Initially, only the wives, daughters, mothers, widows, and sisters of Royal Arch Masons were allowed.
"[2] The name comes the Bible as a reference to the Woman of Jericho, Rahab, who protected her family from harm by saving two Israelites.
[3][4] In their gratitude, they told her to hang a red chord from her house to mark her family as protected.
[5] Emblems of the order include the Scarlet Chord, the Sheaf of Wheat, and the Three-Tiered Ark and the three colors are red, white, and blue.
[6] These emblems and colors are represented in the regalia worn by the Heroines of Jericho.