In the ancient city of Jericho, where high walls towered like sentinels against the horizon, the air was thick with tension. The land had been promised to the Israelites, and their leader, Joshua, had sent two spies to assess the formidable city. As they slipped through the gates, cloaked in the shadows of night, they sought refuge in an unlikely place—the home of Rahab.

Rahab was a woman marked by her past, known in the city as a harlot. Yet beneath the weight of her title lay a heart brimming with courage. When the king of Jericho learned of the spies’ presence, he dispatched soldiers to seize them. Rahab, with a fierce resolve, made a fateful decision. Instead of turning the intruders over to the authorities, she hid them on her roof beneath stalks of flax, a bold act of defiance against her own people.

As the soldiers pounded at her door, demanding the strangers be handed over, Rahab's mind raced with the implications of her choice. She could hear the urgency in their voices, the threats that followed, but her heart was steadfast. When she finally opened the door, she spun a tale of deceit, telling the soldiers that the spies had already fled the city. With a quick motion, she pointed them in the opposite direction, buying precious time.

Once the coast was clear, Rahab climbed to the roof and spoke to the spies. “I know that the Lord has given you this land,” she declared, her voice steady despite the danger surrounding them. “Our hearts melted in fear when we heard of your God—how He dried up the Red Sea before you and how you defeated the kings of the Amorites.” In that moment, she revealed not only her faith but also her understanding of the power of the God of Israel.

The spies were astonished by Rahab’s courage and conviction. In exchange for her help, they promised to spare her life and the lives of her family when the Israelites conquered Jericho. They instructed her to tie a scarlet cord in her window, a symbol of her faith and a sign of protection.

The story where the Israelites, following God's instructions, march around Jericho for six days. On the seventh day, they circle the city seven times, and when they blow their trumpets, the walls of Jericho collapse. However, because of Rahab's faith and the scarlet cord, she and her family are spared from destruction. Rahab is later integrated into the community of Israelites, and her story is celebrated for her faith and bravery.

In the first chapter of the book of Matthew, she was mentioned as on of the ancestors of Jesus Christ.