Work related expenses

With the end of our financial year coming quickly again, my thoughts start to pregressively turn to what is known as 'tax minimisation.' I go through my receipts and try to figure out what I can legitimately claim.

Rahab is one of the enigmatic characters in the Bible. A prostitute working in the town of Jericho, she is named in the Hebrews hall of fame! (Hebrews 11:31)

The story entertains me in a number of ways.

"Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." ........So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. " (Joshua 2:1 NIV)

I am not sure exactly sure that these were Joshua's specific instructions....but I suppose if two foreigners want to slip into town unnoticed, the comings and goings at the home of a prostitute would make them less obvious.

Rahab then goes on to lie to the King of Jericho (who is not even named) and hides the spies (who are not named either) upstairs on the roof. Rahab makes a deal with the spies to spare her life and the lives of her mother and father, brothers and sisters and "all those who belong to them." (Joshua 2:13 NIV) I wonder how this conversation with her family went down? Was Rahab despised by her family for her profession? I am guessing that they knew how she paid the bills without a husband.

The long and the short of the story - the spies hide in the bushes for three days, the Israelites do their famous "walking around the city" seven times thing...the walls come down and every living thing in the city is killed... "men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys." (Joshua 6:21 NIV)

"But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day. " (Joshua 6:25 NIV)

I guess this also gave Joshua the opportunity to personally confirm the exact nature of any 'work-related' expense claims submitted to him by the two spies.