Judges 1:11-15

Judges 1:11-15

[11] against the inhabitants  of Debir:  and the name  of Debir  before  was Kirjathsepher:  [12] And Caleb  said,  He that smiteth  Kirjathsepher,  and taketh  it, to him will I give  Achsah  my daughter  to wife.  [13] And Othniel  the son  of Kenaz,  Caleb's  younger  brother,  took  it: and he gave  him Achsah  his daughter  to wife.  [14] And it came to pass, when she came  to him, that she moved  him to ask  of her father  a field:  and she lighted  from off her ass;  and Caleb  said  unto her, What wilt thou? [15] And she said  unto him, Give  me a blessing:  for thou hast given  me a south  land;  give  me also springs  of water.  And Caleb  gave  her the upper  springs  and the nether  springs. 

What does Judges 1:11-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Othniel was a bold warrior who followed in the train of his older brother Caleb. God later raised him up to be the first of the heroic judges listed in this book ( Judges 3:7-11). The incident related here is also in Joshua ( Joshua 15:15-19) and took place before Joshua died. The writer probably recorded it again here because the event was a significant part of the conquest of Judah"s inheritance (cf. Judges 1:20), and because it introduces the reader to Israel"s first judge.
Caleb rewarded Othniel"s bravery by giving him his daughter"s hand in marriage. The blessing she asked was the springs of water over which Caleb had authority. They watered the area around Debir, Othniel"s prize. Being in the Negev, water would have been essential for Debir to flourish.
"Another aspect of Judges 1:11-15 that anticipates the rest of the book of Judges is the prominence of the female character Achsah.... [1]he is not just the trinket that her name might suggest ("Achsah" seems to mean an ornamental anklet or bangle). Rather, she demands "a blessing" ( Judges 1:15; NRSV "present"), and she gets it!
". . . the prominence of Achsah also clearly anticipates the major roles that women will play throughout the book of Judges. Like Achsah, several women are portrayed as active and assertive in the public sphere, especially Deborah and Jael (chaps4-5). But, as the book of Judges proceeds, the portrayal of women changes considerably. They become not leaders like "Achsah, Deborah, and Jael, but rather the victims of abuse.... The next time a woman is riding on a donkey is in Judges 19:28; and the woman, the Levite"s concubine, is a corpse, having been brutally abused, raped, and killed. Thus, by way of the contrast between Achsah and the Levite"s concubine, Judges 1:11-15 is yet another way that Judges 1:1 to Judges 2:5 anticipates the progressive deterioration that characterizes the book of Judges." [2]