And her faith caused her to hang the scarlet cord out of her window. As a reward for her bravery, she demands that they swear to preserve her and her familys lives as soon as they have finished conquering Canaan. To say a particular name immediately brings a certain occupation to mind. The vilest offender who truly believes It is not an easy fact for us to face. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father's household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho. God used Rahab, a Canaanite harlot, to weave his plan for His peoples entry into the Promised Land. InChapter 8 of my book, I flesh out this approach, which is also widely adopted in rabbinic interpretation. In the case of Rahab, writers in the early church pressed her story into the service of sophisticated debates on soteriology. She demonstrates exceptional hospitality from the very beginning. Rahabs beauty was so legendary that simply repeating her name twice would immediately bring sexual release. Home - The Bible - Bible Characters - Old Testament Characters - Minor O.T. Rahab saved the Israelite spies in Jericho and was in turn saved by the scarlet thread. Dont run and hide. So teens experiment and singles sleep around. Rahab - Week 4: The Scarlet Cord - Revive Our Hearts Yet Yhwhs fame had also spread throughout the land, and despite her extraordinary beauty, the men of the land had lost their virility along with their courage upon hearing of his extraordinary might. After all, she is still called Rahab the harlot. In the miraculous battle of Jericho, the invincible city did fall. [10]Yet the three interpreters I examined are not interested in how this figure, as an archetypal alien, secured membership among the people of Israel by demonstrating allegiance to the nation during a momentous war effort. For faith, according to the proem of the pericope, is the confidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (11:1).[8]. [29]InChapter 8 of my book, I flesh out this approach, which is also widely adopted in rabbinic interpretation. After Naomi repeatedly exhorts Ruth and her sister-in-law to turn back,her sister-in-law returns to her home country in Moab. 57a) denies this status and designates him as agr tshv(resident alien). This fleshly ritual expresses the principle that one becomes a member of the people in a physical sense, in keeping with Israels character as primarily a political, not cultic, community. LifeActionMinistries. Rahab knew of the God of Israel and the miraculous deeds He had performed for His people, particularly during the Exodus from Egypt. Jennie Ebeling --Department of Archaeology and Art History, University of Evansville, Copyright 2000-2023 The Bible and Interpretation| All Rights Reserved |The University of Arizona | Developed bySBS Tech [21]The expression was coined byE. D.Hirsch,Jr., inCultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know(Boston:Houghton Mifflin,1987). Whensoever therefore thou perceivest that we are coming, thou shalt gather all thy folk beneath thy roof and they shall be saved; for as many as shall be found without the house shall perish. The author of James proceeds to translate these facts into Christian theological categories: a person is justified by works rather than faith alone. Belief or creeds are not enough: You believe that God is one? She traded sex for money in what has sometimes been called the worlds oldest occupation. The intended audience consists of those who look to Jesus as the founder and perfecter of our faith (12:2). I have confined the discussion to these works because they are the earliest ones to refer to this biblical figure, they feature numerous points of contact, and they illustrate the potential of biblical war commemoration for Christian theological construction. It says Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab. While central to Christian writings, a doctrine of salvific faith, as we will see, is foreign to the account in Joshua both in its older Hebrew form and in the Greek translations undertaken by Jewish scholars in the Greco-Roman period.[5]. The Jewish sages from the first centuries of the Common Era were the ones who defined the contours of this corpus by excluding such works as 1 and 2 Maccabees. See Also: War, Memory, and National Identity in the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge University Press, 2020). The rabbis, however, refused to pick and choose from a text whose sacred meanings, they were convinced, could only be discovered by taking all the facts of scripture seriously. For the early church, the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth constitute the turning point in history, and the New Testament writings owe their existence in large part to the hermeneutical struggle with the problems and prospects presented by this discontinuity with the Jewish scriptures. That caused the men of Jericho to close the city gates in the belief that they could withstand any assault and anysiege. 20:16), but because she brought herself near, the deity also brought her near. If an exception was made in the case of this Canaanite, how much more will the Holy One be receptive to Israel, his beloved people, when they act in accordance with his will?[25]. [19]Rahab is not mentioned elsewhere in scripture, yet the Jewish sages used midrash to mine the biblical genealogies for traces of her descendants. In the Bible, Rahab is supposed to have converted at the age of 50 and repented for three misdeeds, declaring: "Master of the Universe!". and Jesse the father of King David (Matthew 1:5-6). 20:16), but because she brought herself near, the deity also brought her near. If an exception was made in the case of this Canaanite, how much more will the Holy One be receptive to Israel, his beloved people, when they act in accordance with his will?. If God can save Rahab, he can save anyone. Yes! No matter your past and nomatter your situation, hope is possible, because Jesus has made redemption possible. The scarlet thread hung from her window, and her entire household was saved (Joshua 6:22-25). Are you allowed to carry food into indira gandhi stadium? To state the difference simply: The Hebrew Bible is a project of creating one nation, while the New Testament is a project of creating a community whose members hail from all nations. [18]Such is what Rahab does. I would venture to say that there is no city of any size where there are not women who sell their bodies for money. On Rahab in early Jewish literature, see, The Rabbinic Transformations of Rahab the Harlot,, https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/rahab-midrash-and-aggadah, The biblical authors satirize [lampoon] Naaman. You might be wondering what possible connection could exist between Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind, and a Canaanite prostitute named Rahab. Rumors had spread like wildfire. And if you go to the end of the next verse, you find David, Samuel, and the prophets. . The fact that Josephus