Joshua 6:23 (WEB)

Passage

The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.

Nearby Context

Joshua 6:21 They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, both young and old, and ox, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword.

Joshua 6:22 Joshua said to the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the prostitute’s house, and bring the woman and all that she has out from there, as you swore to her.”

Joshua 6:23 The young men who were spies went in, and brought out Rahab with her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. They also brought out all of her relatives, and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.

Joshua 6:24 They burned the city with fire, and all that was in it. Only they put the silver, the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron into the treasury of Yahweh’s house.

Joshua 6:25 But Rahab the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that she had, Joshua saved alive. She lives in the middle of Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers, whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "young", "spies", "went", "brought", "rahab", "father", "mother", and "brothers". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "young" and "spies", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "Joshua said to the two men who..." into verse 24's "They burned the city with fire and...", so "young" and "spies" belong inside that flow. In Joshua context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "young" and "spies" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.