Joshua 2:8-14

"And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof; and she said unto them, I know that Jehovah hath given you the land, and that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon, and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you will also deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a true token; and that ye will save alive, my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death. And the men said unto her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee."

This passage is one of the most significant in the Bible. It bears eloquent testimony to the universality of the knowledge of those great miracles that led to the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and of the near-panic that swept over the world in the wake of those tremendous Acts of God! Naturally, unbelieving enemies of God's Word vent their hatred of a passage like this. Holmes said: "No greater anachronism can be found than the one here, where a Canaanite heathen is made to utter a monotheism worthy of Amos."[20] It is not that, however, that so upsets Holmes; it is the testimony of this woman to the genuine nature of the Red Sea Miracle! That is what requires unbelieving critics to bring forth every device in their arsenal to try and get rid of it, but here it is. There is no textual evidence against this testimony! It is the truth of God. Nothing but the literal truth of the Red Sea miracle could have inspired such words as Rahab spoke here.[21] "This pagan prostitute is the first one to recite saving history in this book!"[22] (See Exodus 15:15-17. Also, see special discussion of the Reed Sea or the Red Sea in Vol. 2 of this series (Exodus), pp. 177-179.)

"Swear unto me by Jehovah ..." "The words here refer to an unwritten promised agreement, as distinguished from a written covenant,"[23] but it was of a kind that both parties accepted as absolutely valid and binding upon them both.

The two spies did attach one condition to their promise, that being, that under no circumstance would the woman betray their mission (Joshua 2:14). Also, there was the agreement that the identity of Rahab's house would be indicated by the red cord.