Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

JOSHUA 2:15KJV
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Joshua 2:15 (KJV)

What does Joshua 2:15 mean?

Joshua 2:15 describes how Rahab helped the Israelite spies escape from Jericho by letting them down through a window with a cord, because her house was built into the city wall. This verse explains the practical way Rahab enabled their escape and why it was possible for her to do so.

Rahab, a resident of Jericho, is secretly aiding two Israelite spies who are hiding from the city’s authorities. The verse points out that her house was actually part of the city’s outer wall, which made it possible for her to lower the men directly outside the city without being seen. This detail sets up the escape and shows Rahab’s resourcefulness and risk.

The Hebrew behind Joshua 2:15

  • "cord" (חֶבֶל, ḥevel): This word means a rope or cord, emphasizing that Rahab used a simple but strong tool to lower the spies. It highlights the practical, physical means of escape.
  • "wall" (חוֹמָה, ḥomah): This word is used twice in the verse, stressing that Rahab’s house was not just near the wall but actually built into it. This detail explains how the escape was possible and is important for understanding the layout of ancient Jericho.

Why Joshua 2:15 matters

  • Joshua 2:15 clarifies how Rahab was able to help the spies escape undetected, showing her unique position and the physical structure of Jericho’s walls.
  • The verse connects to the larger story by showing Rahab’s active role in protecting the spies, which later leads to her and her family’s rescue.
  • Understanding that Rahab’s house was part of the city wall helps make sense of later events in Joshua, especially when the walls of Jericho fall but Rahab’s household is spared.

Where else these words appear

“through” Hebrew H1157 · used in 19 verses

  • Genesis 20:7 Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.
  • 1 Samuel 1:6 And her adversary also provoked her sore, for to make her fret, because the LORD had shut up her womb.
  • Proverbs 6:26 For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

“window” Hebrew H2474 · used in 27 verses

  • Genesis 8:6 And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
  • 2 Kings 9:30 And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.
  • Ezekiel 40:22 And their windows, and their arches, and their palm trees, were after the measure of the gate that looketh toward the east; and they went up unto it by seven steps; and the arches thereof were before them.

“cord” Hebrew H2256 · used in 58 verses

  • Deuteronomy 3:4 And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
  • Job 21:17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.
  • Isaiah 66:7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

“town” Hebrew H7023 · used in 64 verses

  • Exodus 30:3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
  • 1 Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.
  • Ezekiel 8:10 So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about.