A Harlot Bride

By J.R. Manuel

In the ancient Hebrew writings, there is an oddity. Very few women are mentioned. Fewer still have a lineage that can be traced. Rahab, the harlot, is among those. This is a story of what may have been.

On that fateful day when Rahab protected the spies, she could not have imagined what would happen next. In modern terms, she was going from Amsterdam to the Amish. Rahab would exit a culture where her profession was part of the mainstream to a culture where it did not exist. She leaves a city where she had access to the palace for a place where the best structure was a tent.

Rahab was in for an emotional roller coaster. So enjoy the ride, and if you pick up a tidbit that benefits you along the way, the author would be extremely pleased.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891301078

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A Harlot Bride

J.R. Manuel

ISBN 979-8-89130-106-1 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-107-8 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by J.R. Manuel

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The setting for this book is the period just before and after the fall of Jericho. This is not a story about the conquest of the children of Israel. Civilizations come and go. The children of Israel would also fall in the future. This dynamic affects most civilizations, with few exceptions, one of which are the Bedouins.

If you wish, you can read the historical works of Arnold Toynbee for more insight.

The central character of this book is Rahab. In the ancient writings, she is referenced in a few places. She is known as Rahab the harlot. This is a fanciful tale of what may have been—from the horror and the heartbreak of the collapse of Jericho to the fear and trepidation of a new culture. Just survival would be a major feat, it would require her character to be forged in a fire few could understand, much less endure, yet one of her descendants in the fourth generation was a man named David, the second king of Israel.

Two men lay hidden near the bank of the Yordan River, waiting for the right time to cross and scout Jericho; forty years earlier, their fathers had failed utterly. An hour before sunset, the sand partridges began to arrive at the riverbank, they would provide a level of safety, as they would flush if anyone approached. The men were preparing to cross when the partridges flushed en masse. Moments later, a man quickly approached and crossed the Yordan River.

He continued to the first ridge, and then made a hand signal, thirteen men then crossed the Yordan River, spaced out by about fifty cubits; after they had all crossed, they continued on their journey.

The two men looked at each other and smiled, then heavily laden with supplies, they crossed. Moving quickly, they searched for a secure place to spend the night. Jericho was not far, but being undetected was critical, and that had just been emphasized. After finding a secure location, they set up camp and began going over the plan to scout Jericho. The plan had three main parts: part one, find a location for the children of Israel to set up camp. This needed to be close to a water supply and secure. Part two was to find a location for the army to camp—close enough for the people of Jericho to see the army but in a defensible position. These two parts were known to the two men; they only had to verify no major changes had taken place. Part three was far and away the most difficult. Jericho had to be mapped, including the inside if possible. The men would not know what was possible; it all depended on what they would find.

Later that evening in Jericho, the king left a banquet for the grandees; this was not unusual, entertainment was provided as usual, but the king had a special meeting. The commander of his special team was waiting to provide a briefing on the events on the east side of the Yordan. The king entered his private chamber and found the commander waiting. The commander rose, and after the greeting, the commander began the briefing. He provided large amounts of information and completed the briefing in the wee hours of the morning.

The king then told the commander, I will now summarize the briefing, the invading force bypassed Amnon, Edom, and Moab. They destroyed Og, king of Bashan, and Sihon, king of the Amorites, taking control of all of Bashan. They are currently setting up towns and villages with a portion of the force, with the rest remaining in tents. This suggests that they will continue to invade Canaan. However, the headwaters of the Yordan River are beginning to swell, and it has begun to rise. Furthermore, it is almost harvesttime. The commander nodded in agreement. With that, the briefing ended.

Just before sunrise, the men set out, moving slowly, avoiding any contact. Upon nearing the first location, the men spotted a brushy hill overlooking the location.

They chose to wait until dusk to move to the hill to remain hidden. The next morning, hidden just below the peak of the ridge, they spent the day scanning the location; there was much more vegetation than was expected. It appeared abandoned from this vantage point. Methodically, over the next several days, from vantage point to vantage point, the location was mapped. It was everything they had hoped for, and even the excess vegetation would feed the flocks. Before beginning the second part, a secure hideout had to be selected. The place selected was behind a thicket through a path in the rocks to a hidden pool with fish fed by a small stream. There was water, food, and even a small cave for shelter hidden behind a thicket.

