And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
The woman took the two men and hid them - literally, him; i:e., each of them in separate places, of course previous to the appearance of the royal messengers, and in anticipation of a speedy search after her guests. True to the laws of hospitality, for which Orientals generally, and the women particularly, have ever been famous, she, at the imminent risk of her own life, protected her guests from their pursuers. According to Eastern manners, which pay an almost superstitious respect to a woman's apartment, the royal messengers did not demand admittance to search, but asked her to bring the foreigners.