A Lineage of Grace: Rahab Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jericho

Jericho is situated on the plain of the Jordan Valley at the foot of the Judean Mountains. It is about 800ft (244m) below sea level so has a tropical climate which at times can be very hot. Although only a few inches of rainfall are recorded each year, Jericho is an oasis known as "the city of palms" (Judges 3:13). There have been three different Jerichos throughout the city's history. The Old Testament Jericho in which Rahab lived was situated close to the present-day village of er-Riha which is modern Jericho, about 17 miles (27km) north east of Jerusalem.

Information taken from Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary.

Answer: Prostitute

Rahab indeed practised the "oldest profession" (Joshua 2:1). Going to a prostitute's house was possibly not the spies' (who one imagines would have been good "men of God") idea of a good place to be! However Rahab's house would have been a place where all kinds of men would come and go, so the spies would have looked less suspicious.

Answer: That the men had left the city at dusk

Rahab was astute enough to realise that the Israelites would invade and triumph over Jericho (Joshua 2:8-11) so she set out to protect the spies in whatever way she could. Her lie that the men had left the city was obviously convincing enough for the king's men not to search the house. If they hadn't believed her, though, and had searched and found the spies, Rahab would surely have been facing death for treason.

It must have taken her some courage to hide the spies!

Answer: On the roof

Rahab had taken the spies up on to the roof of her house and hidden them under some flax stalks which she had drying there (Joshua 2:6). She would have been drying the flax to make into yarn to weave into linen cloth.

Answer: To spare her family's lives

Rahab had probably not helped the spies out of the goodness of her heart, but because she was afraid of the Israelites and recognised that they had a powerful God (Joshua 2:9-11). In Joshua 2:12-13, she asked the spies to save her life and the lives of her family members in return for the protection that she had given to the spies.

The spies promised that, if she kept their visit a secret, they would indeed spare Rahab and her family when Israel finally invaded Jericho.

Answer: Lowered them out of the window with a rope

Rahab's house was in the walls of the city, so lowering the spies out of the window was presumably the best option for them to escape. They left under cover of darkness after the city gates had been closed. (Joshua 2:15).

Answer: A scarlet rope

The spies asked Rahab to use the scarlet rope with which she was to lower them out of the window as a sign of the agreement which she and they had made with each other. If the rope wasn't in the window when the Israelites came to conquer Jericho, the spies would know that Rahab had reneged on her promise and she and her family would die with the rest of the city's inhabitants. (Joshua 2:17-18).

Answer: To a location outside the Israelite camp

Rahab and her entire family were saved from destruction because of her courageous actions and the promise of the spies. As the family weren't Israelites, they wouldn't have been following the Jewish laws of cleanliness and purity so would not be permitted to enter the Jewish camp until they had been purified.

They were therefore taken to a place outside the main Jewish camp (Joshua 6:23).

Answer: Salmon

We learn from the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1 that Salmon was Rahab's husband (verse 5).

Answer: Boaz

The son that Rahab and Salmon had was Boaz, who later went on to marry Ruth. Rahab was therefore Ruth's second mother-in-law, although we don't know if Rahab was still alive by the time Ruth came to Bethlehem.