Go through any church and you’ll find lots of Davids, Peters, Pauls, Matthews, Marks, Johns, etc. And among the ladies, multiple Sarahs, Rachels, Marys, Ruths, Rebeccas, Leahs, Lydias, etc.
But there’s one woman’s name you won’t find anywhere. Which is passing strange because she’s the only woman in the Bible who:
- Is named in the Messiah’s genealogy (Matt. 1:5), and
- Is praised for her faith (Heb. 11:31), and
- Is praised for her works (James 2:25).
What’s her name?
Rahab!
Probably the most commended woman in the whole Bible.
But few if any want to name a daughter after her.
Why not?
Is there too much grace in her story?
Or too little faith in our hearts?
Name Meaning—The first part of Rahab—“Ra,” was the name of an Egyptian god. As an Amorite, Rahab belonged to an idolatrous people, and had a name meaning “insolence,” “fierceness,” or “broad,” “spaciousness.”
ReplyDeleteThree times over Rahab is referred to as “the harlot,” and the Hebrew term zoonah and the Greek word porne have at no time meant anything else but “harlot”—a woman who yields herself indiscriminately to every man approaching her. Rahab indulged in venal wantonness as traveling merchants came her way and were housed in her illfamed abode. Evidently Rahab had her own house and lived apart from her parents and family. Although she never lost her concern for her dear ones, perhaps she was treated as a moral leper. We are told that prostitution was not regarded with the same horror then, as now, but the Bible with one voice speaks of harlotry with moral revulsion and social ostracism.