פירוש על יהושע 6:25

Joshua left alive (hecheyah): As he commanded to keep the oath that the messengers swore to her, as he said (Josh. 6:17), "Only Rachav the harlot, etc." But one can also explain hecheyah [to mean] that he gave them nourishment (micheyah), money or an inheritance from which they could live. And this is [the meaning of] what it states, "and she dwelt among the Israelites." And this is the correct explanation. And there is a homily (drash) that Yehoshua took Rachav as a wife. And this is [the meaning of] hecheyah, as once they saw that Yehoshua took Rachav as a wife, some of the Jewish notables clung to the house of her father (and gave them assistance). And even though it is written about the seven peoples [of Canaan] (Deut. 7:4), "you shall not intermarry with them," they said that Rachav and the house of her father were foreigners and were not from the seven nations. And there is someone who says that went the spies that Yehoshua had sent entered Jericho, she converted - and the Israelites had not yet entered the Land [of Israel]. And all of this [last suggestion] is according to the [position] that holds that when it is written, "you shall not intermarry with them," it is [only] written about when they are in their state of being of the nations (as opposed to having converted).