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Jos 2:1-7.
简体中文
英文原文
Jos 2:1-7.
RAHAB RECEIVES AND CONCEALS THE TWO SPIES.
1. Joshua . . . sent . . . two men to spy secretly--Faith is manifested by an active, persevering use of means
(Jas 2:22);
and accordingly Joshua, while confident in the accomplishment of the divine promise
(Jos 1:3),
adopted every precaution which a skilful general could think of to render his first attempt in the invasion of Canaan successful. Two spies were despatched to reconnoitre the country, particularly in the neighborhood of Jericho; for in the prospect of investing that place, it was desirable to obtain full information as to its site, its approaches, the character, and resources of its inhabitants. This mission required the strictest privacy, and it seems to have been studiously concealed from the knowledge of the Israelites themselves, test any unfavorable or exaggerated report, publicly circulated, might have dispirited the people, as that of the spies did in the days of Moses.
Jericho--Some derive this name from a word signifying "new moon," in reference to the crescent-like plain in which it stood, formed by an amphitheater of hills; others from a word signifying "its scent," on account of the fragrance of the balsam and palm trees in which it was embosomed. Its site was long supposed to be represented by the small mud-walled hamlet Er-Riha; but recent researches have fixed on a spot about half an hour's journey westward, where large ruins exist about six or eight miles distant from the Jordan. It was for that age a strongly fortified town, the key of the eastern pass through the deep ravine, now called Wady-Kelt, into the interior of Palestine.
they . . . came into an harlot's house--Many expositors, desirous of removing the stigma of this name from an ancestress of the Saviour
(Mt 1:5),
have called her a hostess or tavern keeper. But Scriptural usage
(Le 21:7-14; De 23:18; Jud 11:1; 1Ki 3:16),
the authority of the Septuagint, followed by the apostles
(Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25),
and the immemorial style of Eastern khans, which are never kept by women, establish the propriety of the term employed in our version. Her house was probably recommended to the spies by the convenience of its situation, without any knowledge of the character of the inmates. But a divine influence directed them in the choice of that lodging-place.
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2、3. 有人告诉王——是由哨兵报告的；在面临入侵威胁的时局，哨兵会被派驻在东部边境，其职责就是将一切陌生人的到来严格上报总部。
英文原文
2, 3. it was told the king--by the sentinels who at such a time of threatened invasion would be posted on the eastern frontier and whose duty required them to make a strict report to headquarters of the arrival of all strangers.
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4-6. 女人将二人隐藏——原文作「他」，意即将二人分别藏在各处；这自然是在王的使者到来之前、预料到他们将迅即搜查客人之时所行。按东方的礼俗，人们对妇女的内室怀有一种近乎迷信的敬重，所以王的使者并未强行入内搜查，而是要求她把那两个外邦人带出来。
英文原文
4-6. the woman took the two men, and hid them--literally, "him," that is, each of them in separate places, of course previous to the appearance of the royal messengers and in anticipation of a speedy search after her guests. According to Eastern manners, which pay an almost superstitious respect to a woman's apartment, the royal messengers did not demand admittance to search but asked her to bring the foreigners out.
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5. 关城门的时候——东方各城的城门都在日落时关闭，此后便再不能出入。
那些人出去的时候——这分明是欺哄。但异教徒中撒谎本是常见的恶习，喇合大概并不觉得这事在道德上有何罪过，何况她这样做是为要掩护自己的客人；她或者还认为，按东方待客之道，这是她当尽的本分——那礼俗以保守一个已与自己同吃过盐的最大仇敌为荣。按神的律法判断，她的回答乃是有罪的权宜之计；只是她的软弱既与信心相连，便蒙了恩赦，她的服事也蒙了悦纳
(雅 2:25)。
英文原文
5. the time of shutting of the gates--The gates of all Oriental cities are closed at sunset, after which there is no possibility either of admission or egress.
the men went out--This was a palpable deception. But, as lying is a common vice among heathen people, Rahab was probably unconscious of its moral guilt, especially as she resorted to it as a means for screening her guests; and she might deem herself bound to do it by the laws of Eastern hospitality, which make it a point of honor to preserve the greatest enemy, if he has once eaten one's salt. Judged by the divine law, her answer was a sinful expedient; but her infirmity being united with faith, she was graciously pardoned and her service accepted
(Jas 2:25).
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6. 她领他们上了房顶，用麻秸遮蔽他们——麻和别的植物，在某一季节要铺展在东方房屋的平顶上晒干；晾过一阵之后，便堆成无数小堆，因麻长得茂盛，这些堆可高达三四英尺。喇合便把这些探子藏在这些麻堆的背后。
英文原文
6. she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax--Flax, with other vegetable productions, is at a certain season spread out on the flat roofs of Eastern houses to be dried in the sun; and, after lying awhile, it is piled up in numerous little stacks, which, from the luxuriant growth of the flax, rise to a height of three or four feet. Behind some of these stacks Rahab concealed the spies.
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7. 那些人就追赶他们，往约旦河的渡口追去——约旦河有几处为人熟知的渡口。第一、第二渡口紧在加利利海之下；第三、第四渡口则紧在朝圣者沐浴处的上下，正对耶利哥。
追赶的人一出去，城门就关了——这一防范之举，是为要确保探子即便仍潜伏在城中，也必被擒获。
英文原文
7. the men pursued after them the way to Jordan unto the fords--That river is crossed at several well-known fords. The first and second immediately below the sea of Galilee; the third and fourth immediately above and below the pilgrims' bathing-place, opposite Jericho.
as soon as they which pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate--This precaution was to ensure the capture of the spies, should they have been lurking in the city.
