11. Rahab
Mary Magdalene is not the only virtuous sex worker depicted in the Bible. When the Hebrew were plotting the capture of Jericho, two spies entered the city. They encountered Rahab, who invited them into her home. The King of Jericho soon learned of the spies and their plans and demanded that Rahab appear before him. He commanded her to turn over the two men, who would doubtlessly have been tortured and killed. She hid the men before going appearing before the king and told him they had fled the city and urged him to send his men out to give them chase.
Her cleverness not only saved the lives of the two spies but also that of her own family. In return for keeping the two Hebrews, she asked for protection for herself and her own family in the coming invasion to take the city. The two spies agreed, and she and her family were protected. Her actions allowed the Hebrews to take the city but kept her family safe. It was a positive depiction of the cleverness and resourcefulness of a sex worker at a time when the world’s oldest profession, and the women who practiced it, were greatly disparaged.