Joshua 15:19

19 And she said to him, "Give to me a gift; you have given me the land of the Negev, and you must give to me a spring of water." And he gave to her the upper and lower spring.

Joshua 15:19 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 15:19

Who answered, give me a blessing
By which she meant not a paternal benediction, or that he would wish and pray for a blessing on her; nor food, or a maintenance, as Jarchi, that her husband would provide for her; but rather an inheritance or possession, as the Targum; or a gift, as Abendana, a present, or something over and above what he had already given her; or an addition to her portion, as Kimchi: the word is sometimes used for a fish pool, as well as a blessing, and so glances at what she had in view, pools of water, or a well watered land:

for thou hast given me a south land;
a dry land, as the Jewish writers

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 generally interpret this word, otherwise all the land belonging to the tribe of Judah was south land, and Caleb could give her no other; but Debir, as Hebron was, was in the hill country, was mountainous and so dry, and wanted watering:

give me also springs of water;
she means land in which there were springs of water; for unless she was possessed of the land in which they were, she would have no command of the springs, and so have little or no use of them:

and he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs;
such as were in the higher grounds, and such as were in the lower ones, that she might have a sufficiency to water all her lands and fields; or as she moved her husband to ask a field, and he put her on doing the same, Caleb gave her a field, in the upper part of which were springs, and also in the lower part; though he seems to have given more than she requested.

F1 So Jarchi and Kimchi in loc. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 34. 1.

Joshua 15:19 In-Context

17 Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife.

18 When she came [to him] she urged him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, "{What do you want}?"

19 And she said to him, "Give to me a gift; you have given me the land of the Negev, and you must give to me a spring of water." And he gave to her the upper and lower spring.

20 This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Judah according to their families:

21 the cities belonging to the tribe of the descendants of Judah to the far south, to [the] border of Edom to the south, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,

Footnotes

• [a]. Or "blessing"
• [b]. An arid region south of the Judaean hills
• [c]. Joshua 15:13-19 is almost identical to Judges 1:11-15