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Jos 2:8-21.
简体中文
书 2:8-21。
她与他们之间的盟约
8-13. 她上房顶到他们那里说——喇合这番话颇耐人寻味：一面显出迦南人普遍的惊惶恐惧
(书 24:11；
申 2:25)，
一面又显出她坚定的信念——这信念建立在她对神圣应许的认识，以及为以色列人开通进入应许之地道路的那些惊天神迹之上。她确信耶和华至高无上；她为亲人在即将来临的入侵之危中恳切求保全，正证明了她的信心既真诚又有力量。
英文原文
Jos 2:8-21.
THE COVENANT BETWEEN HER AND THEM.
8-13. she came up unto them upon the roof and said--Rahab's dialogue is full of interest, as showing the universal panic and consternation of the Canaanites on the one hand
(Jos 24:11; De 2:25),
and her strong convictions on the other, founded on a knowledge of the divine promise, and the stupendous miracles that had opened the way of the Israelites to the confines of the promised land. She was convinced of the supremacy of Jehovah, and her earnest stipulations for the preservation of her relatives amid the perils of the approaching invasion, attest the sincerity and strength of her faith.
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14. 那些人对她说：我们情愿以性命代替你们的，只要你们不泄漏我们这件事——这是一项庄重的保证——相当于起誓，虽然没有提到神的名；这话是作为他们忠信的条件之外、为她安全所必要的补充——因为这一私下的协议若被泄露，她便有性命之忧。
英文原文
14. the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business--This was a solemn pledge--a virtual oath, though the name of God is not mentioned; and the words were added, not as a condition of their fidelity, but as necessary for her safety, which might be endangered if the private agreement was divulged.
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15. 她的房子是在城墙上——东方许多城市，房子建在城墙上，窗户向外凸出；另一些地方，城墙就是房子的后墙，窗户开向城外旷野。喇合的房子大概是后一种，而那绳子足够坚牢，能承受一个人的体重。
英文原文
15. her house was upon the town wall--In many Oriental cities houses are built on the walls with overhanging windows; in others the town wall forms the back wall of the house, so that the window opens into the country. Rahab's was probably of this latter description, and the cord or rope sufficiently strong to bear the weight of a man.
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16-21. 她说——不如作「她曾说过」，因为以下所记的，必是先前对话的一部分。
你们且往山上去——北方有一道白石灰岩山脉，称为 Quarantania（即今 Jebel Karantu），高达一千二百至一千五百英尺，山侧洞穴密布。其中有一座相邻的山峰，为居民所熟知，俗称「那山」。她建议往那方向逃，而非往渡口去，这一建议的审慎与得宜，由后事的发展显明出来。
英文原文
16-21. she said--rather "she had said," for what follows must have been part of the previous conversation.
Get you to the mountain--A range of white limestone hills extends on the north, called Quarantania (now Jebel Karantu), rising to a height of from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred feet, and the sides of which are perforated with caves. Some one peak adjoining was familiarly known to the inhabitants as "the mountain." The prudence and propriety of the advice to flee in that direction rather than to the ford, were made apparent by the sequel.
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21. 她把朱红线绳系在窗户上——大概在探子离去之后不久。这线并非如有人所想象编成网状如窗棂，而只是简单地顺着墙垂挂下来。其红色使之十分显眼，于是成了喇合之家的记号和安全保证，正如当年以色列人在埃及时的房屋门楣上所抹的血记之于那一民一样。
英文原文
21. she bound the scarlet line in the window--probably soon after the departure of the spies. It was not formed, as some suppose, into network, as a lattice, but simply to hang down the wall. Its red color made it conspicuous, and it was thus a sign and pledge of safety to Rahab's house, as the bloody mark on the lintels of the houses of the Israelites in Egypt to that people.
约书亚记 2:1-7。
喇合接待并隐藏两个探子
1. 约书亚……打发……两个人去窥探那地——信心是借积极、恒切地使用手段而显明的
(雅 2:22)；
因此约书亚虽笃信神的应许必将成就
(书 1:3)，
却仍采用一切一位精明将帅所能想到的防范之策，以期首次进攻迦南的行动大获成功。他差遣两个探子去侦察那地，特别是耶利哥一带；因为既已计划围攻该城，就必须全面掌握其位置、通路，以及居民的性情和资源。这次任务要求绝对保密，看来也有意瞒过以色列人自己，免得任何不利或夸大的报告一旦传开，就像摩西年间探子们所行的
那样使百姓灰心丧胆。
耶利哥——有人将这个名字追溯到一个意为"新月"的字，指该城所在的平原呈新月形，四周环以层峦叠嶂；也有人追溯到一个意为"它的香气"的字，因该城掩映在芬芳的乳香树和棕榈树之中。其位置长久以来被认为由泥墙小村利哈代表；但近来的考证确定在往西约半小时路程之处，那里有大片废墟，距约旦河约六到八英里。在那个时代，这是一座防卫坚固的城邑，是经由如今称为凯勒干河的深谷险道进入巴勒斯坦腹地的东端要冲。
他们……进了一个妓女的家——许多解经家为要除去救主先祖身上这名的羞辱
(太 1:5)，
便称她为女店主或客栈主人。但圣经的用法
(利 21:7-14； 申 23:18； 士 11:1； 王上 3:16)、 七十士译本的权威（使徒们也依从于此
(来 11:31； 雅 2:25)）， 以及东方客栈从不由妇人经营的古老惯例，都印证了我们译本所用名称的恰当。她的家大概因位置便利而被探子看中，他们对住户的品性本无所知，乃是神的引导使他们选择了那个落脚之处。