Purpose of the Spies in Yehoshua 2/1/en

Purpose of the Spies in Yehoshua 2

Introduction

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Why Send Spies?

Chapter 2 describes Yehoshua's dispatching of spies to Yericho, their near discovery by the king's officers, and their narrow escape with the aid of Rachav.  At first glance, it would seem that the stealth with which Yehoshua sent the spies confirms that their purpose was a covert military operation designed to discover the weak points in Yericho’s fortifications. However, if Yehoshua fought the Battle of Yericho through a Divine miracle in which the walls came tumbling down, why was such a mission necessary?  Why risk lives for superfluous military intelligence?  Moreover, the text never describes any investigation of the city's ramparts, and upon their return the spies share no strategic information.  Was their mission aborted before accomplishing its goal, or did it have a different purpose to begin with?

Interactions with Rachav

The spies' interaction with Rachav raises several question as well:

• Red light district? Why did the spies choose to go to a brothel¹ of all places?  Moreover, what did they hope to gain from spending the night there? Would it not have been more sensible to leave at dusk rather than risk being cornered and caught inside a city which locked its gates at night?
• Role of the scarlet cord – Why did the spies insist that Rachav hang a scarlet cord from her window in the wall?  If it was meant merely to identify Rachav's house, this would be of little value to invading soldiers who would be entering from inside the city and not see a cord hanging from the exterior.  In addition when the walls collapsed, what would remain of such a cord?
• Condition of secrecy – Why were the spies concerned lest Rachav reveal their pact? Was it not she who would stand to lose as she admitted to betraying her nation and abetting the enemy?  They had escaped regardless!²

¹ Not all agree that Rachav was a prostitute, though the common usage of the word "זוֹנָה" in Tanakh would support that definition. See Josephus who claims that Rachav owned a motel, and the Targum which renders זונה as פונדקאית, an Aramaic word usually used to denote an innkeeper.  Radak, however, notes that the Targum often employs פונדקאית when the original Hebrew reads "זוֹנָה", and he therefore maintains that the Targum merely intended to literally render "זוֹנָה " as a prostitute.

² See RadakYehoshua 2:14Yehoshua 6:5About R. David Kimchi who points out that the oath could not have been about revealing the spies once they left since she had already covered for them before the king's men!