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In 1 Clement, the author says Rahab was saved for her faith and hospitality, joining what Hebrews and James say about her separately, since Hebrews credits her faith and James credits what she did when she took in the Israelite spies.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Hebrews 11:31
New Testament
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the one who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. 29 By faith they crossed the Red Sea as if on dry ground, but when the Egyptians tried it, they were swallowed up. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the people marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute escaped the destruction of the disobedient because she welcomed the spies in peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets.
James 2:25
New Testament
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 12:1
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
1 For her faith and hospitality, Rahab the harlot was saved. 2 For when the spies were sent forth to Jericho by Joshua, the son of Nun, the king of the land perceived that they had come to spy out his country and sent men to seize them, that being captured, they might be put to death. 3 So the hospitable Rahab received them and hid them in the upper chamber under the flax stalks. 4 And when the messengers of the king came near and said, ‘The spies of our land entered in to you; bring them forth, for the king orders it,’ she answered, ‘The men truly, whom you seek, entered in to me, but they departed at once and are traveling on the way,’ and she pointed them toward the opposite road.
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Notes and References
“... Explicitly, Rahab's 'faith' is displayed in her having 'received the spies in peace' (11:31); 1 Clement 12:1 likewise commends her for her 'faith and hospitality', and James says that by her action of 'receiving' the Israelites she was 'justified by works' (2:25). Hospitality (φιλοξενία) is an important virtue, especially for those who 'sojourn' and 'wander in faith', and our author associates it particularly with the hospitality of Abraham who (in Gen. 18) 'entertained angels unawares' (13:2); so does Clement who, in a passage (chs. 9-12) which apparently draws on Hebrews 11 or a parallel tradition, in praise of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Lot and Rahab, commends Lot and Rahab in particular for their hospitality ...”
Dunnill, John
Covenant and Sacrifice in the Letter to the Hebrews
(pp. 153-154) Cambridge University Press, 1992
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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