Pearl in the Sand

by Tessa Afshar

  “Yes, let them by, friend,” came an unexpected female voice. “They have money to spend at my inn. It’s been an age since I’ve entertained travelers, and you aren’t helping, Hamish.”

  Hanani turned to look … and drew in his breath. A woman wrapped in light blue silk lounged against the wall opposite him. Her hair, which was the color of ripe chestnuts, fell below her waist in shiny ringlets, barely covered by the diaphanous veil fluttering in the wind. Her large eyes, the color of spring honey, were fringed by thick curling lashes, and her slender nose was like an arrow pointing at full lips, too red for nature’s bounty. The blue silk of her dress clung seductively to her curvaceous figure leaving little to the imagination. Hanani gulped. An innkeeper, she had said. Everything about her was forbidden to him. Nervously, he dropped his gaze.

  Fortunately, the guard seemed as distracted as Hanani. Losing interest in the interrogation, he faced the woman. “Rahab! Business can’t be so dismal that you would entertain men wearing homespun at your inn.”

  “Of course business is dismal. Thanks to you and your soldier friends who scare away my customers. Now let these nice young merchants come into my inn so they can spend lots of their silver on good Jericho wine.”

  The guard considered this. “What do I get out of it?”

  “I’ll give you a cool jug of my barley water tonight. But only if you stop harassing my customers.”

  “Get me the barley water first,” Hamish cajoled.

  Hanani threw a quick glance at the woman. She stared at them with narrowed eyes, then turned on her heels and disappeared up a staircase carved into the wall. He was certain she had just saved their lives.

  “You two, stand aside over there. If she returns you can go with her. If she returns. She’s wasting her effort if you ask me. I don’t see much silver coming out of those pockets.”

  Even standing to the side, their presence drew too many curious, hostile stares. Saved by an innkeeper—a zonah! Perhaps death by torture would not be so terrible a fate after all. He could not imagine explaining to Joshua this particular turn of events.

  Finally the woman named Rahab returned. She sauntered over to Hamish, taking her time, swinging her hips with every step. Hanani appreciated that undulating walk, for as she approached, every man turned from scrutinizing him and Ezra and focused instead on Rahab. “Here is your drink, young soldier. Now hand me my customers and make a nuisance of yourself with someone else.”

  Hamish took the jug from her and laughed. “Hey, fellows, look what I’ve got. Barley water made by Rahab’s own lily hands. And none of you is getting a drop.”

  Hanani and Ezra didn’t linger another second, but followed Rahab with great relief as she led them into her inn within the very walls of Jericho.

  Chapter

  Five

  No one could have been more surprised than Rahab to find two Hebrew spies ten cubits from her door. She knew them for Hebrews the minute she set eyes on them. Besides their unfamiliar accent, it was the way they carried themselves. They looked trim and well-muscled like soldiers, not soft like merchants. Certainly they had raised the guards’ suspicion, and if she had not interfered they would have been arrested. Jericho had been shaken by fear of the Hebrews since the fall of Og. Every stranger approaching their gates was examined with more zeal than finesse.

  Every other citizen of Jericho in her place would have raised an alarm. Would have insisted they be examined. But Rahab panicked at the thought of their danger. She could not bear that those belonging to the Lord should be destroyed. She had to help. As she stepped forward, she had no plan or clever ploy. She just knew she had to remove them from the attention of the guards. So she improvised.

  Now there were two Hebrews traipsing behind her like lion cubs following their mother. Who would kill her first? The Hebrews or Jericho’s soldiers? She had definitely lost her mind. There was no doubt now. But even as she thought this, she wondered if the god of the Hebrews approved.

  Tongue-tied only for a moment as they crossed the threshold of her inn, Rahab pulled her veil forward and said, “Please sit down, my lords. You must be tired after your journey. Would you like some refreshments?”

  The men stood just inside the door, their movements stiff, as if they preferred not to touch anything. The shorter one, his beard twitching with a nervous jerk, shook his head. “No, thank you. We brought our own.”

