Josue 2:18
If when we come into the land, this scarlet cord be a sign, and thou tie it in the window, by which thou hast let us down: and gather together thy father and mother, and brethren and all thy kindred into thy house.
Open Josue 2:18 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →In the palace
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- si ingredientibus nobis terram, signum fuerit funiculus iste coccineus, et ligaveris eum in fenestra, per quam demisisti nos : et patrem tuum ac matrem, fratresque et omnem cognationem tuam congregaveris in domum tuam.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- ἰδοὺ ἡμεῖς εἰσπορευόμεθα εἰς μέρος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ θήσεις τὸ σημεῖον, τὸ σπαρτίον τὸ κόκκινον τοῦτο ἐκδήσεις εἰς τὴν θυρίδα δι᾽ ἧς κατεβίβασας ἡμᾶς δι᾽ αὐτῆς, τὸν δὲ πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου καὶ πάντα τὸν οἶκον τοῦ πατρός σου συνάξεις πρὸς σεαυτὴν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν σου.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- הִנֵּ֛ה אֲנַ֥חְנוּ בָאִ֖ים בָּאָ֑רֶץ אֶת תִּקְוַ֡ת חוּט֩ הַשָּׁנִ֨י הַזֶּ֜ה תִּקְשְׁרִ֗י בַּֽחַלּוֹן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הוֹרַדְתֵּ֣נוּ ב֔וֹ וְאֶת אָבִ֨יךְ וְאֶת אִמֵּ֜ךְ וְאֶת אַחַ֗יִךְ וְאֵת֙ כָּל בֵּ֣ית אָבִ֔יךְ תַּאַסְפִ֥י אֵלַ֖יִךְ הַבָּֽיְתָה
Haydock's commentary
By which window or cord. (Calmet)
The cord was left as a signal. (Menochius)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Cyprian The Epistles of Cyprian, Epistle LXXV
4. For the faith of the sacred Scripture sets forth that the Church is not without, nor can be separated nor divided against itself, but maintains the unity of an inseparable and undivided house; since it is written of the sacrament of the passover, and of the lamb, which Lamb designated Christ: “In one house shall it be eaten: ye shall not carry forth the flesh abroad out of the house.” Which also we see expressed concerning Rahab, who herself also bore a type of the Church, who received the command which said, “Thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household unto thee into thine house; and whosoever shall go out of the doors of thine house into the street, his blood shall be upon him.” In which mystery is declared, that they who will live, and escape from the destruction of the world, must be gathered together into one house alone, that is, …
St Jerome The Letters of St. Jerome, To Nepotian
Even the very name Abishag in its mystic meaning points to the greater wisdom of old men. For the translation of it is, “My father is over and above,” or “my father’s roaring.” The term “over and above” is obscure, but in this passage is indicative of excellence, and implies that the old have a larger stock of wisdom, and that it even overflows by reason of its abundance. In another passage “over and above” forms an antithesis to “necessary.” Moreover, Abishag, that is, “roaring,” is properly used of the sound which the waves make, and of the murmur which we hear coming from the sea. From which it is plain that the thunder of the divine voice dwells in old men’s ears with a volume of sound beyond the voices of men. Again, in our tongue Shunamite means “scarlet,” a hint that the love of wisdom becomes warm and glowing through religious study. …
St Ambrose Exposition of the Christian Faith, Chapter X. The Arians openly take sides with the heathen in attacking the words: “He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me,” etc. The true meaning of the passage is unfolded; and to prevent us from believing that the Lord forbade us to have faith in Him, it is shown how He spoke at one time as God, at another as Man. After bringing forward examples of various results of that faith, he shows that certain other passages also must be taken in the same way
127. A harlot saw this; and she who in the destruction of the city lost all hope of any means of safety, because her faith had conquered, bound a scarlet thread in her window, and thus uplifted a sign of her faith and the banner of the Lord’s Passion; so that the semblance of the mystic blood, which should redeem the world, might be in memory. So, without, the name of Joshua was a sign of victory to those who fought; within, the semblance of the Lord’s Passion was a sign of salvation to those in danger. Wherefore, because Rahab understood the heavenly mystery, the Lord says in the Psalm: “I will be mindful of Rahab and Babylon that know Me.”