“And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way. And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee” (Joshua 2:16-18).

The Meaning of Rahab’s Cord

In the conquest narrative of the Book of Joshua, the first obstacle that the Israelites faced after crossing the Jordan was the walled city of Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into the city, where they were hidden by Rahab. She let them down through a window by a cord. Then the spies gave her a scarlet thread to hang in the window to mark her house and save her during the coming destruction. Everyone inside the house marked by that thread would be spared God’s coming judgment on the Canaanites.  

The thread in the window is in Hebrew “tikvah.” The word first appears here in Joshua 2. Linguistically and contextually, the word has to mean thread. Especially when you compare it to languages close to Hebrew, such as Arabic or Aramaic, where we find similar words with related meanings. It means something twisted together, such as the spun scarlet thread in Joshua 2. However, after this story, and throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible tikvah means something different. Every subsequent time that the word is used it means hope. Why this is can be debated, but one theory is that Rahab’s story of hope had such a profound effect on the Israelites that it caused the word to change meaning. 

Jericho is in a hot climate, and in ancient times, the houses were small. As Rahab and her family sat in her house, cramped together for seven days, they could look at the window and see her personal promise of hope. Then, as the walls fell, the Israelites swarmed the city, and destruction came to Jericho; that hope kept them safe from harm. Joshua, as an Old Testament type of Christ, honored his word and sent the spies to Rahab’s house again, and they brought her to safety.  

The Message from Rahab’s Cord

Christian, as things get worse, we can be certain that God’s judgment is near. However, we do not need to fear the wrath of God. Instead, we have faith in the scarlet hope of mankind, our tikvah, which is the blood of Christ. Do not fear the state of the world, or the destruction which is coming, but have hope in Him. Joshua 2 tells us that anyone whom she brought home to her house, the one marked by tikvah was saved. Christian, are you busy bringing people home to Christ’s hope? Are you busy telling your loved ones that they can be saved?  

If you do not have tikvah, if you are not saved, your life is not marked by hope. You should know that Rahab was a prostitute, yet God used her to show the world His grace. After the battle of Jericho, she married and had a little boy whom she named Boaz. Her boy grew up and later in life married the Moabite widow Ruth. Through him, the Canaanite prostitute Rahab became one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). Whatever you have done, I assure you that the tikvah of Christ will cover your sins. I urge you to follow Rahab’s example and give yourself to God. He will bind your soul with the scarlet hope of Christ, and you will be safe in the day of judgment.  

“For thou art my hope, (my tikvah!) O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5).

The ruins of ancient Jericho with the Mount of Temptation in the background. As the name implies, many believe this is where Jesus was tempted by Satan. Additionally, it is the mountain where the Israelite spies hid out for three days.

About John Buckner

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