Joshua 2:1

Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho " So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there.

I was reading a different translation (NASB) of this passage than I normally do (NIV), and something struck me as different. In this chapter, Joshua, the military and political leader of the wandering Israelites, has sent two spies into enemy territory to check out the land and assess for potential vulnerabilities. Here was my thought process.

1. Harlot? Why not just say prostitute?
2. Prostitute? Why do two spies stay with a prostitute?
3. Hey! I know why two out-of-towners go to see a prostitute! To have sex with her!
   
4. How come everybody always talks about Rahab's righteousness and nobody ever talks about (a) the fact that the spies were depraved, and (b) the fact that it was their that depravity almost caused them to get caught and killed?
   
5. What happens in Jericho stays in Jericho.