Purpose of the Spies in Yehoshua 2/2

Purpose of the Spies in Yehoshua 2

Exegetical Approaches

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Morale Boosting Mission

The spies were sent to gauge the morale of the Canaanites, and thereby boost the confidence of the novice Israelite fighting force.

Sources:RalbagYehoshua 2:1Yehoshua 2:14Yehoshua 2:17About R. Levi b. Gershom #2 ,¹

"וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ... מְרַגְּלִים חֶרֶשׁ" – Ralbag explains that the word "חֶרֶשׁ" relates to thought,² rather than secrecy³ and suggests that the phrase reveals the purpose of the mission: Yehoshua sent two men to evaluate the thoughts of the people.

Biblical parallels – Ralbag compares the mission to Gidon's visit to the Midianite camp in Shofetim 7, whose sole purpose was also to instill confidence and not to gather information for battle.

The spies' report – As proof that the mission was to appraise morale, Ralbag points to the fact that the spies' report focused exclusively on the fear of the Canaanites and did not include any military data.

Report to Yehoshua alone – If the mission's purpose was to encourage the nation, it is surprising that the spies reported back to Yehoshua alone and not to the whole nation. Ralbag might respond that Yehoshua had learned from the debacle of Moshe's spies not to chance a negative report, and that despite the text's silence, after the secret debriefing the findings were made public.

Why visit Rachav, a prostitute? The choice might have been a practical one as a brothel allowed visitors to maintain their anonymity.⁴   Moreover, it had significant occupant turnover which would make Rachav a good source of information regarding the nation's feelings towards the Israelites.

Why sleep over? It is not clear why the spies would think it worthwhile to risk their lives by spending the night in Yericho just to appraise the morale of the people.  It is possible that Rachav did not open her home to visitors until after dark, but surely they could have gathered information from a different source earlier in the day when there was no chance of being trapped in the city!

Purpose of red cord – Ralbag maintains that the cord was a response to Rachav's request for an "אוֹת אֱמֶת" (a true sign).  It served as an indicator of Rachav's abode so that the Israelites would be able to spare her during the Israelite invasion. 

How would the invading army see the cord? Ralbag likely assumes that the spies were not yet aware that the city was to be conquered miraculously and thus had no reason to think that the house and cord might no longer be around when they invaded. Nonetheless, it is still difficult to understand why the spies thought that such a cord would have been visible to soldiers inside the city, if it were hung out the exterior window in the city's walls.⁵

Conditions of secrecy – Ralbag explains that the spies made Rachav swear not to reveal the pact to ensure that no other residents of Yericho sought refuge in Rachav's home, passing themselves off as relatives.  Since Hashem had commanded to totally destroy the Canaanites, they did not want to be tricked into saving any non-family members.

Success of mission – The spies returned successfully, equipped with the information they were meant to gather.

Military Mission

The spies' mission was military in nature, meant to determine how to best conquer Yericho.

Sources:JosephusJosephus Antiquities of the Jews 5:1:1, RalbagRalbag Yehoshua 2:1

"וַיִּשְׁלַח יְהוֹשֻׁעַ... מְרַגְּלִים חֶרֶשׁ" – According to this approach, "חֶרֶש" means "in secret". Yehoshua sent the spies covertly, as would be expected in a military reconnaissance mission.

Why was military intelligence necessary? If Hashem had promised Yehoshua victory and was planning on conquering Yericho via a miracle, gathering strategic information about the city would seem to be unnecessary.  This position would respond that, though the reader knows the end of the story, Yehoshua was not yet privy to that information, as Hashem first reveals His plans to tumble the walls in chapter 6.  Thus, knowing the challenge posed by Yericho's walls,⁶ Yehoshua did not rely on miracles but rather investigated how he might invade the city.