  Rahab motioned them to the table and set goblets of wine before them. The nervous one pulled something wrapped in cheesecloth from his pocket. He was so jittery he knocked over the goblet of wine and Rahab had to fetch a rag to clean up the mess. As she moved about, their eyes never rested on her face or body, but seemed to run to and fro, seeking any place to look besides her.

  She remembered Debir telling her that harlots were condemned to death by these people. Was she repugnant to them? Her brows knotted at the thought. Then she decided to try and win them over. Earn their good opinion. How hard could it be? She had half the men of Jericho eating out of her hand. Surely Hebrews could not be that different? “What are your names?” she asked.

  “I’m Ezra and this is Hanani,” the taller man said. He had surprisingly light skin in contrast to his dark hair, and a crooked nose saved him from being too pretty for a man. The one called Hanani glared at him, obviously considering this surrendering of information inappropriate.

  “We’re not here for … for … anything other than a place to stay. We don’t want … any … er, that is, we just want a place to rest and we’ll be on our way,” Hanani said.

  Rahab rose and took a step back. Her voice sounded cold to her own ears as she said, “You’re merely guests at my inn.” And then to her amazement she found herself saying, “I’m done with the other.”

  There was a moment when they all stared at one another. Finally Rahab said, “Rest easy. You’re with a friend. Though I must warn you that you’re not safe yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Hanani demanded, shooting to his feet in a sudden motion that overturned the wine goblet again, though this time at least it was empty.

  She bent and picked it up. “I mean that I know you are Hebrews. And every guard out there is going to arrive at the same conclusion once they consider the evidence.”

  “Where did you get such an idea?” Hanani asked, eyeing the door.

  “Don’t leave now. It would be a mistake. You remain safer with me than with the soldiers out there. Didn’t you see how suspiciously they were staring at you as you tried to enter the gate? Your accents are strange to us. You have the physique and bearing of soldiers. And Jericho is on heightened alert because of the many battles you have won east of the Jordan. If I had not distracted them, you would be under their whips and knives right now.”

  Ezra cleared his throat, as though that final word picture had stuck in his gullet. “Why should we trust you?” he asked.

  Rahab glanced out the window toward the gate. “Because if I’m not mistaken, that runner is carrying a message even now to the king’s men. They’re bound to come looking for you soon.”

  Hanani moved to stand next to her, flattening himself against the wall so he wouldn’t be seen. By his expression Rahab saw that he had picked out the messenger she had mentioned. He didn’t miss a group of the guards looking up in the direction of her inn either. One of them said something and spat on the ground. “We need to get out of here,” he said to Ezra.

  “How?” she asked, her brows arching. “Go down those stairs and you’ll be detained.” She covered her face with her hands for a moment. I can’t believe I’m doing this. “Listen, I have a better idea. I will hide you.”

  “Why would you do that?” Ezra asked, his voice dripping with suspicion.

  “Well, it’s not because of your handsome whiskers.” Rahab pursed her lips in an attempt to calm the ire that Hanani and Ezra’s wariness provoked in her. She supposed she couldn’t fault them for their skepticism. She didn’t half understand her own motives.

  Why wa
s she risking her neck to help two unpleasant Hebrews? Because of their god. She wanted to be on his side. Bone deep, she believed the Lord would destroy Jericho, and she wanted an escape for her and her family. I want to help you because I believe more in your god than I ever believed in our gods. I want to help you because I’d rather follow the Lord than the ways of Jericho.

  “I don’t want to stand against your god. Now do you want to live or not? If you do, listen to me.”

  The mention of God seemed to deflate their agitation. “All right,” Ezra muttered, as though still thinking through his response.

  Rahab gestured toward the trapdoor that led to the roof. “I’m drying stalks of flax up there. Go fetch the ladder from the room behind you and hide yourselves up under the flax. Dusk has come, and no one will see you in the darkness if you’re careful.”

