Rahab

Rahab

Thomas Allen

Clergymen who claim that God does not object to interracial marriages cite Matthew 1:5 (“and Salmon begat Boaz of Rachab; . . . ”). Boaz’s mother was Rachab or Rahab in most modern translations. Then, they (erroneously) claim that Rachab the mother of Boaz is the same person as Rahab the Canaanite in Joshua 2:1, 2:3, 6:17, 6:23, and 6:25. (Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute who aided the Israelite spies to escape Jericho.) Yet, the Old Testament never states that Rahab the Canaanite ever married or had children.

Rachab who is Boaz’s mother is not the same person as Rahab the Canaanite. In Hebrews and James, Rahab the Canaanite is called Rahab the harlot. (Hebrews 11:31: “By faith Rahab the harlot perished not with them that were disobedient, having received the spies with peace.” James 2:25: “And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?”) Hebrews and James refer to Rahab the Canaanite as “the harlot” to distinguish her from Rachab the mother of Boaz. That Hebrews and James refer to Rahab the Canaanite as Rahab the harlot strongly suggests that Rachab in Matthew is not Rahab the Canaanite.

Moreover, God had forbidden the Israelites to marry Canaanites without exception. (Deuteronomy 7:1–3: [1] When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall ast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, . . . [3] neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.) No exception is made for any of these people who converted to the worship of Jehovah (Yahweh).

Furthermore, God declared that a mongrel was not to enter his congregation or assembly even to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:2). Therefore, if Salmon had begotten Boaz by Rahab the Canaanite, then Boaz, David, and all other decedents of Salmon and Rahab the Canaanite would not have been allowed into God’s assembly. Yet, God strongly approved of David.

Another argument that the Rachab of Matthew 1:5 is not the same person as the Rahab the Canaanite is the time elapsed between the fall of Jericho and the birth of David. In Matthew, Rachab is identified as David’s great-great-grandmother. David was born about 1049 B.C. Jericho fell about 1450 B.C. Thus, 400 years elapsed between the fall of Jericho and the birth of David. Therefore, the average age of David’s father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandmother would be 100 years when they had David or his ancestor. Too much time elapsed between the fall of Jericho and the birth of David for Rahab the Canaanite to be David’s great-great-grandmother. The conclusion is that the Rachab who married Salmon was an Israelite and was not Rahab the Canaanite.

Appendix

Galatians 3:28: There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus.

Some clergymen and others use Galatians 3:28 as justification for integration (although God is a segregationist and opposes racial integration) and interracial marriages (although God forbids interracial marriages). Nowhere does this verse or even the surrounding verses say anything about race, racial integration, or marriage. Jews and Greek are White (Aryan, Homo albus); therefore, they are two ethnicities of the same race. What this verse teaches is that salvation is available to all regardless of ethnicity, status, or sex. Salvation is by faith in Christ and only by faith in Christ. It does not depend on one’s ancestry, status, or works. He who believes in Jesus for everlasting life has life everlasting. Through faith in Jesus, all become one in Christ.

Copyright © 2021 by Thomas Coley Allen.

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