your life and your baby’s life?”
So he had figured out why she was there. This man was in tune with her like no one had ever been before.
“How can you marry someone so unclean, so stained by such—evil? Yahweh is a holy god who detests abominations.”
“ Yahweh is a god who atones,” he replied. “Whatever was done to you is not your sin. And whatever you have done can be removed from you as far as the east is from the west. If righteousness were based on our own goodness, none of us would stand. None of us are worthy of his presence. We are all stained by evil. We are made clean by blood atonement.”
She protested, “But I am not of Abraham’s seed. I was born under the cursed flesh of Edom.”
“ So am I. I was born a Kenizzite, a descendant of Edom as well. But Yahweh accepts those of any nation who turn from their idols to the living God of all flesh. It is faith that Yahweh wants, Rahab, not flesh .”
A sudden silence penetrated their conversation. Rahab felt as if a great weight had lifted from her soul. The dark cloud that had followed her ever since she became a follower of Yahweh was dissolved in the cleansing of a spring rain.
She smiled and said softly, tenderly, “Yes, I will marry you, Caleb ben Jephunneh.”
He smiled broadly and kissed her.
Her heart came alive. It had taken her by surprise. She had only known Caleb to be prudish and judgmental of her sexuality. Even moments earlier, he had avoided a look at her naked breast. How could this passionate sensual kiss come from such a being?
He released her. She almost fainted at his gallantry.
“You are surprised?” he said. “ Woman, there is a lot more passion where that came from. I suggest we get married immediately or I might explode.”
You? She thought. I am already exploding .
“Now comes the hard part,” he said: “Persuading Joshua.”
Chapter 44
“Absolutely not!” yelled Joshua. He was in his war tent surrounded by the three prophets counseling on spiritual matters. Caleb and Rahab stood before him with Othniel, Achsah, and Rahab’s father and mother and maidservant Donatiya, behind them. Caleb had just asked Joshua for his blessing in marrying Rahab.
“Commander,” said Caleb, “It fulfills the levirate marriage. She was betrothed to Salmon. I am in the line of Judah.”
“She is a Canaanite,” said Joshua. “Her family is Canaanite. I already caused endless debates with the scribes and elders when I accepted her marriage to Salmon. If you do this, and I support it publically, we could do more damage to the faith of this congregation than the defeat at Ai.”
Caleb countered, “But is it not faith that accepts me, a Kenizzite, into the congregation? Is it not faith that accepted Judah’s Canaanite wife into the congregation, or our patriarch Joseph’s Egyptian wife Asenath into the congregation, or Moses’ Midianite wife Zipporah, and Cushite wife Neferhetep into the congregation?”
“Okay, okay.” Joshua turned away.
“ We have gone over this before, Caleb. You are my Right Hand. If you do this, if you marry this Canaanite, no matter how ‘acceptable’ it is as an exception, it may jeopardize the solidarity of my forces to engage in their campaign of herem . For Yahweh’s sake, you just burned Achan and his family, born Israelites every one of them, out of our midst for violating herem .”
“Then burn me wit h Rahab and her entire family if it is the same thing,” said Caleb.
Rahab and her parents looked at him with shock. But they remained wisely silent.
“It is not the same thing,” admitted Joshua, “ But you are pushing me into a corner, Caleb. I must reinforce holiness in Israel.”
Caleb would not back down. “And is holiness a matter of flesh or faith?”
Joshua would not back down. “Are you going to marry this Canaanite, Caleb?”
“I am going to marry this convert to the Israelite faith,” he said.
“Then I have no other choice but to demote you in rank to a
So he had figured out why she was there. This man was in tune with her like no one had ever been before.
“How can you marry someone so unclean, so stained by such—evil? Yahweh is a holy god who detests abominations.”
“ Yahweh is a god who atones,” he replied. “Whatever was done to you is not your sin. And whatever you have done can be removed from you as far as the east is from the west. If righteousness were based on our own goodness, none of us would stand. None of us are worthy of his presence. We are all stained by evil. We are made clean by blood atonement.”
She protested, “But I am not of Abraham’s seed. I was born under the cursed flesh of Edom.”
“ So am I. I was born a Kenizzite, a descendant of Edom as well. But Yahweh accepts those of any nation who turn from their idols to the living God of all flesh. It is faith that Yahweh wants, Rahab, not flesh .”
A sudden silence penetrated their conversation. Rahab felt as if a great weight had lifted from her soul. The dark cloud that had followed her ever since she became a follower of Yahweh was dissolved in the cleansing of a spring rain.
She smiled and said softly, tenderly, “Yes, I will marry you, Caleb ben Jephunneh.”
He smiled broadly and kissed her.
Her heart came alive. It had taken her by surprise. She had only known Caleb to be prudish and judgmental of her sexuality. Even moments earlier, he had avoided a look at her naked breast. How could this passionate sensual kiss come from such a being?
He released her. She almost fainted at his gallantry.
“You are surprised?” he said. “ Woman, there is a lot more passion where that came from. I suggest we get married immediately or I might explode.”
You? She thought. I am already exploding .
“Now comes the hard part,” he said: “Persuading Joshua.”
Chapter 44
“Absolutely not!” yelled Joshua. He was in his war tent surrounded by the three prophets counseling on spiritual matters. Caleb and Rahab stood before him with Othniel, Achsah, and Rahab’s father and mother and maidservant Donatiya, behind them. Caleb had just asked Joshua for his blessing in marrying Rahab.
“Commander,” said Caleb, “It fulfills the levirate marriage. She was betrothed to Salmon. I am in the line of Judah.”
“She is a Canaanite,” said Joshua. “Her family is Canaanite. I already caused endless debates with the scribes and elders when I accepted her marriage to Salmon. If you do this, and I support it publically, we could do more damage to the faith of this congregation than the defeat at Ai.”
Caleb countered, “But is it not faith that accepts me, a Kenizzite, into the congregation? Is it not faith that accepted Judah’s Canaanite wife into the congregation, or our patriarch Joseph’s Egyptian wife Asenath into the congregation, or Moses’ Midianite wife Zipporah, and Cushite wife Neferhetep into the congregation?”
“Okay, okay.” Joshua turned away.
“ We have gone over this before, Caleb. You are my Right Hand. If you do this, if you marry this Canaanite, no matter how ‘acceptable’ it is as an exception, it may jeopardize the solidarity of my forces to engage in their campaign of herem . For Yahweh’s sake, you just burned Achan and his family, born Israelites every one of them, out of our midst for violating herem .”
“Then burn me wit h Rahab and her entire family if it is the same thing,” said Caleb.
Rahab and her parents looked at him with shock. But they remained wisely silent.
“It is not the same thing,” admitted Joshua, “ But you are pushing me into a corner, Caleb. I must reinforce holiness in Israel.”
Caleb would not back down. “And is holiness a matter of flesh or faith?”
Joshua would not back down. “Are you going to marry this Canaanite, Caleb?”
“I am going to marry this convert to the Israelite faith,” he said.
“Then I have no other choice but to demote you in rank to a
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