Before: The postcolonial reading of the Bible takes into account the imperialistic factors that apply to Rahab’s story. Rahab pleads with the conquerors to allow her to survive. Therefore, the colonizers, in this case the Israelites, are able to represent themselves as a welcome entity. The authors of Joshua were on the side of the Israelites. Therefore, they wanted to make themselves look good.
After: Suppose that not only you, but also your family are in the position of having to face certain death or if you can surrender to the people who would otherwise kill you. By surrendering you are saving your family's lives. Western feminist scholarship perceives Rahab as someone unfearful. The decision to view Rahab as someone who held no fear is unrealistic. She had heard of the path of destruction of Joshua and his people, therefore she knew what her options were. If you were having to lie to a king that could easily dispose of you or alternatively be destroyed by an outside people that you knew had been successful thus far would you choose the one who you could be safe from for a time or the one that offered safety to you and your family for the remainder of your lives.