Joshua 2:9

And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(9-11) She said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land. . . .—The words of this confession are memorable in everyway. Note the fulfilment of the prophetic song of Moses, which is partly repeated here (Exodus 15:15-16, with Joshua 2:9-11), “All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away; fear and dread shall fall upon them.” But especially observe the expression of Rahab’s own belief, “Jehovah, your God, He is God in heaven above and in earth beneath.” Did the faith of the men of Israel go much further than this? Did it always go so far? (Comp. Joshua 24:14; 1Kings 18:21; Jonah 1:9-10). The prophets themselves could not assert much more. The greatest of them were satisfied if they could bring the people of Israel to acknowledge this. Rahab’s confession is also one of a series. The Egyptians, Philistines, Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, were all in turn brought to the same acknowledgment by their contact with Israel. The reason is stated in Joshua 4:24, “That all the people of the earth may know the hand of Jehovah, that it is mighty.”

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

2:8-21 Rahab had heard of the miracles the Lord wrought for Israel. She believed that his promises would certainly be fulfilled, and his threatenings take effect; and that there was no way of escape but by submitting to him, and joining with his people. The conduct of Rahab proved that she had the real principle of Divine faith. Observe the promises the spies made to her. The goodness of God is often expressed by his kindness and truth, Ps 117:2; in both these we must be followers of him. Those who will be conscientious in keeping promises, are cautious in making them. The spies make needful conditions. The scarlet cord, like the blood upon the doorpost at the passover, recalls to remembrance the sinner's security under the atoning blood of Christ; and that we are to flee thereto for refuge from the wrath of a justly offended God. The same cord Rahab used for the saving of these Israelites, was to be used for her own safety. What we serve and honour God with, we may expect he will bless, and make useful to us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sense is, that "they pursued along the way which leads to Jordan and across the fords;" probably those described in Judges 3:28.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 2:8-21. The Covenant between Her and Them.

8-13. she came up unto them upon the roof and said—Rahab's dialogue is full of interest, as showing the universal panic and consternation of the Canaanites on the one hand (Jos 24:11; De 2:25), and her strong convictions on the other, founded on a knowledge of the divine promise, and the stupendous miracles that had opened the way of the Israelites to the confines of the promised land. She was convinced of the supremacy of Jehovah, and her earnest stipulations for the preservation of her relatives amid the perils of the approaching invasion, attest the sincerity and strength of her faith.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Quest. How could they understand one the other?

Answ.

1. The Hebrew and the Canaan or Phoenician languages have a very great resemblance, and are thought to be but differing dialects of one and the same tongue, as the learned prove by a multitude of words, which are common to both of them. Or,

2. Some of the Hebrews had either out of curiosity, or by Joshua’s order and direction, learnt that language for this or other such like occasions.

Your terror, i.e. the dread of you. See Exodus 23:27 34:24 Deu 11:25 Deu 28:7.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And she said unto the men,.... The two spies:

I know that the Lord hath given you the land; the land of Canaan, of which she was an inhabitant, and in which they now were; this she knew either by some tradition that was among them; or by divine revelation, a supernatural impulse upon her mind: or by observing what the Lord had done already, in putting the land of the Amorites into their hands, which were one of the seven nations of Canaan; and by this it also appears, and more clearly by what follows, that she had knowledge of the Lord God, the God of Israel:

and that your terror is fallen upon us; which was another token or sign by which she knew the land would be delivered to them; that they who were a formidable people, and struck terror into others, now were terrified themselves, at the rumour of Israel being come to invade them; this was what the Lord said should be the case, Deuteronomy 11:25,

and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you; or "melt" (f), like wax before the fire, as Moses had predicted, Exodus 15:15.

(f) "liquefacti sunt", Montanus, Piscator.

Geneva Study Bible

And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your {d} terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

(d) For so God promised, De 28:7, Jos 5:1.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

8–21. Reception of the Spies by Rahab

9. the Lord] The name is remarkable as used by Rahab. But the Israelites had long been encamped in the neighbourhood, and she might easily have become acquainted with the name of their God.

your terror] i.e. “the terror of you.” The prophetic words of triumph in Moses’ song were now fulfilled (Exodus 15:14-16; comp. also Deuteronomy 11:25).

faint] Heb. melt. “Oure hearte basshade, ne spirit bood in us at youre yncomynge,” Wyclif. See Joshua 2:24.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 9. - Hath given. Rahab's faith is shown by this expression. What God willed she regarded as already done. To speak of the future as of a past already fulfilled is the usual language of the Hebrew prophets. Faint, Literally, melt; cf. Exodus 15:15, 16, which is thus shown to be not poetic license, but sober fact. For we may take the future in the passage just cited as a present, and translate, "All the inhabitants of Canaan melt away; fear and dread are falling upon them" (cf. Deuteronomy 2:25; Deuteronomy 11:25). Joshua 2:9

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Notwithstanding these precautions, the men escaped. As soon as the officers had left Rahab's house, she went to the spies, who were concealed upon the roof, before they had lain down to sleep, which they were probably about to do upon the roof, - a thing of frequent occurrence in the East in summer time, - and confessed to them all that she believed and knew, namely, that God had given the land to the Israelites, and that the dread of them had fallen upon the Canaanites ("us," in contrast with "you," the Israelites, signifies the Canaanites generally, and not merely the inhabitants of Jericho), and despair had seized upon all the inhabitants of the land. The description of the despair of the Canaanites (Joshua 2:9) is connected, so far as the expressions are concerned, with Exodus 15:15 and Exodus 15:16, to show that what Moses and the Israelites had sung after crossing the Red Sea was now fulfilled, that the Lord had fulfilled His promise (Exodus 23:27 compared with Deuteronomy 2:25 and Deuteronomy 11:25), and had put fear and dread upon the Canaanites.