When we enter the land, you will tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you will bring your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house (Josh 2:18).

These two things were what Rahab was to do before the Israelites would come to destroy Jericho: to tie "this scarlet cord" in the same window as she let these spies down, and to gather all those who belonged to her into her house. Here, the phrase, "this scarlet cord," draws our special interest. The phrase in Hebrew is, tiqvath hut ha-sshani hazeh, and it probably means, "the thread/cloth of this scarlet string/cord." Since we do not know exactly how tiqvah is different from hut in the meaning, these two words are together translated as "cord" in NIV. The word that gives the meaning of "scarlet" is shani, and it was the color of the matter produced by insects called coccus ilicis: the dried bodies of the females of this insect was widely used for coloring matter. The worm of this kind of insect is called tola'ath in Hebrew, and this word, together with shani, appears in the instruction for the purification of a healed leper in Leviticus:

He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn (sheni hattola'ath) and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.

The phrase, sheni hattola'ath, indicates that this yarn must be colored by the coloring matter produced by the kind of insect mentioned above, and the yarn is used to bind the wood and the branches of the hyssop together. Then, the priest is to dip the whole thing into mixture of living water and the blood of a killed bird. This is obviously the picture of Jesus being crucified on the cross. We have also the following prophecy.

But I am a worm (tola'ath) and not a man,

Scorned by men and despised by the people (Ps 22:6).

The word for "a worm" is tola'ath, and as explained above, this worm is used to produce the color of blood. Christ is depicted as a blood-producing worm.

Another thing that needs to be explained is the use of the word, tiquvah. In the aforementioned phrase, "this scarlet cord," it means some kind of cord, thread, or cloth. But the same word with the same pronunciation also means "hope." Apparently, the word is used in double meanings. This cord was the hope by which Rahab and all who belonged to her were saved. Note that the pronoun "this (hazeh)" is attached to the phrase, and it implies that the same cord was used to let the two spies down. They were also saved by this "hope." For us who are in Christ, this hope is Christ himself, and his blood by which we have the forgiveness of our sins.

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22).

If there were no forgiveness, there would be no righteousness. If there were no righteousness, we would not be heirs of God. If we were not heirs of God, there would be no blessings upon us, and we would be still under curses, and when we die, we would be sent to hell—no hope at all.

I led them with cords of human kindness (lit. I pulled them with the ropes of human),

with ties of love;

I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them (Hos 11:4).

The "cords (ropes) of human (adam)" are the ropes that are red (adom), and they are the ropes of Jesus' blood (dam), "ties of love." It was with this kind of rope that two spies escaped from Jericho, and with the same rope, Rahab and all those who belonged to her were saved. And with the same scarlet rope of hope, we who are now in Christ, were saved.