5 Things About Rahab That Nobody Talks About

Rahab’s name is rarely mentioned without her infamous epithet, “Rahab the Harlot.” But to reduce her story to a single label not only diminishes her remarkable character, it also sidesteps her pivotal role in Jewish history. Rahab was a key player in one of the most important moments in our history: leaving the wilderness and entering the Promised Land. 

Her impact didn’t end there. In fact, I see how her story reverberates throughout the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Rahab isn’t just a footnote in the story of Joshua—she is a heroine in her own right. Her faith, wit, and courage extended beyond the walls of Jericho, impacting generations. 

As I began to dig more deeply into her story and its lasting impact, I discovered five things about Rahab that nobody talks about.

1. Rahab Protected Her Family

The stereotype of a prostitute sometimes conjures the image of a rebellious young woman who has run away from home and is living estranged from her family and society. But today, the number one reason women enter into prostitution is because of poverty—often as a desperate attempt to support loved ones.¹ Though Rahab lived in the ancient world, it seems likely her profession was chosen for similar reasons.

We first meet Rahab when she is hiding two Israelite spies on her roof. When enemy soldiers come knocking, she greets them at the door with a clever diversion. In the text, Rahab acts in faith before she speaks to reveal her motives, a clever literary device to hint to the reader that Rahab is a person with integrity worth trusting. 

Rahab’s hope in the God of Israel has given her the courage to think for herself and go against the expectations of her own society. But there is another factor also motivating Rahab’s choices: her love for her family. In Joshua 2:12–13, Rahab isn’t vague about what she is expecting as a result of her bravery. 

Rahab is remembered for her gutsy stunt in saving the spies, but her steadfast dedication to her loved ones is not to be missed. When debriefing their situation with the spies, Rahab seamlessly advocates not only for her own life, but also for the lives of her father, mother, brothers, and sisters. One can’t help but wonder if, perhaps, this isn’t the first time she’s had to make difficult deals to save her family.

2. The Spies Rahab Helped Were … Questionable 

Rahab’s assistance to the Israelite spies is even more exemplary when considering that they may not have been entirely deserving of her help. Some people gloss over the fact that the first place the spies went in Jericho was to a prostitute. Some chalk it up to strategic motives—perhaps the spies were looking for a disenfranchised but well-connected person who was up on local gossip. Or maybe she was actually an innkeeper as well as a prostitute, as some have suggested. 

But in his book Engaging the Old Testament, biblical scholar Dominick Hernández argues that their motives were likely far more suspect.² He points out that the text explicitly mentions that the spies entered Jericho by way of Shittim, the very place where Israel had previously fallen into sin through sexual immorality and idolatry with Moabite women (Numbers 25:1–9). This historical backdrop is likely not added to the story by coincidence, but to help the reader see how precarious this whole situation was. Israel is not any more righteous than they were the last time, and history might very well be about to repeat itself. That is, unless God provides an unexpected deliverer. 

3. Rahab’s Words Became Israel’s Battle Cry

When Rahab hid the spies and deceived the king of Jericho, she didn’t just save their lives. She also delivered the critical information that turned the tide of Israel’s confidence. She told the spies: “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you.”³

Her words were exactly what the spies needed to hear—they became the very message they brought back to Joshua. When they returned to camp, they declared word for word what Rahab told them: “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.”⁴

Without Rahab, the spies would never have made it back. And without her words, Israel might have repeated the same cycle of fear and defeat. But now, by God’s grace and through Rahab’s declaration of faith, Joshua received the report he desperately needed to galvanize the people. 

4. God Used Rahab to Conquer Jericho  

The king of Jericho knew exactly where the spies were and was seconds away from having them captured and killed. When that news reached the Israelites, morale would have crumbled and the story could have taken a much different turn. But God, through Rahab, intervened. 

To understand just how pivotal Rahab’s role was, we need to revisit the first time the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land. Moses had sent spies ahead, but the mission went disastrously wrong. The original spies were tasked with scouting out the land and bringing back information about the route, not deciding whether to go in (Deuteronomy 1:22). Instead of completing their straightforward intelligence mission, 10 of the 12 spies returned terrified, spreading paranoia throughout the camp. Their bad report convinced the people that entering the land was impossible. Fear overtook faith, and the Israelites’ refusal to trust God cost them dearly.

When the people later tried to reverse their decision and fight, God warned them it was already too late. He told Moses to speak to the people and say, “Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.”⁵ The battle was lost before it even began—not on the battlefield, but in their hearts and minds. 

Joshua was one of those initial spies—one of the two who had actually given a good report. For him, the fallout from that failed mission must have been devastating. He witnessed his people suffer immediate judgment, and then helplessly watched the slow death of an entire generation in the wilderness. It’s no wonder that, before he attempts to enter the land again, Joshua sends two spies ahead, hoping for a second chance to rectify history. 

When Rahab saves the spies’ lives, her actions not only save their mission, but help heal the pain of Israel’s past by giving them courage for their future. An angel of the Lord later tells Joshua that the battle for Jericho has already been won—because the battle to move forward in faith was the real battle. And Rahab’s faith led that charge. In the city where she had been a commodity, she became a conqueror. 

‍5. The Book of Ruth Is Also a Book About Rahab

Though Rahab’s name doesn’t appear in the book of Ruth, her legacy looms large within its narrative. Rahab was the mother of Boaz, the man who would one day redeem and marry Ruth, the Moabite widow (and become the great-grandparents of King David). But this connection is more than genealogical.

The character and experience of Rahab is evident in her son. Boaz was compassionate, willing to welcome an outsider like Ruth into the community of Israel. He ardently cared for his family and was mindful of Ruth’s reputation, provision, and physical safety.

As the son of Rahab, a foreigner who was redeemed and embraced, Boaz would have grown up knowing firsthand of God’s power to break down barriers as thick as the walls of Jericho. His mother’s story of faith and redemption would have shaped his understanding of what God can accomplish through those on the margins. 

The Legacy of Rahab

Knowing all of this, the title “The Harlot” seems a bit reductionist. Rahab protected her family, helped pull off a vital recon mission, had faith that empowered a nation, and became a matriarch of the most famous royal lineage in Scripture. It’s an impressive résumé.

As a Jewish follower of Jesus, I see just how far reaching Rahab’s impact is; the writers of the New Testament mention her three times (which is even more times than Joshua). Rahab’s descendants not only included King David and Solomon, but Jesus himself. I can’t help but wonder, observing the ministry of Jesus, if his compassion and care for prostitutes was influenced by his matriarch. And she’s even referenced in the writings of Jesus’ brother James as a case study on the principle that “faith without works is dead.” 

When we zoom out to the narrative that ties the whole of the Scriptures together, Rahab’s story is an archetype within a much larger pattern. Over and over again, God uses the unlikeliest characters—like a foreign prostitute—to accomplish His plan for the redemption of the world.