Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
Who is the Rahab mentioned
in Psalm 89:10?
Don't get confuse the name of the woman
from Jericho (Joshua
2) with the same English term in this psalm. The two names are spelled differently in Hebrew
(Rāchāb for
the woman and rahah in
the psalm.) Rahab is
employed several times in the Old Testament to designate an evil power
of chaos as well as a particular country.
1. Identity of Rahab: The
meaning of the noun Rahab is
not certain. It is derived from the Hebrew verb rāhab,
whose meaning is also uncertain. It is generally translated "to storm,
assault," or "be proud/arrogant." The noun
could perhaps be translated as "the arrogant/proud/stormy." In this
psalm it describes a demonic figure defeated by God in primordial
times. The religions of the ancient Near East had myths describing
a primordial
war between the gods of chaos and the creator gods. However, in none
of those myths is the term rahab or
its linguistic equivalent used to designate those enemies. Besides,
in the Old Testament Rahab is not a deity.
This power is closely associated with the dragon (Isa. 51:9)
and with the "fleeing serpent" (Job 26:13, NKJV), a phrase used to describe the Leviathan (Isa. 27:1). Most probably Rahab and
Leviathan designate the same demonic power (see, Adventist
Review, May 11, 2000, p. 27).
2. Battling Rahab: Psalm
89:6-15 is a hymn praising God's cosmic dominion. He is particularly
praised because He "crushed Rahab like one
of the slain" (verse 10, NIV). Job 26:5-13 is another hymn praising
the cosmic power of God. He is described as the cosmic Lord who has
dominion over the realm of death (verses 5, 6), the skies, the earth,
and the clouds (verses 7-9), and over the whole structure of the world
(verses 10, 11). The same cosmic interest is found in verse 12, with
its reference to Rahab: "By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom
he cut Rahab to pieces" (NIV). The Lord,
not the Babylonian Marduk or the Canaanite
Baal, confronted Rahab and was victorious over it. But this demonic power
was not acting alone. Job 9:13 speaks about "the cohorts of Rahab" (cf. Ps. 40:4, the
plural rehāb�m, "proud ones"). The Hebrew plural participle translated "cohort" (cāzar)
means "the ones who helped/supported Rahab," and
in the context of war it designates supporting troops (cf. Rev. 12:7).
Since the biblical passages do not explicitly
state the moment when that battle took place, it would be incorrect
to read into the text the common ancient Near Eastern idea that the
battle among the gods occurred during Creation. The most we can say is that the conflict
between God and Rahab happened in primordial
times. The biblical Creation account recorded in Genesis 1 does not
contain a hint of creation through conflict. The serpent already active
in the Garden of Eden suggests the conflict had taken place before
Creation week.
3. The Defeat of Rahab: The
association of Rahab with the sea/waters confirms the fact that it belongs
to the sphere of evil. The sea is often a symbol of the forces of oppression and death
(e.g., Dan. 7:3; Rev. 13:1), and Rahab seems
to embody all of them. The Lord is the only one who could defeat this
power, and He did it. He "cut Rahab to pieces" (Heb. māchats, "to
smash"; Job 26:12, NIV; cf. Isa. 51:9), "crushed Rahab" (Ps.
89:10, NIV), and He "scattered" His enemies, the supporters of Rahab (verse
10, NIV); they "cowered at his feet" (Job 9:13, NIV). This is the language
of total victory during the primordial battle.
4. Rahab Is
Active in History: Although
the language of defeat may suggest that Rahab was
exterminated, that is not the case. This evil power reenacts the
original battle in the history of the people of God. The name is
used in a pejorative way to designate Egypt as
unreliable (Isa. 30:7; cf. Ps. 30:7). Isaiah
51:9, 10 uses the language of the primordial battle to describe the conflict between God and the Egyptian armies
during the Israelite exodus from Egypt. God defeated Rahab during the redemption of His people from the oppressive and arrogant Rahab-like
power of Egypt.
The figure of Rahab gives us important
information concerning the origin of the cosmic conflict and its expression
in our world. The description of the conflict as well as the strong language used
to depict God's victory should bring comfort to those who are involved
in the great controversy.
1/13/05
Copyright © Biblical Research Institute General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®