In early June, I taught the last of my series, “Nine Women of the Bible, as You Never Knew Them.” Based on my nine Biblical novels, we had some lively discussions and several gals did some research on their own. There is so much more to these women than the brief mention they receive in the Scriptures. I believe the Scriptures are infallible, and don’t argue that point, but in many cases, they give us only a thumbnail sketch of the incident. Take the last woman, Rahab. She is supposedly a Canaanite and a prostitute. However the word used for prostitute can also be used for widow. Hmmm…Why did she live in a very prominent home in the wall of Jericho? If she had a large family (they came to her for protection) why in the world did she become a prostitute? That was usually the only option for a woman completely destitute of resources or family. Why did the soldiers stand politely at her door and ask her to send out the spies to them? If she was just a prostitute, they would have burst in and searched her house!
Was it an Egyptian embassy? Questions brought more questions. She was rescued and married Salmon of the princely house of Ephraim and became a great-grandmother to King David.
In Deuteronomy, 7:1-3 one of the seven pagan nations God forbids the Israelites to intermarry with, are the Canaanites! God never rescinded that edit! Jesus carried the blood of the Father, and God was careful to keep the Messianic line pure. I believe, and it is my opinion, from the Scriptures, that Rahab was in the lineage of Ephraim through Ephraim’s daughter, Sheerah, who became a great priestess in Canaan, as the daughter of Ephraim’s son, Beriah. Other descendants of Ephraim included Nun, the father of Joshua. So many threads intertwined!
Research is never tedious; you never know what you will uncover! Ultimately the answers are in the Scriptures themselves. A last thought, the poetic meaning of Rahab is “remembering Egypt” their heritage through Joseph and the Princess of On. Why would a Canaanite mother name her daughter after the nation that were their overlords and to who they had to pay an annual tribute? Hmmmm…
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