Joshua 15:16

16 Caleb said, "I will give Acsah, my daughter, as a wife to the man who attacks and captures the city of Kiriath Sepher."

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 Caleb forced out the three Anakite families living in Hebron: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak.

15 Then he left there and went to fight against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.)

16 Caleb said, "I will give Acsah, my daughter, as a wife to the man who attacks and captures the city of Kiriath Sepher."

17 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, captured the city, so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife.

18 When Acsah came to Othniel, she told him to ask her father for a field. So Acsah went to her father. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you want?"