There is some question as to whether she was a prostitute or just an inn-keeper. She may have been both. Or, it may have been that she was just a strong independent woman trying to take care of her family and in being a business woman it was assumed that she was a prostitute. In early times, (this was about the 14th century, B.C.), persons who ran inns were not always the most moral persons. Sometimes they were called harlots. What Rahab was does not matter so much as to what she became. She became a woman of such faith that she could say to the enemy, "The Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath", Joshua 2:11.

Rahab hid the spies from Joshua on her roof, covering them with flax. When a report was told to the King concerning the spies, Rahab answered, "There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were", Joshua 2:4. She helped the men to escape by a scarlett cord from her window. It was this cord by which during the battle her house would be known and protected. When the walls of Jericho fell, Rahab and her kinsmen were spared. After awhile, they were finally received into Israel, apparently by marriage.

Other qualities of Rahab character are evident from Scriptures. She was an industrious woman, had a deep devotion to her family and friends, clever and most of all, courageous.

Rahab is an outstanding example of one who, though not an Israelite by birth, she proved by her works her complete faith in God by becoming a true worshipper of Him.