Person Old and New Testament
Rahab
Also known as Rahab =ESV, NIV; Rachab =KJV
Rahab, a Canaanite woman from Jericho, hid the Israelite spies and was spared during the city's destruction. Mentioned in 8 verses across 4 books, first at Joshua 2:1.
Why it matters. A Canaanite woman who helped the Israelite spies in Jericho
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Rahab
Rahab was a Canaanite woman who lived in Jericho at the time of the Israelites' conquest of the Promised Land (Jos.2.1). She is described as a prostitute who provided lodging for the two Israelite spies sent by Joshua to survey the city. When the king of Jericho ordered Rahab to hand over the spies, she hid them on her roof and misdirected the king's men (Jos.2.3-7). Rahab acknowledged the God of Israel and asked for protection for herself and her family when the city would be taken (Jos.2.8-13). The spies agreed to spare her if she would tie a scarlet cord in her window (Jos.2.14-21). During the conquest of Jericho, Rahab and her family were saved as promised (Jos.6.17, 23, 25). Rahab's faith and actions are commended in the New Testament (Heb.11.31; Jam 2.25). She is also mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, indicating that she married Salmon and became an ancestor of King David and Jesus Christ (Mat.1.5).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 8 verses across 4 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.