Bible Character Explorer
Conquest of Canaan • c. 15th-13th century BC
Rahab
Faith of a ForeignerThe Canaanite woman whose faith in Israel's God placed her in the lineage of the Messiah
"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."
Hebrews 11:31 (KJV)
Overview
Rahab was a Canaanite woman living in Jericho who hid the Israelite spies sent by Joshua, protecting them because she had heard of the Lord's mighty works and believed he was God in heaven above and earth beneath. Her faith secured deliverance for her entire household when Jericho fell, and she went on to marry into Israel, becoming an ancestor of David and, ultimately, of Jesus Christ.
Gospel Connection
Rahab's story is a vivid picture of salvation by grace through faith extended to an outsider. She had no claim on God's covenant by birth, yet her faith in what she had heard about him secured deliverance for her entire household, marked by a scarlet cord, a striking foreshadowing of salvation secured by the blood of Christ. Her place in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 shows that the Messiah's lineage itself testifies to God's redemptive plan reaching beyond Israel to embrace all who believe, Jew and Gentile alike, exactly as the gospel would later be preached to the whole world.
Discover More
See how this life points to Christ in the Gospel Connection section above.