An evil city. Rahab's stolen innocence. Two Israelite spies. Jericho's destruction. A budding romance.
Before her birth, a ruthless king moved into Jericho. The lives of Rahab and her family change for the worse. Branded a harlot, she leans on her Secret to fight against the evil running rampant through Jericho. Rahab learns to survive a world steeped in violence, pagan worship, and the oppression of women. Trained as an innkeeper, perfumer and maker of fine linen, Rahab nurses a dream: to free herself and her family from a city standing on the brink of destruction. Israeli spies infiltrate the city, and it feels like an answer to prayers. Until she met them, she had never known a perfect day.
Rahab comes face to face with Shalma and Phineas and a fragile agreement is struck. As danger closes in and Jericho's rulers tighten their grip, she must prove she can be trusted with secrets that could cost lives. Shalma, finds himself drawn to Rahab whose courage challenges everything he believes but there is no time for romance. To save her family, Rahab decides to place her future in the hands of strangers, and in the God they serve.
An evil city. Rahab's stolen innocence. Two Israelite spies. Jericho's destruction. A budding romance.
Before her birth, a ruthless king moved into Jericho. The lives of Rahab and her family change for the worse. Branded a harlot, she leans on her Secret to fight against the evil running rampant through Jericho. Rahab learns to survive a world steeped in violence, pagan worship, and the oppression of women. Trained as an innkeeper, perfumer and maker of fine linen, Rahab nurses a dream: to free herself and her family from a city standing on the brink of destruction. Israeli spies infiltrate the city, and it feels like an answer to prayers. Until she met them, she had never known a perfect day.
Rahab comes face to face with Shalma and Phineas and a fragile agreement is struck. As danger closes in and Jericho's rulers tighten their grip, she must prove she can be trusted with secrets that could cost lives. Shalma, finds himself drawn to Rahab whose courage challenges everything he believes but there is no time for romance. To save her family, Rahab decides to place her future in the hands of strangers, and in the God they serve.
More often than not, it is assumed throughout Canaan that any young woman described as a harlot must need men to earn a living. But this particular woman is different. The ruler of Jericho, notorious for his tyrannical rule, named the baby girl Rahab after her birth. The views and feelings of such a woman are held in the lowest regard, as the truth of such a lifestyle is so entrenched in the minds of the surrounding misogynistic community, that she is viewed as the rightful property of any man. It is foolish to believe Rahab could recall the fake monarch’s involvement. She remembered a loving family, being taught how to read and write by her mother and receiving earth-shattering news on her twelfth birthday. Her destiny would be to serve as the king’s prostitute. She learned what that entailed and the mind numbing meaning of her name. It is harlot.
***
Crowds of people jostled past her at the gate where she stood, bewildered and adrift. The city teemed with visitors and traders from the surrounding villages, as well as from Ugarit. Jericho’s annual spring fertility festival in honour of the Moon-god drew in huge crowds. The locals made the most of the occasion, trading and exchanging grain for cooking utensils or small pieces of gold. Across the nearby field, she spotted her three friends gathering wildflowers. Later in the day, they planned to create garlands for their necks and wreaths for their heads.
“The flowers are beautiful and I should pick some, but I don’t want to,” Rahab muttered. “If I do, I’ve lost the battle, and I’m not giving up my fight.” Far into the distance, fields burst with life as nodding flower heads painted a vibrant rainbow of many colours. “Everything is so dim and dark, and I am the sacrifice,” she murmured, her heart rejecting the beauty around her as if it were black. While she stared at the landscape, Rahab allowed her mind to wander, imagining what her life could have been like in a city free of sacrifices to gods.
“Here you are!” The sound of her mother’s voice, broke her reverie, and Rahab turned round as her three siblings charged up to her. “Help has arrived. Come children, we’ll give your sister a hand.” Peering at her mother in a daze, she exclaimed,
“Imma, must I do this?” she implored, her eyes filled with anguish. She trembled with anxiety, glimpsing the sadness behind Myrtle’s gaze, who reached out and grasped her hands to study her face.
