Text: Joshua 2:11
OT Text Referred to: Deuteronomy 4:39
Subject: universal sovereignty
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Allusion
Connection Method(s): None
Significance: Moses commands Israel to "know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other" (יְהוָה הוּא הָאֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת אֵין עוֹד, YHWH hu ha'Elohim bashamayim mimma'al ve'al ha'aretz mittachat 'ein 'od). Rahab confesses this same truth in Joshua 2:11: "the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below" (יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הוּא אֱלֹהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת). The verbal parallel is nearly exact—a Canaanite woman articulates the identical confession Moses demanded of Israel. The irony is striking: the faith Israel was commanded to hold, a pagan prostitute professes spontaneously based on what she has heard of God's acts, demonstrating that true knowledge of God can come from outside the covenant community.