And thence Caleb dispossessed the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, who were born of Anak.
Caleb had asked for Hebron, and here he takes it: three named giants lose the city. Israel had heard those names before, from spies who came back afraid.
The three men Caleb expelled were not new enemies. The spies had brought back their names forty-five years before, and the report left Israel terrified.
At the end of the forty years Caleb had to subdue, name for name, the very men who had filled the souls of the spies with terror. Unbelief does not let us escape the difficulties, even when we are still going to enjoy the effects of the promise.
Caleb did not ask for an easy corner of the land. He asked for the one place that had broken everyone else's nerve.
He had a right to pick and choose his inheritance from all the best of the land given to the fathers. And after forty-five years of patience he chose that city, with the land around it. The sons of Anak lived there, and there the spies had felt their own smallness with terror. It is the only city named in Numbers 13 as being in the land, and it was the home of the giants. Through seven years of conflict, Joshua and all Israel had left those giants alone. Yet Caleb dares to say that if the Lord will be with him, he will be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. It was simple faith, holding on to the end. It had the humility, and also the boldness, that faith gives — no pretension, no boasting, but the quiet confidence of one who walked with God.
The spies had measured themselves against the giants. Caleb measured the giants against God.
Verse 14 tells us that in conquering Kirjath Arba (or Hebron) Caleb drove out Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the sons of Anak. Giants meant no more to Caleb than weak men did, for God was with him. He therefore took possession of Hebron, which pictures the communion with God that every believer is entitled to, but which many do not enjoy.
Commentators also read the three names as pictures. Each one, on this reading, stands for a form of pride.
Of Caleb's conquest we have no details. To those with whom God is, what is all the massed strength of the sons of Anak? Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai are dispossessed, and Hebron is his own. The names are not easy to interpret, and we can only suggest what they might mean. They were Anakim, "the long-necked," the people of whom it was said, "Who can stand before the sons of Anak?" They may well stand for the different forms of pride of heart from which God is far off. That pride is therefore the most terrible hindrance to the believer's possession of Hebron, that is, "communion." Sheshai, which most probably means "white," may in this way speak of self-righteousness, the pride of personal character. Ahiman, if we may take it to mean "who is my brother?", speaks of the pride of station, birth, or worldly condition. Talmai, "my furrows," speaks of the pride of work accomplished. They all fall before whole-hearted Caleb; and they will just as surely fall before everyone like him.
The city was called Kirjath-arba, after the great man among the giants. Caleb's victory gave it back its older name.
Joshua blessed Caleb as he spoke; and a special blessing from Christ, our Leader, rests on every Caleb-like Christian. The Lord honoured Caleb's dependence on Himself. He drove out the three sons of Anak and struck Kirjath-arba. He gave the city back its old name of Hebron, which linked the place with the father of the faithful, and not with the great man among the giants.
Another record of the same victory gives the credit to the whole tribe of Judah, not to Caleb alone.
Joshua 15:14-15 credits to Caleb what Judges 1 credits to Judah. Caleb's energy, perseverance and faith on this occasion were such that his whole tribe bore the stamp of it... What an honour for Caleb, that Judah should have gained the victory! On the other hand, let us not forget that each one of us may help to stamp weakness on the people of God as a whole.
- Named: Caleb fought the same giants, name for name, that had terrified the spies. Unbelief delays the battle; it never cancels it.
- Chosen: He asked for the hardest place. Israel had avoided that city through seven years of war, and Caleb waited forty-five years for it.
- Measured: Giants counted no more to him than weak men, because God was with him.
- Pictured: The three sons of Anak picture three faces of pride — in character, in birth, in work done. Pride is what keeps a believer out of communion with God.
- Renamed: The giant's city became Hebron again, tied to Abraham and not to Arba. One man's faith left its stamp on his whole tribe.
And from there he went up against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.
Joshua's record of Judah's land pauses on Caleb. He has just taken Hebron, and now he moves on to the next stronghold. The verse gives a march and a name. Commentators read both the old name and the new one as a picture of what Scripture becomes when faith takes hold of it.
The city sat in the hill country near Hebron. Scripture tells of its capture more than once, and one summary gathers the record:
A city in the highlands of Judah near Hebron. It was one of the Amorite cities that fell, and its king was killed. Joshua, as the leader of Israel, is named as the one who took it. But in Judges we find that Othniel took it, and Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage for capturing it. Later the city was given to the priests. Its former name was Kiriath-sepher or Kiriath-sannah.
Joshua names Caleb here; the parallel account in Judges credits the whole tribe. One writer treats that difference as a compliment rather than a contradiction:
Joshua 15:14-15 credits Caleb with what the book of Judges credits to Judah. Caleb's energy, perseverance and faith here were so strong that his whole tribe carried the stamp of it… What an honour for Caleb, that Judah should have gained the victory! On the other hand, let us not forget that each one of us may help to imprint weakness on the people of God as a whole.
