Facts About Rahab: Are They True or False? Quiz

Answer: False

There is no indication in Scripture about Rahab's ancestral line. It is almost a foregone conclusion her father, grandfather and her great-grandfather were not Israelites as she lived in Canaan. According to Scripture, Canaan was given by the LORD to the Israelites after they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years after staging a mass exodus out of Egypt.

The Israelites had been in Egypt for 430 years, as per Exodus 12:40-41.

Answer: True

It might come as a surprise to some, but according to the genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1:5, Rahab is listed as the mother of Boaz. Boaz, of course, married Ruth. Matthew 1:5 states Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.

Answer: True

According to Matthew 1:5-6, Rahab was the great-great grandmother of David. The verses state Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, and go on to state Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David.

Answer: False

False. As per Joshua 2:1, Rahab lived in Jericho, which was in Canaan. According to Wikipedia, Jericho is situated well below sea level and is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. Wikipedia also reports Jericho is about 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of the Dead Sea.

Answer: False

Bit of a trick question here. While Rahab provided safe haven to Israelite spies, the correct answer has to be false. In other words, she provided safe haven to two spies, not four. Joshua 2:1, in the NIV Bible, states: "Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. 'Go, look over the land,' he said, 'especially Jericho.' So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there."

Answer: True

Scripture states the king of Jericho received word Rahab was harboring Israelite spies. However, when the king sent emissaries to her house, they didn't find any evidence of the spies.

Joshua 2:4-6, tells of Rahab responding to the king's representatives: "'Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don't know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.' (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut."

Answer: False

To the contrary, Rahab and every member of her family who were in her house were spared by the Israelites.

Joshua 6:22-25, in the NIV Bible states: "Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, 'Go into the prostitute's house and bring her out and all who belong to her, in accordance with your oath to her.' So the young men who had done the spying went in and brought out Rahab, her father and mother, her brothers and sisters and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and put them in a place outside the camp of Israel. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD's house. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho -- and she lives among the Israelites to this day."

Answer: False

Bit of a trick question here. While Rahab's name appears in the genealogy in Matthew, it doesn't appear in the genealogy in Luke. Luke's genealogy makes mention, of course, of Rahab's husband Salmon and their son Boaz.

Answer: True

True. Rahab is commended for her faith in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. The chapter provides names of prominent Old Testament people who are cited for their faith, including Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David.

Hebrews 11:31 states: "By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient."

Answer: True

Yes, according to James 2:25, Rahab is "considered righteous."

To put the verse in context, here's how James 2-18-26, reads in the NIV Bible "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that -- and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,' and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."