“My darling daughter, we’ve spoken about this and been through it many times and explained what is expected of you. We don’t want it to happen. Abba and I cannot change anything, and it grieves me to say that. This wounds our hearts beyond measure,” she said in a choked voice, her heartache plummeting to the depths of her soul. Myrtle pulled Rahab close and hugged her tightly. “Let’s make a start. Before long, we will have gathered enough for what you need.”
Tired of waiting and full of excitement, her young siblings shouted as they ran ahead through the flower dense grass. Shoulders slumped, Rahab followed behind, dragging her feet. Fumbling with trembling hands, she struggled to untie a length of purple fabric from around her waist.
“Hold on, I will undo it,” Myrtle called out, walking over to help. Untying it, she scrutinised the cloth and laid iton the ground. “That’s a beautiful colour and is so popular now. I’ve put the finishing touches on your robe.” Masking her fear and resignation with an expression of indifference, Rahab nodded.
Her friends gave her warm smiles as she crossed the meadow and beckoned her over. She realised her mistake when they gathered round. Emeline, her closest friend, greeted her with a hug,
“Hello, we thought you weren’t coming. This is such an exciting day for you. We wondered what your dress is like.”
Overwhelmed, Rahab’s lower lip trembled, her eyes brimming with tears. Emeline, oblivious to her emotional turmoil, continued her bombardment.
“Are you nervous about doing it? And what if you fall pregnant?”
Rahab gazed at her friends as she struggled to find the words. Her tongue stuck to the inside of her dry and parched mouth. Helpless, she stared at them. After a long pause, and her voice cloaked with misery, she spluttered,
“If I could swap places with any of you, I would.” Shocked into silence at the unexpected bold statement, the girls glanced at each other.
“Why? What’s the matter?” Emeline asked. “Please tell us.”
“Nothing is right. Nothing,” exclaimed Rahab. The girls studied her face with puzzled expressions.
“I don’t want to lose my virginity,” Rahab burst out. “You’re all excited about it, but I’m not, and you have no idea! You’re told it’s natural and acceptable. It’s horrible. And wrong.” The girls stared at each other, confused. Motioning to Miriam and Sarah, Emeline pulled them aside. They chatted among themselves for a short while. Keen to diffuse any misunderstanding, Emeline stepped away from the group and took Rahab’s hand.
“We’re sorry, Rahab. Will you explain? We want to understand why. Isn’t it normal to be taken by the king? Is it not what we’ve all been taught? You’re the only one this year as we’re not women yet, otherwise we’d be included too.”
Not wanting to listen, Rahab covered her ears, thinking she would drown in the rapid-fire inquisition. At that moment, she became aware that her moral conflict isolated her as it stood in stark contrast with their excitement.
“Stop asking me so many questions. I’m unhappy talking about anything with you.” Overcome with sorrow, she added, “I must gather flowers.” The three girls, unaware their dearest friend carried a deep heartache far more compelling than their desire to be the king’s chosen girl, moved away, whispering between themselves.
The burden of her situation weighed heavily on her heart. Dispirited by the encounter with her friends, Rahab squatted and gathered blooms as fast as possible. Thoughts ran through her mind with every plant plucked from the ground, and she turned to her Secret.
“Please protect me. I am scared about tonight, and no one must find out I put my trust in you,” she murmured. When a blanket of calm enveloped her, she knew her Secret had responded to her plea.
While she concentrated on her task, shadows fell across the patch of grass in front of her.
“Why, I thought I …” Before she could finish, her three friends approached her, looking contrite.
“We’re sorry for being selfish and thinking only of ourselves,” confessed Sarah. The others nodded.
“Yes. That’s why we’re here, to help you,” added Miriam.
Unable to believe her ears, Rahab peered at them, astonished. Their thoughtfulness prompted her tears to start flowing again, and she stood to hug them.
“Thank you, I am petrified,” she wept. The girls cried with her, yet before long they giggled and sniffed together.
“You are brave,” Emeline said and hugged Rahab.
