Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 2:3
And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
3. sent unto Rahab ] “In modern Europe the officers of the government would have entered the house without wasting the previous time in parley. But formerly, as now, in the East, the privacy of a woman was respected, even to a degree that might be called superstitious, and no one will enter the house in which she lives, or the part of the house she occupies, until her consent has been obtained, if, indeed, such consent be ever demanded. In this case it was not asked. Rahab was required not to let the messengers in, but to bring out the foreigners she harboured.” Kitto’s Bible Illustrations, ii. 243.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 3. The king of Jericho sent unto Rahab] This appears to be a proof of the preceding opinion: had she been a prostitute or a person of ill fame he could at once have sent officers to have seized the persons lodged with her as vagabonds; but if she kept a house of entertainment, the persons under her roof were sacred, according to the universal custom of the Asiatics, and could not be molested on any trifling grounds. A guest or a friend is sacred in whatever house he may be received, in every part of the east to the present day.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab,…. Not merely because she kept a public house, or being a prostitute had often strangers in it, and so conjectured that the men he had notice of might be there; but he sent upon certain information that they were seen to go in there, as it follows:
saying, bring forth the men that are come to thee; not to commit lewdness with her, though this is the sense some Jewish commentators give; but this neither agrees with the character of the men Joshua had chosen for this purpose, nor answers any end of the king to suggest; nor can it be thought that Rahab would so openly and freely own this, as in Jos 2:4: but what is meant by the phrase is explained in the following clause,
which are entered into thine house: in order to lodge there that night:
for they be come to search out all the country; so it was suspected, nor was the suspicion groundless.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. Sent unto Rahab The spies had been traced to the harlot’s house, and possibly Rahab had also, by open avowal of her belief in the approaching triumph of the Hebrews, already drawn suspicion on herself.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, which have entered your house, for they are come to search out the whole land.” ’
The king, a petty kinglet of a small city, immediately sent Rahab a message, no doubt for her ears alone, telling her to arrange for the visitors to be seized and brought to the king. Indeed the messengers were even then almost certainly outside the house waiting to arrest them.
“Who have come to you, which have entered your house.” Such repetition occurs regularly in ancient literature. While unnecessary in reading, it assists a hearer to take in the story, become a part of it and remember the details as the story unfolds. A listener is not able to check back on the facts.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The history of this woman forms so interesting a subject in the gospel, that we cannot be too particular in attending to all the circumstances the Holy Ghost hath been pleased to give us concerning it. If whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, certainly this claims very peculiar regard, since we are expressly told that all this woman did for Israel was done by faith. Heb 11:31 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 2:3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
Ver. 3. For they be come to search out all the country. ] “To see the nakedness of the land,” as Gen 42:9 . See Trapp on “ Jos 2:2 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
all. Some codices, with Septuagint and Syriac, omit “all”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Bring: Jos 10:23, Gen 38:24, Lev 24:14, Job 21:30, Joh 19:4, Act 12:4, Act 12:6
to search: Gen 42:9-12, Gen 42:31, 2Sa 10:3, 1Ch 19:3
Reciprocal: Num 13:20 – good courage Jdg 4:20 – Is there
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, {b} Bring forth the men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.
(b) Though the wicked see the hand of God on them, they do not repent, but seek how they may by their power and policy resist his working.