  Her inn was built high up; its roof jutted slightly past the edges of the wall, hanging over into the city side. Three times a day, guards marched past the roof of her house. Rahab knew that the next group was not due until early morning, which made this a safe hiding place for the next few hours. Rahab climbed the ladder behind the men and saw them settled under the flax.

  “It’s a long way down,” Hanani whispered as he glanced around. His voice had a small tremble to it.

  Rahab recalled her own butterflies the first time she had climbed onto the roof. “There’s room enough,” she assured. Other dangers loomed much bigger than the height. “Understand this,” she warned. “My life is in danger as much as yours. If you’re careless, I will die a worse death than you, for I am now a traitor to my own people.”

  As she climbed back down into the room, she heard the sound of a stifled sneeze. Even the closed trapdoor merely muffled the noise. Rahab squeezed her eyes shut and cringed. She had seen people have that reaction around drying flax. But a simple sneeze on this night could mean her head.

  The next sound she heard was the clatter of feet on the stairway. She froze. The ladder! Grabbing it, she began lugging it into the back room. It weighed more than she expected. Usually, either her servant fetched it, or she dragged it on the ground. But she dared not make any noise that might alert the approaching soldiers to the movement of heavy furniture. Beads of sweat collected on her forehead as she took one tiny step after another, the ladder hoisted high in her aching arms. Her foot caught the edge of the bottom rung and she stumbled. The ladder nearly went flying out of her hand. The footsteps were getting closer. Gasping, she took a few dancing strides, and regained her balance.

  The footsteps reached her door just as she shoved the ladder against the wall, where blue linen curtains hid it from sight. Rahab barely had time to heave a sigh before the knocking began. She turned and saw to her horror that one of the Hebrews had left his outer garment on the cushions. A small squeak escaped her lips. Next to the cloak, the remains of their repast were plain to see. Rahab shoved everything under the covers of her bed and pulled the embroidered coverlet back over them, hoping the soldiers would not notice the odd lump. Just in case, she threw a couple of extra pillows from the floor onto the bed. Another series of knocks, impatient and louder, made her jump.

  “Hold on to your chariots. I’m coming,” she called and pulled open the door. Two men in the king’s uniform stood outside. “The king’s guard! Don’t tell me the king is longing for my company.”

  Their lips twitched before a curtain of seriousness fell over their faces again. One of them had eyes that bulged frog-like under bushy eyebrows. Those eyes were alert beneath their lowered lids as he exclaimed, “No. His majesty is well cared for, thank you, Rahab. We are here for your guests.” He stretched his neck and looked beyond Rahab into the room. Hardening his voice, he barked, “Bring out the men who came to your inn. They’re spies, here on a mission against our nation.”

  Rahab gasped. “Spies! I could have been murdered in my bed!”

  Frog Eyes shifted impatiently. “Yes, yes. Bring them out, woman.”

  “I’m not a magician. How am I to bring them out if they’re not here?” she croaked.

  “Are you denying that they came in to stay with you?”

  “Of course not. They came in, all right. But how was I to know they were spies? I thought they were like any other travelers. It’s not my fault they left.”

  “They left? When? Where did they go?”

  “At dusk, just when it was time for closing the city gate. They hardly spent any time here and even less money. I don’t know which way they went, but if you go after them you might still catch up with them. It wasn’t that long ago.”

  The two men shoved her aside and came in and looked about. Without warning, one of them moved over to the bed and kicked it. Rahab could have swooned. If he found the Hebrew’s garment, he would arrest her for sure. His boot missed the jiggling pile in the center by a breath before he turned away. Rahab almost fell down in her relief. They checked her other room, looked outside the window, and finding nothing, left without apology.

  A platoon of the king’s armed guards awaited the two soldiers below stairs. She watched them open the gates and set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that led to the fords of the Jordan. As soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut once more.

