Rahab רחב
the woman of the house in the wall of Jericho who hid the spies; the scarlet cord in the window
Joshua sent two men to look over Jericho. They came into the house of Rahab, which stood in the city wall. The king was told; men came demanding they be handed over. She hid the spies on the roof under stalks of flax laid out there and said: they were here but they left, go after them — and the pursuit went the wrong way.
Then she went up to the roof and made them a speech that stands apart in the book of Joshua: I know the LORD has given you this land, for the dread of you has fallen on us and all the inhabitants of the land have melted away; we heard how He dried up the waters of the Sea of Reeds. And then a request: as I have dealt kindly with you, so deal with my father's house.
The condition was simple: tie a scarlet cord in the window she let them down from by a rope, and gather all her family into the house. So it was done; when the city was taken her house was spared, and "she dwelt among Israel to this day."
The Talmud (Megillah 14b) continues: Rahab converted and married Joshua himself, and prophets of priestly descent came from her, among them Jeremiah.
On the timeline
Sources
Tanakh
- Yehoshua 2:1–7 — the spies on the roof under the stalks of flax
- Yehoshua 2:8–21 — Rachav's speech and the scarlet cord in the window
- Yehoshua 6:22–25 — her house spared at the taking of the city
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Megillah 14b — she converted; prophets descended from her
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.