Was Rahab a prostitute? She certainly didn’t act like one. She had a good relationship with her family. Her town hadn’t cast her out. Later, she married Salmon of the Tribe of Judah, odd for a respectable man to marry a tainted, fallen prostitute. If her profession is prostitution, why does she store flax on her roof? Rahab was prosperous. She had no reason to risk exposure to deadly venereal diseases, leprosy, fleas, crabs, sadists, being shunned, etc. It just doesn’t add up.
Given the long history of church authorities turning biblical women into prostitutes, there is a reasonable case for doubt. Joshua 2:1 describes Rahab as a zonah, which today many translate as “prostitute.” However, in the ancient world, zonah meant innkeeper.
One possible root of the word is זנ, ZN. According to Strong’s: “nz (זנ ZN) AC: Harvest CO: Mattock AB: ?: The pictograph z is a picture of an agricultural cutting implement such as the mattock or hoe. The n is a picture of a seed. Combined these mean “mattock of the seed”. One of the many agricultural tools was a hoe or mattock. This implement had a wide blade for cutting a plant stalks at the roots. The crops were harvested for a supply of foods, which were stored in jars.”
Perhaps Rahab’s vocation was based on harvesting flax and other crops for a living. The location of her house, part of the city walls, would have given her easy access to her fields and allowed her to rent out rooms to travelers to make some extra money.
Other Hebrew dictionaries give further definitions of this word: provisions, food, and space. Rahab’s house could have been a warehouse for flax fiber or foodstuffs for the townspeople. The ancient world had a strong demand for flax, which provided food, oil, and linen. Rahab was aware of news from far off, indicating she was involved in trade. The Inclusive Bible’s note on Joshua 2:8-10 says: “The flax on her roof and the scarlet cord (v17) make it likely that she manufactured and dyed linen…Jericho was an important trading crossroads between Phoenicia, Babylon, and Egypt, which is how Rahab knew the facts of the exodus, the passage through the Sea of Reeds, and the overthrow of Sihon and Og.”
Much has been made of the symbolic meaning of the scarlet cord, but in this context, it’s a valuable item for trade. Scarlet cloth was worn by priests, the upper classes, to dress the temple, and it commanded a higher price than other fabrics. It would be strange for someone to hang costly scarlet thread in their window and expose it to the elements. The brightly colored and valuable cord would attract the attention and suspicion of the townspeople and soldiers, unless the person who hung it up was known to dye thread and hang it up to dry as part of their trade.
One strand of the Jewish midrash (Yashi, 2.1) holds that the word zonah means “female innkeeper who provides food” and derives from two other possible roots for zonah, mazon (מָזוֹן, “food”) or zun (זוּן, “to feed”). The Inclusive Bible follows this tradition, defining the word as an innkeeper.
The New Testament Greek words for the various roles in the business of sex trafficking are based on the stem porne, which means “to dispose of as merchandise.” But the Old Testament Hebrew word for the business of sex trafficking doesn’t have the same type of etymological roots that tie it to prostitution. The meaning likely evolved due to its cultural association with inns as places of ill repute. Since inns were places where illicit activity took place, over time, the word which originally meant “female innkeeper” took on the meaning of prostitution.
Rahab’s story is ancient. Many scholars date it to 1400 BC. It is probable that the original meaning of the word zonah, rather than the later culturally evolved meaning, is accurate here. 1,500 years later, the 1st-century Jewish historian Josephus describes Rahab as an innkeeper rather than a prostitute in Antiquities of the Jews, Book V, Chapter 1.2.
People have often taken liberties with their translations of Rahab’s story. In verse 6, the Inclusive Bible, says the flax was “stored on her roof” rather than “flax she laid out to dry on her roof.” There is no reference to her laying out the flax to dry in the original Hebrew verse. The stalks of flax are simply there. The latter translation implies that Rahab must make her living by engaging in physical labor. However, her house is a valuable commercial property, and it is unlikely she is someone threatened by poverty. Another example, the NET Bible has Rahab saying, “Yes, they were clients of mine,” in verse 4, when she simply says, “yes, they were here.”
Rahab was well off. Joshua 6:25 in the original Hebrew clarifies she has her own household. “Rahab the innkeeper, her household, and all her family were spared by Joshua.” In the original Hebrew text, it is her household that is spared, not her father’s, as many translations render this verse. In verse 18, Rahab must gather her family and bring them to her house. They don’t live with her and thus are not part of Rahab’s household. Joshua spared her family, yes, but her household is a separate entity that he also spared. Rahab has enough wealth to have a household of servants who can do manual labor for her, and she is the head of it. Rahab’s house in the city walls, in an area that is a center for commerce, would have been a strategic location to engage in trade. She even had a window to hoist goods in and out (v15.) Rahab is a savvy and successful businesswoman who, in many ways, echoes the woman of valor who is praised for her economic activity in Proverbs 31:10-31.
As the Judeo-Christian world drifted into Stoic Greek influence and control, the religious authorities likely began to be adverse to Rahab’s financially independent status. The idea that a woman could earn a living and live a respectable life outside of the control of a husband or family would have threatened the norms of the Greco-Roman ruling elite. So, they did what they often did to women who were a threat to their belief system, labeled her a whore.
Importantly, Rahab’s prosperity and financial independence did not threaten the ancient Hebrews. The culture within which the religions of Judaism and Christianity developed was different than the culture of the later Romans and Greeks. I have often heard pastors and ministers say that the women of the Old Testament couldn’t own property and were always subordinate to and dependent on men. However, where is the evidence for this? A careful examination of women’s lives in ancient Israel, both inside and outside of the Bible, shows this is not the case. Here, the Old Testament writers praise a successful, prosperous, and independent woman who was a businesswoman, property owner, and head of her household. We need to be careful not to apply our prejudices to a culture much removed from ours. Rahab, as a hardworking innkeeper, who deals in the production and trade of valuable goods such as linen, restores dignity and honor to the wife of Salmon, mother of Boaz, and a great-grandmother of Jesus.
Additional Reading:
Commentary on Joshua 2 by Adam Clarke
Meaning of the Color Scarlet in the Bible
The Scarlet Dye of the Holy Land by Zohar Amar, Hugo Gottlieb, Lucy Varshavsky, David Iluz
Stories of Rahab as Host, not Harlot (Josh 21:1-24+6:22-25) by Don C. Benjamin.
Was Rahab Really a Harlot? by Anthony J. Frendo