It shall be, that whoever shall go out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his head, and we shall be guiltless: and whoever shall be with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be on him.
The cord Rahab was to hang out of her window and over the town wall-her house stood on the wall (Joshua 2:15)-was scarlet in color (Joshua 2:15; Joshua 2:18). Archaeologists have discovered houses within the ruined walls of ancient Jericho. [Note: See Bryant G. Wood, "Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look at the Archaeological Evidence," Biblical Archaeology Review 16:2 (1990):56.] Its unusual color would have marked Rahab’s house for the Israelites. The color had symbolic significance, too, since red recalls blood and vigorous life.