But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Rahab didn't just shove the spies under some hay; she expertly hid them within purposefully arranged stacks of flax stalks. This detail reveals her practical ingenuity and understanding of agricultural processes, showing she used a common, everyday element of her work to conceal them with remarkable skill.
But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The king of Jericho has been alerted that Israelite spies are in the city, and he immediately sends soldiers to apprehend them. Rahab, who had been harboring the spies on her rooftop, tells the soldiers they had already left and gotten away. To convince them, she quickly ushers the spies to a hiding place among the flax stalks she had laid out to dry on the roof.
Rahab's house, situated on the city wall, became an unlikely sanctuary. It was a place of both refuge and revelation.
Rahab's home, being on the city wall, offered a unique vantage point. It was a place where the ordinary and extraordinary intersected.
Rahab's actions seemed like betrayal to her city, but they represented a profound shift in allegiance. What drove her decision?
The text and commentators grapple with Rahab's decision to hide the spies. While it appears treacherous from Jericho's perspective, it's understood within the context of her developing faith.
Ask a follow-up
The context of Rahab hiding the spies is the critical moment just before the Israelites cross the Jordan River to conquer the Promised Land. The fear described by Rahab wasn't unfounded; it was a culmination of decades of God's powerful interventions, from the Exodus to the defeat of Amorite kings, which had instilled terror in the Canaanites.
c. 1446 BC
Israelites Depart Egypt
After 400 years of slavery, God dramatically rescues the Israelites from Egypt, leading them through the Red Sea.
c. 1446-1406 BC
Wandering in the Wilderness
For 40 years, the Israelites wander the Sinai Peninsula due to their lack of faith, during which time the generation that left Egypt perishes.
c. 1406 BC
Conquest of Transjordan
The Israelites defeat the Amorite kings Sihon and Og east of the Jordan River, clearing the way to approach Canaan from the east.
c. 1406 BC— this verse
Israelites Camp at Shittim
The Israelite army sets up camp on the plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan River, opposite the city of Jericho.
This passage explicitly commends Rahab's faith, highlighting that her act of hiding the spies was a demonstration of her belief in God, connecting her action to divine trust.
James 2:25Similar to Hebrews, this verse also points to Rahab's faith through her works, specifically mentioning her hiding the messengers and sending them away by another way, directly linking her actions in this narrative to her faith.
Deuteronomy 22:8This law requires a battlement on roofs to prevent falls. Rahab's use of the roof for concealment, and the later detail of letting the spies down by a cord, relate to the practicalities and potential dangers associated with the elevated, open spaces common in ancient dwellings.
Exodus 9:31This verse mentions flax among the crops destroyed by hail in Egypt, indicating that flax was a significant crop in the region. This provides context for why flax stalks would be readily available and piled on rooftops for drying, as described in Joshua 2:6.
1 Samuel 9:25-26This passage describes Samuel speaking with Saul on the roof of his house, showing that roofs were common places for important conversations and interactions, even in earlier biblical periods, reinforcing the normalcy of being on the roof.
calvinJoshua 2:1-24: "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."
Miserat [31] autem Josue filius Nun viros duos exploratores clam, [32] dicendo: Ite, considerate terram et Jericho. Profecti sunt igitur et ingressi sunt domum mulieris meretricis, cujus nomen erat Rahab, et dormierunt illic.
And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there…
jfbJoshua 2:6: "But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof."
- she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax—Flax, with other vegetable productions, is at a certain season spread out on the flat roofs of Eastern houses to be dried in the sun; and, after lying awhile, it is piled up in numerous little stacks, which, from the luxuriant growth of the flax, rise to a hei…
Rahab didn't just shove the spies under some hay; she expertly hid them within purposefully arranged stacks of flax stalks. This detail reveals her practical ingenuity and understanding of agricultural processes, showing she used a common, everyday element of her work to conceal them with remarkable skill.
The king of Jericho has been alerted that Israelite spies are in the city, and he immediately sends soldiers to apprehend them. Rahab, who had been harboring the spies on her rooftop, tells the soldiers they had already left and gotten away. To convince them, she quickly ushers the spies to a hiding place among the flax stalks she had laid out to dry on the roof.
The king of Jericho has been alerted that Israelite spies are in the city, and he immediately sends soldiers to apprehend them. Rahab, who had been harboring the spies on her rooftop, tells the soldiers they had already left and gotten away. To convince them, she quickly ushers the spies to a hiding place among the flax stalks she had laid out to dry on the roof.
"But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof." — Rahab didn't just shove the spies under some hay; she expertly hid them within purposefully arranged stacks of flax stalks. This detail reveals her practical ingenuity and understanding of agricult…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026