The Meaning of Joshua 2:6 Explained

Joshua 2:6

KJV: But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

YLT: and she hath caused them to go up on the roof, and hideth them with the flax wood, which is arranged for her on the roof.

Darby: But she had taken them up to the roof, and secreted them under the stalks of flax, which she had laid out on the roof.

ASV: But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But she had brought them up  to the roof  of the house, and hid  them with the stalks  of flax,  which she had laid in order  upon the roof. 

What does Joshua 2:6 Mean?

Context Summary

Joshua 2:1-14 - A Heathen Woman's Act Of Faith
"To view the land" was a hazardous undertaking. The physiognomy of the Hebrews would certainly betray them, and it did. The sacred writer does not commend Rahab's mode of life nor her lies. Her morality was faulty enough, but beneath it, slowly smoldering, was a spark of pure love and faith, and this would consume the rubbish and burn clear, Hebrews 11:31.
The stalks of flax were probably laid out on the roof to dry. She believed, on the ground of the wonders wrought in Egypt, that Jehovah was the true God, and that His word was sure. Her faith proved itself in her works-in her efforts to save others, and in the confidence with which she rested behind her scarlet cord. That she was sneered at and persecuted is quite likely, but she persisted and became an ancestress of Christ, Matthew 1:5. How faith greatens the soul! James 2:25. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joshua 2

1  Rahab receives and conceals the two spies sent from Shittim
8  The covenant between her and them
23  Their return and description of events

What do the individual words in Joshua 2:6 mean?

But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with flax the stalks of which had laid in order she on the roof
וְהִ֖יא הֶעֱלָ֣תַם הַגָּ֑גָה וַֽתִּטְמְנֵם֙ בְּפִשְׁתֵּ֣י הָעֵ֔ץ הָעֲרֻכ֥וֹת לָ֖הּ עַל־ הַגָּֽג

וְהִ֖יא  But  she 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
הֶעֱלָ֣תַם  had  brought  them  up 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
הַגָּ֑גָה  to  the  roof 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: גָּג  
Sense: roof, top, housetop.
וַֽתִּטְמְנֵם֙  and  hidden  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: טָמַן  
Sense: to hide, conceal, bury.
בְּפִשְׁתֵּ֣י  with  flax 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: פֵּשֶׁת  
Sense: flax, linen.
הָעֵ֔ץ  the  stalks 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
הָעֲרֻכ֥וֹת  of  which  had  laid  in  order 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine plural
Root: עָרַךְ  
Sense: to arrange, set or put or lay in order, set in array, prepare, order, ordain, handle, furnish, esteem, equal, direct, compare.
לָ֖הּ  she 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
הַגָּֽג  the  roof 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גָּג  
Sense: roof, top, housetop.