The next two days were spent gathering food and planning the next part. The major problem remained—how would they get into Jericho? They set out the next morning following a game trail to avoid being detected, which was actually a shortcut to Jericho.

They stopped on the edge of the Jericho plain and began to search for a hideout.

The perfect location would include a view of the city gate. There were several choices, none of which they were pleased with. The next few days were spent observing from a distance the movement of the residents of Jericho to establish a pattern. The gate would open two hours after sunrise and close two hours before sunset. There appeared to be no rhyme or reason for the movements of the residents; this would make their job much more difficult. On the bright side, the location for the army's camp had been selected.

Inside Jericho, the royal seamstress was putting the final touches to an outfit for the wife of the chief grandee. It was made of undyed silk. It had been a challenge for the royal seamstress. The outfit was for the last day before the forty days of fasting were to begin—one of the highlights of the social calendar. The outfit was skintight. The silk actually had to stretch over the grandee's wife's ample curves. When complete, two other grandee wives exclaimed!

It is perfect! With that, the chief grandee's wife put on her outer garment, and the three of them left for the palace.

The royal seamstress was relieved. She turned toward a teenager, who had been waiting for a fitting.

She noticed the young woman had a dour look on her face. What is wrong, Rahab? she asked.

Rahab answered, Will I ever begin training to be a grandee wife?

Thinking Rahab had been intimidated by the chief grandee's wife's bountiful curves, she replied, You are filling out nicely, it should only be a few months.

But will I be smart enough?

The royal seamstress replied, Do you remember when you first met the king? Rahab did not like to remember that time. She had been thrown out on the street three days before and was hiding in an alley when the king's people found her. She had been placed in a banquet room full of very upset people. Rahab just shrugged her shoulders.

The royal seamstress continued, Do you remember what you told the king after his speech, after the rest had left and you were the only one who stayed? Rahab remembered she was starving and was not about to leave the food. Rahab just put her head down. You told the king, ‘Thank you for being wise, oh king. The others do not understand that if you had not released the man who murdered the harlot, the caravans would bypass Jericho, and they would suffer. Thank you for being wise, oh king. It must be hard to be king.' You have nothing to worry about, said the royal seamstress.

The three grandee wives arrived at the palace. The chief minister escorted them in to see the king. The king began the conversation. Ladies, what are your recommendations for the last night before the forty days of fasting?

The chief grandee's wife spoke. We propose a masked ball complete with entertainment.

The king thought for a moment. That was different. He then stated, Would you please elaborate?

The two other wives then placed a mask which was attached to a stick in front of their faces. The chief grandee's wife removed her outer garment and then placed the same type of mask over her face. The king, impressed, asked, Will each participant be required to have such an elaborate costume?

The chief grandee's wife replied, The costume may be as simple or elaborated as each one desires.

This pleased the king. When the discussion was complete, the king invited the grandee wives to join him for lunch. Two wives accepted, but the chief grandee's wife requested the king excuse her, as she would not be able to attend. The king replied, As you wish, and excused her. He then provided her an escort to make sure she arrived home safely.

The chief grandee was surprised to see his wife home for lunch. Did the king not invite you to lunch? he asked her.

Yes, she replied, but I prefer your company. He smiled but said nothing. During lunch, she discussed with him the plans for the masked ball the wives had talked about. As lunch was finishing, she casually asked, Would you like to see my costume?

Yes, he reluctantly replied.

She then removed her outer garment. He was surprised. She was lovely. As he was examining the costume, she asked, Would you please help me get out of this costume? I needed help from the royal seamstress to put it on, and I do not want to damage it. Please be careful.

Two hours later, after a brief nap, the chief grandee planted a light kiss on his wife's cheek as he left to check on his inventory. The caravan he was waiting for was late, and he was concerned; his inventory was limited. His wife opened her eyes for a moment. It would have been nice if he had stayed; he was always so busy.

When the main course was complete at the palace, the chef entered the room. The king expected her to simply be checking on the meal and offer dessert. Instead, she placed a mask in front of her face and began, If it pleases the king, the grandee wives and I will prepare as we would for the ball, and the king may then attempt to identify each of us. The king, smiling, agreed.

The chef and the wives stepped into another room and were back in a few minutes with their masks. This was more difficult than the king had expected. The three women were almost identical in body shape. But after careful examination and a little probing, he was able to identify each one. The king enjoyed the diversion. He would even consider this masked ball a worthy event to be repeated.