“No, I’m not, but I must do this. I am afraid half to death. Do you remember how it all began? Did your Imma tell you?”
“Yes, when we were nine, the same as you. And on every birthday, our parents divulged more. On our twelfth birthday, they told us the awful truth that we would be the king’s harlots, but that won’t happen this year.
“Are our parents able to get out of this?” asked Miriam.
“No,” sniffed Rahab and wiped her eyes with her hand. “Our parents will be killed if we don’t obey the king. And that’s it.”
“Do you remember the times we used to play together? We have so much work to do these days,” sighed Sarah, who wanted to steer the conversation away from the monarch.
“True, but if we spend time mixing our dyes and trying different colours, like doing things as a group, experimenting with linens, it’s not as if we’re wasting time,” suggested Miriam.
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” Emeline enthused. The girls knelt beside Rahab, selecting the prettiest blossoms. They were a close friendship group. Helping their friend brought them back to a familiar level of solidarity they had not experienced for over a year. Their previous bravado disappeared, replaced with occasional sniffs and tears. Emeline became quiet, her eyes resting on Rahab and gently nudged her,
“What else is going on with you?”
“How do you mean?”
“Earlier, when we deluged you with questions, it’s as though you have a private ambition.”
“Yes, I do, and it’s so crazy that I keep it locked away. It’s an impossible dream.”
“I have dreams like that, too,” confessed Emeline.
Blinking her surprise, Rahab responded, “We have to keep our secrets to ourselves. It’s safer.”
Sarah and Miriam nodded their agreement.
“I think we all have similar hopes. We must never share them, even with each other,” chipped in Miriam. She glanced around the field and discovered it almost empty of people. “We should go. Our mothers need us back,” she sighed. “I’ve loved this time together, and I hope it’s helped to take your mind off things and that we do it again another day.”
“Do you have flowers for your garlands?” asked Rahab.
“We have a few.”
“Here, take these. I have more than enough for each of you and some for me.” Smiling, she handed them generous posies.
“Thank you for the flowers,” they chorused.
“No, thank you for helping me. Will we meet up tonight?”
The girls nodded.
“Yes, we’ll come to find you,” said Emeline.
The four girls hugged each other, their faces damp with tears. Rahab’s anguished eyes followed them as they walked away.
***
Experiencing a niggling void without her friends, Rahab continued searching the field, her eyes taking in her surroundings. Kneeling to collect flowers with renewed determination, she halted as different thoughts overtook her. She dropped to her knees onto the grass, weeping and tried to compose herself.
“Why should I have to do this? It’s unfair. No one asks what I think,” she mumbled, unable to reconcile many conflicts in her heart. She understood the moral concept of purity. Mahim and Myrtle had explained it. It made sense and became vital to her.
“I find this so confusing,” Rahab complained. “After tonight, I will no longer be a virgin and yet my parents taught me purity. I am to be the king’s harlot. Right now, I am angry with them even though I love them. How can Abba and Imma bring me up with different sets of morals?” She lifted her head and gazed around, her eyes blurred with tears. Sniffing and brushing them away, white blooms broke through her hazy vision. Aware of them for the first time, she stood and focused on the emerging brightness in the green grass.
“All my choices have been made for me, written on papyrus and witnessed by my friends’ fathers. And another thing. I will be fourteen in three months. Surely I am old enough to make my own decisions? After tonight, I won’t be a child; I will be a harlot. And that is not my choice.”
With that final declaration, she sobbed as though her heart would break. Between weeping, sniffing and mulling over thoughts that raced through her mind, Rahab forced herself to pick as many pure white blossoms as she could find. Scrutinising the flower-dense field, tiny star shapes caught her eye, and she plucked their delicate stems. For a short while, she tried to turn her sadness and tears into a sense of purpose in tandem with her expanding pile of flowers.
“I now have more than enough,” she announced, searching the area for Myrtle, and found her not far away. Walking over, she placed her hammock on the ground.
“Imma, I’ve gathered so many.”
Her mother glanced up as she approached.
“My, they are beyond beautiful.”
