bethrothal having been completed (in Christ, Ephesians 5), the prophet now represents heaven and earth standing nearby ready to serve the Bridegroom as He showers His bride with presents. The heavens and the earth are represented as earnestly asking the Husband (God) which presents are to be showered upon the Bride. The Husband hears and directs that all the riches of His domain be given Her. So the church is blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ (Eph 1:3). K & D say, . . . the prophet represents the heaven as praying to God, to allow it to give the earth that which is requisite to ensure its fertility; Whereupon the heaven fulfills the desires of the earth, and the earth yields its produce to the nation . . . all things in heaven and on earth depend on God . . . without His bidding not a drop of rain falls from heaven, and consequently all nature would . . . be barren, unless He gave it fertility by His blessing.
Zerr: Hos 2:21. See the comments on Dan 12:1 on the significance of the pronoun “that, and learn how indefinite it is as to exact dates. In the present instance it refers to the day when the Gentiles were to bear the Gospei and accept it, thus presenting to God a group Of people from a new source I will hear, heavens shall hear. This unusual language indicates the unity of interest and general cooperation of all forces in the final dispensation that God will give to the world for spiritual salvation. Hos 2:22. The same idea of cooperation is continued in this verse. The mention of corn and, wine is for figurative purposes. It is true that such temporal blessings were predicted for ancient Israel after they returned from captivity, but the fact is used as a type of the spiritual prosperity that was to come through the Gospel.
The name Jezreel (formerly used figuratively to predict Gods scattering of Israel in the captivity-in the sense of judgment) is now used in the good sense to denote a new sowing. This is evident from the context and the following verse (Hos 2:23). So the figure represents God, the Husband, showering down gifts upon His Bride, the Church, through the agency of His whole creation. The reader should read in connection with this Eph 1:3-23 and Col 1:9-29.
Hos 2:23 And I will sowH2232 her unto me in the earth;H776 and I will have mercy uponH7355 (H853) her that had notH3808 obtained mercy;H7355 and I will sayH559 to them which were notH3808 my people,H5971 ThouH859 art my people;H5971 and theyH1931 shall say,H559 Thou art my God.H430
Hos 2:23 AND I WILL SOW HER UNTO ME IN THE EARTH . . . AND I WILL HAVE MERCY . . . AND . . . SAY TO THEM . . . THOU ART MY PEOPLE . . . The new Israel comes as a result of a new sowing-one of Divine grace instead of Divine judgment. The former references to Jezreel (Hos 1:4-5; Hos 1:11) had to do with scattering or dispersing rebellious Israel by the judgment of God in captivity. But now, through the seed of Abraham (singular, cf. Gal 3:16), God sows a new covenant nation, the one noted in 1Pe 1:9-10 and Rom 9:19-26. So the name Jezreel is turned into something blessed, just as the names in Hos 1:6; Hos 1:9; Hos 2:1 were changed into blessing. Lange says of this section, The fulfillment is not to be seen in the return of the Jews from the exile, This was, to be sure, a fulfillment, but only a small and feeble beginning. For the promise is to be regarded as essentially Messianic . . . in Christ the new betrothal of God to his people has already taken place . . . Israel, to whom salvation is here promised by the Prophet, comes into view, not according to its natural nationality, but according to its divine destiny, or according to its typical significance as the People of God. This we heartily endorse because to interpret it otherwise would be to contradict inspired, apostolically confirmed fulfillment, as we have shown before.
Zerr: Hos 2:23. This is again a prediction of the call of the Gentiles, for they had never been called a people of the Lord before the Gospel period. They had the provision of the Patriarchal Dispensation for their spiritual salvation, but that was a family religion and did not constitute them a “people in the sense of that term in the Bible.
Questions
1. What specific historical age does in that day refer to here?
2. What confirmation do we have as to the fulfillment of this section?
3. What does the figurative language represent here?
4. What new meaning is given to the name Jezreel here?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
scarlet line
The scarlet line of Rahab speaks, by its color, of safety through sacrifice. Heb 9:19; Heb 9:22.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
And she bound: Jos 2:18, Mat 7:24, Joh 2:5
Reciprocal: 1Ki 11:21 – Let me depart
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 2:21. In the window Forthwith, partly that the spies might see it hung out before their departure, and so the better know it at some distance; partly lest some accident might occasion a neglect about it.