downplays the significance of Rahabs pronouncements about Israels god and empties them of any independent merit is undoubtedly related to the great space he devotes to depicting how this woman risked her life and that of her entire family by hiding the spies. So if youve been sleeping around, or messing around, or fooling around, or making one stupid mistake after another, Ive got good news for you. Matrilineal descent is not biblical (but see Ezra 10); it appears to have emerged among the Tannaim, through the influence of Roman law, and at a time of social upheaval. By hiding the spies, she risks her life and physically demonstrated her allegiance to this nation. But it didnt matter. What specific section of the world do cannibals do not live? [11]But even if the rabbis had not played a crucial role in the shaping of the Hebrew scriptures, they stand in more direct continuity than the New Testament writers with the scribes who created this corpus. At that time, they surmise, she must have been at least ten years of age, and now at fifty, she was still working as a prostitute. ECFA Member. Her identity as a Gentile may have been one of the reasons for her inclusion in Matthews genealogy of Jesus (Matt. She owed her enduring career to her extraordinary beauty. . The red cord would serve as a symbol of her faith, a covenant of protection that the spies would keep. As the commander of King, Goliath, a name that strikes fear and curiosity, has been a symbol of strength and an obstacle to be overcome for centuries. The rabbis responded to this question by creating a ritual for conversion, and when they did, they studied the lives of such biblical figures as Jethro, Ruth, and Rahab. Girls sleep with their boyfriends. As we meditate on these two surprising women of faith during this Advent season, both unexpected radiant lights in the genealogy, let us be less quick to judge those who seem to be outsiders. Described as a harlot living in the worldly crossroads city of Jericho, she nevertheless felt the Spirit of God when she met the Israelite spies who were sent by Joshua to scout the Promised Land. If you know Jesus, one day you will meet her in heaven. Salmon (biblical figure) - Wikipedia The color was no coincidence. This fact conveys an extraordinary message about Gods grace and faithfulness. Later, Joshua communicates to the high priest and senate (, Instead of stripping the narrative of its martial materiality and reducing it to an illustration of a timeless theological principle, Josephus preserves its national character. She was a woman of faith. [16]See the exchange between Rav Nachman and Rav Isaac inb. Meg. ),Greek Prostitutes in the Ancient Mediterranean, 800 BCE200 CE(Madison:University of Wisconsin Press,2011). She doesnt want to be saved alone. The author of this account commemorates Rahabs deeds, along with others from Israels past, in an effort to show that, despite appearances, all wereactuallyseeking a heavenly country or city that God has prepared for them. In this way, the author de-nationalizes Israels heroes and transforms them into prototypes of a new transnational people of God (11:25). [13]Josephus,Ant. [33]The enemy general Naaman has a past similar to Pauls, but Naaman does not even become a member of Israel, let alone assume a leadership role comparable to the one Paul occupied in the church. On a similar move tofides quain medieval Judaism (from believe in to believe that), seeMenachemKellner,Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought: From Maimonides to Abravanel(New York:Oxford,1986);Kellner,Must a Jew BelieveAnything?, 2nd ed. The literary corpus we know today as the Hebrew Bible is ultimately a Pharisaic project that eventually became the canon of Rabbinic Judaism. She was a believer! So far, she said she had been assured by those Divine miracles of which she had been informed, and therefore, these spies acknowledged that they owed her thanks for what she had done already, and withal swore to requite her kindness, not only in words, but in deeds.[13]. There. That moment from Jesus a pardon receives. But this division is severely undermined by the evidence that the battlefield persists in the final strata of the Hebrew Bible (in stark contrast to the New Testament) as a preferred narrative space. Matrilineal descent is, after all, a more practicable criterion, since one cannot always be sure who the father is, especially in times of turmoil. That the author appeals to the story of Rahab may be because it had already served as an important prooftext in theological debates. Like many others, this early Christian writing reorients the thoroughly political complexion of the Jewish scriptures in the direction of a de-territorialized, de-nationalized, eschatological future. Writing for non-Jewish audiences, the historian eliminated Rahabs declaration about Yhwhs superior power and, in so doing, made it more palatable for his Roman readers. Supported by: For had she been caught concealing them, she could not have escaped a terrible destruction, she and all her family with her, and so bid them go home. In theological terms, she was in spiritual kindergarten. Caiaphas was a high priest. young and old . For the issue of unclean land and altar, see the discussion of Josh. Boaz - Wikipedia in Protestantism) due to their putative proximity to Jewish works-righteousness. This fact imparts to them an added value for our study, since even they, as we shall see, are far removed from the political dimensions of the biblical account and Jewish interpretations thereof. Speakers Erin Davis Leslie Bennett Leslie Bennett and her husband, Mac, live in South Carolina. But Gods evaluation is strikingly different. Recently, a number of biblical scholars have ended this longstanding veneration of Rahab. Perhaps the strangest of all is Rahab. 13:24). The eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews includes Rahab in a monumental tribute to prominent figures from the Jewish scriptures who, "by faith" (pistei), demonstrated that "God had provided something better for us" (11:40). Jesus' own lineage shows how God powerfully uses us despite our past. Isaiah was a prophet. . It is a reminder that Gods grace and mercy are limitless, extending to all people, regardless of their past or social standing. On hospitality in the social world of the ancient Mediterranean, seeAndrew E.Arterbury,Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in Its Mediterranean Setting(Sheffield:Sheffield Phoenix Press,2005). The biblical record does not give us very many details about Rahab. Unveiling the Truth: Who is Goliath in the Bible? ),Judaic Sources and Western Thought: Jerusalems Enduring Presence(New York:Oxford University Press,2010),217237. [32]Amy H. C. Robertson offers a stunning reading of the Rahab story against the backdrop of its rabbinic interpreters: Are we to imagine that she could have acted on this faith earlier, but chose not to?
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