Biblical parallels – Yehoshua is not unique in sending spies before a military invasion.  Moshe does the same in Bemidbar 21:32 and Yehoshua repeats the action before fighting the Ai.⁷

No mention of military espionage – The chapter never describes the spies checking the city's fortifications or amassing any other military information. This position could explain the absence in several ways:

• Failed mission – The spies actually failed in their mission.  Due to the king's suspicions, they were forced to leave the city before they had collected the necessary data.
• Assumed success –Though the facts are not recorded, the spies did in fact investigate the city.⁸  It is common in Tanakh for the text to omit certain details and have the reader simply assume them.⁹  In this particular case, it is possible that Tanakh did not deem the particular findings important since Hashem's miraculous destruction of the city made them superfluous.
• Recorded success – Alternatively, the spies' encounter with Rachav was central to their mission and this is why the text records it at length. See below for elaboration on this possibility.

Why visit Rachav, a prostitute?

• Pragmatic – These sources could suggest, as above, that the men hoped that staying at a brothel would allow them to remain inconspicuous and undetected. 
• Strategic – Alternatively, the choice had less to do with Rachav's profession and more with the strategic location of her home.  Her house was built within the actual walls of the city, with a window to the outside.  As such, Rachav’s home afforded a perfect place for an Israelite commando force to penetrate the walls of Yericho. The spies' stay by Rachav was not serendipitous, but part of a calculated plan to find an entry point into the city.

Why sleep over? If the spies wanted to obtain Rachav’s assistance in invading the city, and convince her to agree to be a fifth column,¹⁰ it was logical to wait for the privacy of the dead of the night to seal the deal.¹¹

Purpose of red cord – The rope was intended to designate Rachav’s house and the spot where the soldiers would scale the wall and enter through her window. It therefore needed to be placed outside the city so that the Israelites on the outside could locate it.¹²

Conditions of secrecy – The spies' insistence on not revealing the pact is obvious.  Had Rachav decided to act as a double agent and reveal their plan to the king, the Israelites would fail to enter the city and incur heavy losses in the attempt.

¹ Ralbag raises two different readings of the verses.  See below for his understanding that the spies mission was military in nature.

² As evidence for this meaning, he points to Mishlei 3:29 and 6:18.

³ Since the mission was not mean to reveal classified information, there was less need for secrecy.

⁴ See Ibn Kaspi who speaks of the spies' desire to remain inconspicuous.

⁵ This might be what prompts the Vilna Gaon to suggest that Rachav in fact had two homes, one built into the wall, and one located only near the wall. Though the latter fell during the miraculous conquest, the outer home remained intact.  According to this theory, Rachav hung the rope out of a window in the house near the wall, while the spies exited through the window of the home in the wall. This, however, directly contradicts Yehoshua 2:18 which states that the windows were one and the same.

⁶ Walled cities were one of the main advantages held by the Canaanites.  The Israelites would want to avoid a protracted siege, which might last for years, depleting both resources and morale.  Even if the Israelites ultimately prevailed the price might have been defeat in the larger war against Canaan.

⁷ The spies' report regarding the size of the necessary fighting force clearly shows that their mission was military in nature.

⁸ See Josephus who asserts that before making their way to Rachav, the spies had already explored the walls of the city, discovering which sections were weak and which were strong.

⁹ See, for example, the description of Moshe's spies in Bemidbar 13.   All the text shares from their forty day mission is that they saw giants and collected fruit.

¹⁰ A parallel case of asking an insider for help in gaining access to a city is found in Shofetim 1:23-25.  There the tribes of Yosef, ought help from one of the residents of the city. That resident assisted their entry into the city, and in return, was saved along with all of his family

¹¹ The cover of night provided both privacy to converse and the ability to more easily dispose of Rachav should she resist their solicitations.

¹² In contrast to Ralbag's reading above, this position asserts that the red cord was an initiative of the spies, not Rachav.  It would understand Rachav's request for an "אוֹת אֱמֶת" as a request for a sign of good faith, not for a concrete object.