Joshua 15:16

16 And Caleb said: He that shall smite Cariath-Sepher, and take it, I will give him Axa my daughter to wife.

Joshua 15:16 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 15:16

And Caleb said, he that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it,
&c.] Which he ordered to be proclaimed through the army that was under his command; and which was done not so much on the account of the difficulty of taking the place, through the number of the inhabitants of it, and its fortifications, which it seems had fallen again into the hands of the Canaanites, since it was taken by Joshua; nor through inactivity, diffidence, and timorousness in himself; but that others, who were officers, and men of valour under him, might gather some laurels as well as himself; and chiefly being under a divine impulse, he ordered this declaration to be made, whereby his brother Othniel, who was to be a judge in Israel, might appear a great man, and fit for such an office; and as an encouragement, he promises as follows:

to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife;
and to be married into the family of the chief prince of the tribe of Judah was a very great honour, as well as no doubt a very large dowry might be expected, and was given with her, and very probably the city of Debir was promised that should be taken. This Achsah seems to be a daughter of Caleb by a concubine, ( 1 Chronicles 2:48 1 Chronicles 2:49 ) .

Joshua 15:16 In-Context

14 And Caleb destroyed out of it the three sons of Enac, Sesai and Ahiman, and Tholmai of the race of Enac.
15 And going up from thence he came to the inhabitants of Dabir, which before was called Cariath-Sepher, that is to say, the city of letters.
16 And Caleb said: He that shall smite Cariath-Sepher, and take it, I will give him Axa my daughter to wife.
17 And Othoniel the son of Cenez, the younger brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Axa his daughter to wife.
18 And as they were going together, she was moved by her husband to ask a field of her father, and she sighed as she sat on her ass. And Caleb said to her: What aileth thee?
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