  Rahab leaned against the wall, her breath coming out in jerky gasps. Putting a shivering hand to her head, she began to laugh. She had managed it. She had saved the Hebrews and her own skin in the bargain. She had turned traitor against her country, her people, and her way of life. The enormity of her decision hit her like a millstone. She had betrayed her countrymen to the Hebrews. No. Not to the Hebrews. To the Lord.

  Gingerly, for she found her knees were shaking, she went to fetch her guests from under the flax. Back in her rooms, they washed and took care of their immediate needs. Rahab knew she should lead the men back up to the roof in case the king’s men decided to return. But impulsively she blurted, “Will you tell me about the Lord?”

  Ezra who was sitting closest to her threw her a surprised look. “What do you mean?”

  “I want to know about the Lord. Your god. Will you tell me about him?”

  “What would you like to know?”

  “Everything.”

  Hanani snorted, then laughed aloud for a short moment before Ezra’s elbow in his side stole his breath. To Rahab’s delight, the men did not refuse her. For a whole hour they regaled her with stories of the Lord. How He had taken care of Israel by His might and compassion through their long exile in the wilderness. And how He was the one true God. With every word Rahab grew hungrier for this god—the God—whose face she had never seen.

  Finally, with regret she said, “I have kept you up too long. You must hide on the roof once more. The king’s men may return.”

  Hanani and Ezra crawled back up the ladder, their feet dragging this time, and once more lay beneath the flax. She went up with them and lingered for a few minutes to see them settled. The smell of drying flax filled her nostrils, a brittle cheerful plant smell.

  “You must leave very early, before sunrise,” she said in hushed tones lest someone overhear. “The guards walk the perimeter of the wall at first light, and they might discover you if you haven’t left.”

  Hanani nodded. “We heard you speak to the king’s men. Why did you, a … woman from Jericho, protect men of Israel?”

  She was kneeling on the parapet, while they lay hidden by the stalks of flax. If anyone had bothered to look up, they would have seen only Rahab. The night had grown dark, and she felt the heaviness of it upon her like a smothering blanket. Stars shimmered in the midst of that blackness like pinpricks of hope. She thought about Hanani’s question. Why had she helped the enemy? Why had she made her name the object of every Canaanite curse for generations to come? Because, against all reason, it was the right thing.

  “I’m helping you because I know the Lord has given this land to you. Fear stifles my people. We have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the sea for you when you came out of E
gypt. We have seen what you did to the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og. When we heard of these victories, our courage failed. But I know the Lord your god is God in heaven above and on the earth below. I know it is He who fights your battles and wins them for you. This is why I saved you.”

  She did not say how desperately she wanted to belong to Him for fear of their ridicule. She was convinced that they would revile her. That the Lord Himself would reject her. So instead she set about to make a bargain with Him through His men. “Hanani and Ezra, I’ve shown kindness to you. I’ve saved your lives. So now will you return my kindness? Will you swear that you will spare me and my family when you come against this city?”

  Hanani pushed aside the flax until his face became visible. In the darkness, Rahab could see the white of his eyes. “You have no doubt that God will give Israel the victory, do you?”

  Rahab shook her head.

  “You have so much faith. I never thought to find the like outside Israel.”

  His words brought tears to her eyes, and she turned away so he wouldn’t see their sheen in the starlight. They were words of approval from a man who not long ago had found her worthy only of contempt. And she had won his approbation not by feminine manipulation, but by her faith. Yet what good would his approval be to a dead woman?

  “Will you save our lives, then? Will you spare the lives of my parents and my brothers and sisters and their children?”

  Hanani reached out and touched the hem of her garment. “Our lives in exchange for yours,” he promised, the fierceness behind his words convincing her. “Rahab, if you don’t tell anyone what we’re doing, we’ll treat you with kindness when the Lord gives us the victory.”

  Rahab gulped around a large lump in her throat. Was this real? Had she, in fact, managed to purchase life for herself and her family? “May the Lord bless you,” she whispered.