For the two men (spies), there was no perfect location to observe the gate. It was important to know if visitors were being checked. One location would give the information needed, but work had to be done to provide adequate cover. Over the next few nights, the men slowly improved the hideout, carefully making changes that would not be noticed.

Finally, when ready, the men slipped into the hideout four hours before daylight.

When the gate opened, all going in or out were being checked. When a caravan of traders arrived, everything they had was checked and appeared to be taxed. Going through the gate was not an option.

Once the gate was closed in the evening, the guards left; there were no watchmen on the wall. This made no sense to the men, but after dark, they would be able to get to the wall.

Once darkness had fallen, the men quickly moved to the wall; they planned to stay in its shadow. They moved slowly, checking the wall for a place to climb. The first night, they were able to survey a third of the wall and returned to the hideout. On the second night, there was a place in the wall where it appeared to be butted up against a structure. This would need further investigation, and again they returned to their hideout. The third night, they went straight to the structure.

There was just enough gap to allow climbing. Time to get supplies and make plans. The two men went to the secure hideout, arriving just after sunrise. It was time to rest before going to explore Jericho.

About twenty-five miles away in Amalek, a man was watching a caravan approach. When the caravan arrived, the man greeted the caravan master and asked, You had Bedouin problems?

Not really Bedouin problems, more like self-control and situational awareness problems, answered the caravan master.

The man continued, You are five men short, I can give you five of my best.

I actually need five with self-control and situational awareness.

The man looked at the caravan master and said, Those type are rare nowadays. He then ordered his servants to prepare a meal and told the caravan master, Rest while I send for the men you need. Jericho can wait.

When the meal was finished, the man looked at the caravan master and said, It is almost unbelievable to lose three men while trying to capture two women and four boys.

The caravan master replied, To make matters worse, I lost three women that had already been captured.

The women were almost worthless, anyway, at least you captured three of the boys.

With that, the caravan master said, Good night.

Once rested, the two spies gathered their supplies and decided that each of them would travel as light as possible. The only bulky item was the rope needed to descend the wall. It was odd, but the rope was the main problem they had to solve. How would they hide the rope while exploring Jericho? It was decided that since the rock wall of Jericho was mostly red, clay would be used to make the rope blend in with the wall.

They planned to set up in the hills, facing the structure. The city could be viewed from that angle. They needed to get an idea of where to go once in the city. The wall would be scaled, and one day would be spent inside. A hide would have to be located for daylight hours, and all contact would be avoided. They rechecked their supplies.

It was time to head for the hills; they arrived at their destination about noon. The next day and a half were spent making sure nothing had changed. The guards on the wall were scattered, and there appeared to be little activity at all. A delay came when very heavy rain moved through the area. This gave them time to rest in a cave before proceeding into Jericho. When the rain ended, final preparations were made, and it was time to enter.

The sun had just set when the men headed for the wall. They had a half hour of twilight to reach their destination. Upon reaching the wall, they took off their sandals, tied them to their belts, and began to climb. The climb was much easier than expected; the handholds and footholds seemed to be designed for them. The top was reached quickly. The structure next to the top of the wall was two and a half cubits higher and provided additional cover. One of the men began to secure the rope when the other noticed flax drying on top of the structure. Instead, they hid the rope under the flax. This eliminated the chance that the rope would be spotted hanging on the outside of the wall.

Surveying the area, they found a staircase on the side of the structure, which led into the streets of Jericho. Quickly they moved across the street into a narrow alley to plot their next move. After a few minutes, the door of the structure opened; both men place a hand on their short sword. A woman in harlot's garments blew out an oil lamp and headed down the street. The woman walked right past the two men, oblivious to the danger. Over the next half hour, doors opened and closed, and a steady stream of harlots passed by some men, some women, and some the two men weren't sure of.

The city seemed very strange. One side was dark and quiet, the other had music and tumult. Heading into the quiet side, they saw nothing was moving; the houses were deplorable, some abandoned.

The men eased through the quiet side, and not even a dog made a sound.

Moving through Jericho, they came upon a large stable complex. The complex had numerous horse sheds plus a two-story feed storage building. The men explored the feed storage building as a place to hide during the day. In a loft above the second floor, they found a large amount of hay. Behind the hay, the wall was latticed to allow for airflow. They could hide and have an excellent vantage point.

Before daylight, they moved the hay to create a hidden resting area.

