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Heb_11:31. The example of the Gentile woman Rahab, Joshua 2; Jos_6:17; Jos_6:22 ff. Her conduct had proceeded from the recognition that the God of the Israelites is a God in heaven and upon earth, and from the confidence thereon based, that this God would lead them to victory. Comp. Jos_2:9 ff.
Ῥαὰβ ἡ πόρνη ] Comp. Jam_2:25; Clem. Rom. ad Cor. c. 12. The epithet ἡ πόρνη is to be left in its literal sense. To interpret it, with Jac. Cappellus, Valckenaer, Heinrichs, and others, after the precedent of the Chaldee paraphrase and the Arabian version, by the hostess, or, with Hofmann, the harlots’ hostess, or, with Braun and others, the heathen woman, or finally, with Koppe (in Heinrichs) and others, the idolatress, is arbitrary. The designation of Rahab as ἡ πόρνη is an historic characterization, in accordance with Jos_2:2; Jos_6:17 ff., and without any ground of offence. For it has already been rightly observed by Calvin: “hoc (epitheton) ad anteactam vitam referri certum est; resipiscentiae enim testis est fides.” Comp. further, Mat_21:31-32.
τοῖς ἀπειθήσασιν ] the inhabitants of Jericho. They had shown themselves disobedient, because they had resisted the people of God (Jos_6:1), although not to them either had the mighty deeds of this God remained unknown (Jos_2:10).
δεξαμένη τοὺς κατασκόπους μετʼ εἰρήνης ] seeing she had received the spies with peace, i.e. without practising acts of hostility towards them, to which she might have been incited by reason of their nationality.