Rahab was the woman of Jericho who sheltered and hid the spies sent by Joshua to search out the land. When Israel destroyed Jericho, Rahab and her family were spared and they joined with and became a part of Israel. After letting the spies down through the window to escape to mark her family's household she placed a scarlet 'rope' or string out their window. Now in the community of the Jews today there are many who do wear a special red string or thread around their wrist. It is the Mystery of the Red String and if you ask concerning it you may have several answers given including that, 'It comes from the Tomb of the Jewish Matriarch, Rachel.' And they may add, 'It is an aulet for spiritual and physical blessing.' And they may een proclaim, 'It protects me against an Aiyin Hara, "the evil eye of jealousy."' Interesting is the mystery and history of the Red Sting of Israel. By the way except in being the Matriarach of all of Israel, Rachel is not the Jewish Matriarch, she being the mother of Joseph and Benjamin and Leah her sister being the mother of the Jews.

Now even the early Jewish Christians do put their own twist upon the line or lineage of of the Messiah. The Apostle Matthew in his Gospel does seem to make this Rahab/Rachab the mother of Boaz though she lived some 200 or more years before the time and day of Boaz. But Matthew did take liberty in the Messiah to have such junctures of 14 generation betwix to suit the likes of the special Jewish numbers, thus some number of generation are somewhat altered or missing in that Royal Genealogy of JESUS. One possible answer is that the Rachab of Matthew was a dauther of Rahab rather than Rahab herself.

"And Salmon begat Booz of [the daughter of] Rachab [and Joshua]; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;"Matthew 1:5

One fact of the matter is that in truth the traditional Jew does not see Rahab as being the wife of Salmon descendant of Judah at all. They have a very different perspective and understanding as to just who Rahab did marry and become the mother of. As taken from 'The United Full-text of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia as presented on line under JewishEncyclopedia.com, and under the topic 'JOSHUA (JEHOSHUA):' it is given there that Rahab of Jericho did marry Joshua, not Salmon at all.

"Rahab is said to have become Joshua's wife. They had daughters but no son. . . . There is some doubt as to her having only daughters by Joshua (see Zeb. 116b; Mek., Yitro [beginning]; Rashi to Josh. ii.; Jalk., Josh. 9; Meg. 14a; Gedaliah ibn Yahya, "Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah," p. 14a)." ~ Jewish Encyclopedia of 1906 via JewishEncyclopedia.com

Now Christian Tradition or Understanding has held that this 'Rachab' of whom Matthew in his Gospel presents that Salmon beget Booz is the same as the woman of Jericho who was named in the Old Testament as Rahab. Yet nowhere in Jewish tradition does it so indicate that the woman of Jericho, Rahab, did marry into the Jewish lineage, rather there is a the strong Jewish tradition just cited which does make that Rahab is the wife of Joshua. And it makes her of Joshua the ancestor of such as Jeremiah, the prophetess Huldah and other such Biblical notables. And if Matthew is correct, she was also one of the many ancestors of Jesus Christ, the Messiah whether as the wife of Salmon or Joshua or that one of her daughters was the wife of Salmon.

How can this be? Joseph Smith has well established that 'We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is 'translated' correctly.' Now this 'translation' includes all the 'editing', 'transcribing' and 'compellation' processes by which the Biblical record has come. And the Book of Mormon has stated of the Bible that many plain and prescious things have been left out of the Bible in that process. In this text we are exploring one such item which has been obscured in the Biblical compilation process, and that is the significant roles which Joseph and his son Ephraim have played which the Jews have obscured or intentionally placed themselves in being, such as being the only tribe to have prevailed in Israel, particularly over Ephraim and the Kingdom of Israel. And along with this, Ephraim/Joseph's role in being the ancestor to the Messiah by right of the Law of Moses.

Such 'Jewish' perspective particularly prevailed in the days of Jesus Christ. It was no longer any great honor to be of the 'House of David'. And the Jews, the Jewish perspective or skewed view which they have manufactured in the pages of the Bible, did continue to have its influence on the pages of the written word of the New Testament and on the early church. Paul and the doctrine of circumcism continued to be a matter in the early church which did effect even the Church of Jesus Christ and both Gentile and Jewish members alike; as the Jews though members of the new church continued to practice the old Law of Moses ordinances even to attempting to enforcing them upon the Gentiles as has been the case in the Old Testament when any such converted to the religion of Jehovah.

This 'Jewish' view continued to persist in favoring the 'Jewish' view even over the views of any other tribes' envolvement in the matters of religion, Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Certainly the Jews had long since dispelled Joseph as being anscestor of the Messiah. And even if Matthew may have stated some such thing as Boaz being begotten by Salmon the daughter of Rahab and Joshua, it would have been tended to have been edited out that Christ was not strictly a Jew. In no way did the Jews wish to note that Jesus was in any part a descendant of Joseph as well as of Judah. Their skew and preference was strictly Jewish and not of Ephraim at all. And the Jewish Christian did not prefer to make Jesus on the level of a 'Samaritian' as the Phrasees had so accused him of being.

Rahab is more timely of the generation of Joshua than of Boaz and his parents. And there seems to be substantial truth to the tradition that Rahab was the wife of Joshua and through her descended many notible Biblical figures, including Jesus Christ. But it would have been a 'daughter of Rahab', perhaps called after her mother's name, who could possible be figured into the ancestry of Jesus Christ as bing the mother of Boaz. And this would be the 'maternal' link of relationship which Boaz would have had to Elimelech, Malhon and Chilion, Ephraimites of Bethleham.