Rahab examined the bundle.
“They will wilt soon if I don’t put them in water. May we leave now?” Myrtle nodded, only too pleased to oblige. Her back ached from bending over. Ella came rushing up, the two small boys hot on her heels. They held out crumpled stalks of wildflowers, presenting them to their older sister with broad smiles.
“These are wonderful. What kindhearted children. Thank you.”
She laid their posies on top of the others. The children skipped ahead, grinning from ear to ear, proud of their contribution.
“Did you have an enjoyable time with your friends?” inquired Myrtle.
“Yes. We were happy, and it made a change for us to do that. It reminds me of when we were young, playing together. We can’t do that now.”
“It’s true. We have to earn a living and keep food in our bellies. And in the king’s and his soldiers,” said Myrtle.
She led the way up the steps and herded her family through the busy throng that almost blocked the gates. They pushed through the narrow streets crammed with visitors. Myrtle grasped her sons’ hands while Rahab held onto Ella with one hand and carried her floral cargo with the other. Priests stood guard at the edge of the prominent thoroughfare, flanking the fertility grove as servants bustled in and out to make their final preparations for the evening. Inside the grove, almond trees, with their heavenly perfume, created a bridal canopy. Rahab glimpsed dappled sunlight on the pale pink petals covering the ground. And it glinted on the effigy of the Moon-god.
A shiver ran down her spine.
The Spy Who Loved Her: Inspired By The Bible Story of Rahab by Eliza J McCormack is an epic novel tracing the life of Rahab, one of the Bible’s most admired women. She symbolizes faith, resourcefulness, courage, and character. Rahab lived in Jericho and, according to this novel, loved Yahweh even before becoming an Israelite. Consequently, according to the author’s interpretation, the honor God bestowed on her by placing her in the Bible’s “Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11) also portrays the fathomless love of the Christian God for anyone who loves Him deeply, regardless of religious affiliation.
This novel seeks to fill in details of Rahab's background, which aren't mentioned in the Bible. The title “prostitute” (or harlot) used by the Bible may suggest that she was a loose woman. However, this book emphatically overwrites that impression by presenting Rahab as a woman of exceptional moral character who lost her innocence when forced by the king of Jericho. Had she refused, it’s almost certain the barbaric king, in anger, would have killed her and her entire family. Consequently, submission to the king was a sacrificial act to save their lives.
Though embittered and broken by the experience, she retained her integrity. Later, the novel portrays God as causing Salmon (Shalma), an Israelite prince and one of the two heroic men sent by Joshua to spy out Jericho before the conquest of that kingdom, to seek her out and marry her, thus elevating her to the status of a princess of Israel! Marrying Shalma enabled her to overcome the stigma of being a prostitute, and she also became a direct ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ, a place of unequaled honor in Scripture since New Testament times.
This book uses British English. It has an attractive cover, though there is scope for improvement. The interior is well-designed, making the readability excellent. One noteworthy feature is that it's error-free, for which the author rightly deserves praise. Hats off to her! The bibliography accords it the credibility due a work of verified historical fiction. However, one problem exists in the flow of the narrative. There’s an awkward transition in Chapter 27, p. 236, after Shalma renames Rahab as Raqhav in a private conversation between the two. Without any public announcement or explanation, the narrative immediately begins referring to her as Raqhav. This abrupt transition disturbs the story's otherwise smooth flow.
Taking the good and bad points above into consideration, I award it 4 stars.
After reading this book, one may wonder why God chose to honor Rahab so highly. The likely answer is that he judges people by truth and circumstances rather than by worldly standards.
Apart from Christians and lovers of historical fiction, this book is especially recommended for those suffering unjust punishment/persecution in the world, including all in prison for crimes they did not commit, Christian missionaries falsely incarcerated for preaching the word of God, and others rejected or persecuted by society without cause. Luke 8:17 and Luke 12:2 promise us that the truth, no matter how deeply buried or kept in the dark, will come to light in time. Therefore, they may find comfort in Rahab's story and be reminded that their patient battle for justice is certainly not in vain.