When they had finished, also before daylight, doors began to open, and people trickled into the streets. The men hunkered down in their hide. From their vantage point, the men could see the grander side of town, the market, and even the structure in the wall.

The day was spent observing the activity of Jericho. The people appeared old, and there was an absence of children.

The grand area was much smaller than the deplorable area. The market area was not fully occupied. While observing, one noticed the door of the structure open, and a woman headed for the marketplace. This was probably the woman they saw the night before in harlot's garments. She purchased a few items and then returned to the structure. She was the only one who went in or out of the structure that day. Activity appeared to wind down two hours before sunset.

The men were satisfied with what they had seen in Jericho and planned to exit after dark. The sun began to set when people with unusual garments and masks began to file into the streets. Looking at each other in disbelief, no one would believe what they were seeing. The garments were elaborate but did not cover everything. Darkness began to fall when people began to show up with only masks. It seemed as if all of Jericho was in the streets. After several hours, the sound of music could be heard in the marketplace. The crowd gathered to the music; now was their chance to exit Jericho.

Down the stairs to the door of the stables, they looked down the back street; it looked deserted. Slowly and carefully, down the street they went. Though there were people, most were passed out or occupied with one another. The men eventually arrived at the alley across the street from the structure. The music had stopped. The men began to scan the wall before trying to escape. People were on the wall—not guards, just people. Sunrise was a little less than two hours away. Decision time: stay in the alley, head back to the stable, or something else.

The harlot walked up to the door of the structure, and as she began to open the door, the two men saw their opportunity.

The harlot turned as the two men walked up to her, and she asked, What can I do for you?

They answered, We need a place to sleep.

The cost was two silver coins.

Each man reached into his money bag and handed her two silver coins. She then closed the door and slid the four coins into a money slot. She waited for a few moments, but neither man touched her. Surprised, she said, This way, please, and walked down the hall to a bedroom. The bedroom had a bed in the middle. The harlot walked to the bed, but one man went to the wall on the left and one to the wall on the right, and each lay down to sleep against a wall.

Rahab was shocked; first, it was the last night of festival before the forty days of weeping for Tammuz, and anything they wanted was available for free. Next, she charged twice the normal rate for both, and each man paid for both. They did not look drunk, but neither man touched her, and both just went to sleep. Maybe they will bother her later. Rahab walked over to the money slot and retrieved the coins. They felt heavy. When she examined the coins, she saw that they were Egyptian. She smiled; Egyptian coins were of twice the value of Jericho coins. Rahab then went to a bed by a window on the exterior of the structure. She loved to sleep where she could smell the outdoors.

Later that morning, a man sat waiting at the king's gate. He was there to tell the king that Rahab had two men of Israel visit her last night. After three hours of waiting, one of the king's officers brought him into the outer court and spoke to him. He told the officer two men visited Rahab last night and that maybe they were of the children of Israel. The officer went to the king's chamberlain and was told to wait for the king to awaken.

After all, yesterday was the last day of carnival, and everyone was asleep. The king awoke in the afternoon, the chamberlain informed the officer. The officer went to relay the story to the king. He was further delayed. The king was being fitted for new garments by the royal seamstress. When the royal seamstress was finished, the officer would be able to see the king.

When the king heard the report, he smiled. The man was the king's snitch, and he kept tabs on everything, especially the harlots. The king told the officer to send another officer to inquire of the harlot about the two men. The officer asked if the king believed the snitch.

Absolutely not, replied the king. However, this gives me a reason to post a sentry at the Yordan River. The king ordered the officer to give the snitch twice his normal fee and to send the captain of the guard. The officer went to contact the captain of the guard. While the officer was gone, the royal seamstress sent word to Rahab.

*****

Rahab was going to check on the two men when she heard a soft knock on the door. Opening the door, Rahab found a servant of the royal seamstress, who informed her the king was sending to inquire about two men who visited her last night. Rahab closed the door and turned to inform the two men. The king had instructed the harlots to never reveal their clients. Rahab entered the bedroom where the two men were waiting. They had heard the conversation. Rahab told them she had flax drying on the roof and that she would go to the roof and turn the flax. The men would hide under the flax, and then she would go downstairs to wait.

The knock came in the late afternoon, and Rahab went to open the door. The captain of the guard was waiting. When Rahab saw him, she smiled and said, Did you come for pleasure or pleasure?

The captain