The Scarlet Cord

Provided to me as a complimentary copy by Booksneeze, The Scarlet Cord by Joan Wolf fleshes out the life of Rahab, the Old Testament heroine who saved the spies in Jericho and whose life was spared in return.  Ms. Wolf depicts Rahab as a young, innocent beauty who is mistakenly assumed to be a harlot by the Israelites since she is a Canaanite.  Rahab and Sala (the Hebrew man, Salmon) fall in love, but are thwarted by their differing backgrounds and resulting family resistance.  Due to Rahab's role in saving the spies, she wins Sala's father's grudging acceptance, and her family, too, comes around when it becomes obvious that Yahweh is the one true God as Jericho's walls fall.

I appreciate Biblical historical fiction because it allows me to imagine what the men and women of the Bible we're thinking  and feeling as the drama of major Biblical events plays out.  Usually these types of fictional works motivate me to reread the Scripture passage with a greater awareness.  Unfortunately, author Joan Wolf's interpretation of Rahab fell so far off the mark of the Bible narrative that I didn't even bother to revisit the Biblical account.   The Bible clearly states that Rahab was a harlot, not once but several times. This is one of the beautiful examples in Scripture of God redeeming people who are unworthy.  It is a story of forgiveness and redemption, of saving to the uttermost.  Wolf's depiction of Rahab as a virginal young girl not only misses a key point of the Biblical account but also seems to call into question the veracity of the Scriptural description of Rahab.  For this reason, though the story was well written and an interesting read, I can not in good conscience recommend The Scarlet Cord.