Here's where I must not have been clear in my last post:

1. There's no mystery is Joshua 2. The spies went to see Rahab because they wanted to have sex while they were on a mission from God.
   
2. Reading Joshua 2 in this light would give an entirely new meaning to the wheeling and dealing that the spies did with Rahab. She uses the information to blackmail them, and they essentially beg her to keep their 'secret' when they come back to invade (i.e., don't tell anyone what we did).
3. If you are familiar with the traditional interpretation of the passage, you will probably balk at the idea that the 'secret' might be about sex, however (a) the spies were already safe from the angry citizens of Jericho when they made the deal with Rahab, so (b) the 'secret' they want her to keep doesn't seem like it would be that they are hiding; it could instead be the embarrassing fact that they've had sex with a prostitute and non-Israelite.
   
4. I was wondering why no commentators talk about this, because it seems CENTRAL to the interpretation of the passage.

I have to go, the cat just barfed on the bathroom rug. It's a glamorous life I live.

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.
   

I taught about the introductory principles of behavioral psychology in my classes last week. The beginnings of the topic are pretty simple: 1) figure out what is rewarding to your subject, 2) reward the behaviors that you want to increase, 3) ignore the behaviors that you want to decrease. During the lecture, I had the following exchange with a student:

Student: I noticed that you always say "Good question!" whenever anyone asks a question in class. Are you doing this stuff to us, and like, messing with us?
Me: (rewarding the act of posing a question) Good question!
Class: (laughs)
Me: (ignoring the implication that I'm manipulating students, which I am) No, but that is a good question. What do you think?
Student: I don't know. You just seem to always be really nice about questions.
Me: (It's working! It's working!) That's true. I try to encourage participation and questions.
Student: Oh ok. I get it.
Me: Anyway, that was a good question. Does anyone else have any questions?
Class: (hands go up)

Skinner lives.

It's been a busy week. There are probably some real things I could post about (happy birthday grandma!), but this morning I'm unfortunately left with only two choices. I can either write some witty post about the religious groups who have recently been invading campus and screaming at everyone who walks by about how everybody is going to go to Hell, OR I can maintain my basic hygiene and take a shower and shave for the first time in three days.

Stupid social norms.

2008: when Chinese desserts go commercial.