Joshua 15:16

16 And Caleb said, I shall give Achsah, my daughter, (for a) wife to him that shall smite Kiriathsepher, and shall take it.

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 did away from thence (the) three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, of the generation of Anak.
15 And Caleb went up from thence, and he came to the dwellers of Debir, that was called before Kiriathsepher, that is, the city of letters (that before was called Kiriathsepher, that is, the City of Letters).
16 And Caleb said, I shall give Achsah, my daughter, (for a) wife to him that shall smite Kiriathsepher, and shall take it.
17 And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the younger brother of Caleb, took the city: and Caleb gave Achsah, his daughter, (for a) wife to him.
18 And when she went together (with him), her husband counselled her, that she should ask of her father a field (that she should ask for a field from her father); and (so) she sighed, as she sat upon the ass; and Caleb said to her, What hast thou in thy mind?
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.