Yehoshua 2: Total Recall

The second chapter of Yehoshua is the perfect example of the books of the Prophets referencing stories in the Torah. These references show both contrasts and connections between the well-known stories in the Torah, and the current ones being played out. Three examples in Chapter 2.The chapter begins with Yehoshua sending two spies to Jericho. It is no coincidence that Yehoshua’s first act as leader of the people is sending two spies. Yehoshua was one of the original 12 spies sent to the land of Canaan in Numbers. This time, Yehoshua himself orders the spies be sent. In the Torah, it seems as if the people had made the request and God and/or Moshe reluctantly agreed.Yehoshua also makes sure to send only two spies for a very specific mission in one location. Perhaps this is an indication that the original spies with their grandiose mission was doomed from the onset. The success of this mission is also an indication that Yehoshua is trying to right the wrongs of the past. He may also realize that the people will be calmer with a successful mission.The two spies encounter Rahav, an innkeeper/prostitute. She hides them on her roof when the king of Jericho comes looking for them. This story evokes the story of the two angels who came to visit Lot in Genesis. In that story, Lot tries to confront the angry mob by offering his own daughters to save the guests. In the end, the two angels must save Lot and his family—telling them to flee to the mountainside while Sodom is destroyed. Here, Rahav is the one who saves the two visitors. She artfully distracts the local guard and tells the two men to run to the hills to safety. Rahav takes the place of the angels in this flipped story. Perhaps the message here is that in the books of the Prophets, God does not always act in an outward manner. Help may not come from obvious angels, but from the most unlikely places.Rahav also tells the spies that she believes in God because she has heard all about the wonders God performed on behalf of the Israelites including “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the waters of the Sea of Suf before you, when you came out of Miżrayim” (verse 10).כִּי שָׁמַעְנוּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר־הוֹבִישׁ ה׳ אֶת־מֵי יַם־סוּף מִפְּנֵיכֶם בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם(Joshua 2:10)This recalls another foreigner who favored the Israelites because of what he heard about Egypt: “Jethro priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, God’s people, how God had brought Israel out from Egypt” (Exodus 18:1).וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה אֱלֹהִים לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַמּוֹ כִּי־הוֹצִיא ה׳ אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם(Exodus 18:1)The text specifically links Rahav to Yitro to signal that she is a true believer in God and is to be trusted. These three examples show that the books of the Prophets are carefully written with the previous books of the Torah in mind as a way to convey a deeper message or evoke a specific feeling about a character.