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Joshua 15 tells how Othniel wins Caleb’s daughter Achsah by capturing a town, then how she asks Caleb for springs of water. Judges repeats the moment almost exactly, reusing it to bridge the conquest and the age of the judges.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Joshua 15:19
Hebrew Bible
15 From there he attacked the people of Debir. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 16 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 17 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it, Caleb gave Achsah his daughter to him as a wife. 18 One time Achsah came and charmed her father so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 19 She answered, “Please give me a special present. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So he gave her both the upper and lower springs.
Judges 1:15
Hebrew Bible
11 From there they attacked the people of Debir. (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife.” 13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it, Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 14 One time Achsah came and charmed her father so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 15 She answered, “Please give me a special present. Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
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Notes and References
... The story of Caleb, Achsah and Othniel (verses 12–15) is taken over from Joshua 15:16–19 with a few minor changes. This story fits in very well within the overall concept of the book of Judges, as it relates the previous book of Joshua to the following stories of the judges. Caleb represents the past and Othniel belongs to the next generation and will return in Judges 3 as the first of the judges (compare Szpek 2002, who sees Achsah’s story as a metaphor for societal change). Also the prominent role of a woman is important here: Achsah is the first of a remarkable list of women in the book of Judges measuring up with the men in their environment (compare Schneider 2009; le Roux 2015). ...
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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