Joshua 2

The name in Hebrew is Shittim, which church folks wouldn’t want to read out loud in a worship service. It literally means “acacia trees,” or an acacia grove. Hence, “Acacia Grove.” You’re welcome.

Why would men supposedly devoted to God decide to stay at the house of a prostitute? We can only guess. Was it because they were red-blooded men out on their own for the first time in 40 years? That’s not the first guess to speak of, though it might be the first that comes to mind. Perhaps a favorite guess among people of faith is that God led them there. Or maybe it was because Rahab ran an inn at this border town, an oasis region where travelers stopped to enjoy the springs of water and fresh food. Even in Roman times, inns were sometimes described as more than just a place to get some food and a good night’s rest. For a little extra money, travelers could get the ancient version of X-rated TV, which in Bible times was much more interactive. One other theory: perhaps they thought they could blend in better in a house that was probably visited frequently by strangers coming and going. If so, they got that wrong.

Many Jewish and Christian scholars have said Rahab turned her life around. Christian tradition says she’s the “Rahab” included in the family tree of Jesus, as the woman who gave birth to King David’s grandfather, Boaz (Matthew 1:5). Writers of Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 praised her for sheltering the spies and said she was a good example of faith. Jewish tradition says she married Joshua and that her descendants included nine prophets.

Flax grows like wheat, but it’s harvested in early spring in the region of Jericho—about the time of Passover, or Easter, in March or early April. Linseed oil comes from flax, but in Bible times people used the thin fibers in the stalks to produce linen clothing and fabric. People often lived in buildings with flat roofs. It was a good place for city folks to dry their plants or their wet clothing. They used the roof like people today use a porch, deck, or balcony. It was a place to relax or to do chores or to get away from the kids for seven perfect moments of peace.

Bridges weren’t common in this area 3,000 years ago. When people wanted to cross a river, they looked for a shallow area called a ford. The Jordan River was likely wider, deeper, and swifter than today’s river, which has been diminished by people and government agencies sapping the flow to irrigate farmland and provide water for people and animals. Also, it was springtime, and the river had flooded over the banks (Joshua 3:15).

“LORD,” usually printed in all capital letters, is a name of God that appears around 7,000 times in the Christian Bible, which makes it the most common way of referring to God.  The lower-case “Lord” is a translation of the Hebrew word Adonai. It refers to God as our master, our life coach, or the boss. He’s in charge of us, and we try to obey him. “LORD” is the spelling most Bibles use when the writer refers to the name of God. Moses asked God what his name was, and God said Moses should tell the Israelite ancestors of the Jews that his name is “I AM” (3:14). In the original Hebrew language, the name is spelled with only consonants—no vowels. It’s an ancient shorthand, to save hides used to make scrolls. The name is YHWH. Without knowing which vowels, most scholars have settled on YAHWEH, pronounced YAH-way. For those freaky enough to wonder if it’s possible that God might have the name of YAHWHO, no. Hebrew linguist Dr. Joseph Coleson, Old Testament professor emeritus at Nazarene Theological Seminary, said, “No Semitic language ever would allow all three root letters [HWH] to occur in succession together, in any form of any root, without vowels to break them up.” God’s name is so sacred to many Jews that they refuse to speak it. Instead, they’ll use names that describe the character of God, such as Adonai, which means “my Lord.” They won’t even write the name. In English, they’ll spell the name G-d.

Many Bibles say “Red Sea.” But the Hebrew words are yam suph, “sea reeds.” Moses and the Hebrew refugees escaped through a path God made in this body of water. Scholars usually track Moses and the Hebrews escaping Egypt by walking southeast, out of the Nile Delta fields and toward the Red Sea and the Sinai Peninsula. They would have passed through lake regions along what is now the Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. These lakes and ponds reportedly had reeds growing along the banks, like the ones the Bible says grew along the Nile River and helped anchor Baby Moses in a basket (Exodus 2:3).

Numbers 32 reports their story.

The irony is that the spies are demanding that Rahab do what they couldn’t: keep a secret. Rookie spies, some might say