Ridout draws a lesson from the names of this city and of Hebron:
Faith shines out brightly in Caleb, Othniel and Achsah, and it underlines the supremacy of God's word, the supremacy of truth. If Judah is to gain and keep his victories, it must be by the truth. If the people of God are to go on winning their triumphs, it must be by gaining more and more knowledge of the Word of God. Hebron means communion, and Kiriath-sepher, the city closely connected with it, means the city of the book… And it is the Bible that we are to conquer: to take possession of it, to take it out of the hands of its enemies, to make it for ourselves a book of delight, a book that speaks to us of God.
The verse notes the city's old name, which means it now carries a new one. Ridout gives the meaning of the name that replaced it:
So when this city of Kiriath-sepher was taken, its name was changed to Debir, which means the "Word of God": a book becomes the Word of God.
Another writer draws out what that change pictures:
Debir, like Hebron, had a Canaanite name: it was Kiriath-sepher, the "city of the book." How striking that in Caleb's hands the city of the book becomes the place of a divine oracle! A merely written word gives way to a living Voice. It is the voice of Him who, when the heart is right with Him, delights to come near and speak to the heart of the worshipper. Debir belongs with Hebron and completes it. For the Christian, of course, the "oracle" is not cut off from the "book": it neither replaces nor overrules it… God never sets aside His Word; but the Spirit of God works with it and gives it power.
Both cities had been strongholds of the Anakim, the giants. One writer notes how often Scripture links the two names:
Scripture makes a point of recording the destruction of the Anakim, and it names once more the seats of their power, Hebron and Debir. The connection is so important that we are reminded of it again and again. Communion and the living voice of God: the enemy will use all his power to keep us from enjoying these.
What faith wins can be lost again. Ridout applies the picture to a long stretch of church history when the book stayed shut:
The Church abandoned the doctrines right away. Kiriath-sepher was never turned into Debir, a living oracle. Instead the Church took the book out of the people's hands, put it away in the monasteries, and forbade the people to use it. Instead of giving them the living oracles of God, it took those oracles away, and so nothing but darkness and failure could come in.
- Place. Debir lay in the hills of Judah near Hebron. It was an Amorite stronghold, once called Kiriath-sepher, later given to the priests.
- Person. Joshua credits Caleb; Judges credits the tribe. One man's faith marked a whole people — and one man's weakness can mark it too.
- Pairing. Hebron means communion; Kiriath-sepher means city of the book. Victories are kept only by growing knowledge of God's Word.
- Progress. In Caleb's hands the city of the book became Debir, the oracle. The written word gives way to a living Voice — Scripture is not set aside; the Spirit makes it speak.
- Peril. The enemy held both cities, and still works to keep God's people from both. When the book was locked away, darkness followed.
And Caleb said, He that smites Kirjath-sepher and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.
Caleb has just taken Hebron. He does not rest on that victory. He sets a prize on the next stronghold: the man who captures Kiriath-sepher will marry his daughter Achsah. Two questions follow. Why would a father stake his daughter's future on a battle, and what made this city worth the price?
Caleb's challenge did not stand alone. One writer sees here how a believer who keeps going leaves a mark on those closest to him. He then turns the challenge on the reader:
Caleb was blessed in this way inside his own family: they followed him in his path of faith… The nephew walks worthily in his uncle's footsteps. The prize he counts so precious is Caleb's daughter. Set on winning her, he goes into the fight. And what about us — are we set on having Christ at any cost? In Judges 3 Othniel becomes the first judge in Israel. An overcomer for himself, he is raised up to deliver others.
Another writer sees the same quality reaching past Caleb's family and into every age:
Caleb's burning heart for victory fired others. His fighting spirit stirred others to great deeds. That is a grand quality, and it marks the great overcomers for God in every age. Kiriath-sepher (the City of Books) fell to Othniel, Caleb's nephew — clearly some centre of learning; and on its capture Achsah, Caleb's daughter, became the victor's wife.
Other Israelites were settling in among the Canaanites and marrying into them. Seen against that, Caleb's offer of Achsah is a refusal, not a gamble:
He is the very contradiction of his faithless brothers. Instead of forming an alliance with the Canaanites, giving sons or daughters in marriage, he makes this noble announcement — "Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife." He kept "the way of the Lord" as purely as ever Abraham had. No husband for his daughter except one of the Lord's appointing.
After Israel took the city, its name changed from Kiriath-sepher to Debir. One writer gives weight to both names:
They went on to Debir. The name means "oracle", but the city was called Kiriath-sepher before, which means "city of the book". For if we take hold of the truth of God in our souls, we shall have grace to speak "as the oracle of God." Caleb then offers his daughter to the man who would conquer Kiriath-sepher. Othniel, Caleb's younger brother, accepted the challenge and conquered the city. His name means "lion of God", and his courage matched his name.
Commentators differ on the family link. Some call Othniel Caleb's nephew, others his younger brother. They agree on what the town stood for. Another reading presses the point that the "books" in question were not God's:
The name of this city means the "city of a book". It could be suggested that this stands for all the wisdom and knowledge man has piled up through all the ages of his culture, everything he boasts in… But there is nothing there to help the soul. There is nothing there to lead us to God.
Scripture tells this story twice, and some writers see design in that. One reading turns the whole scene into a picture:
Othniel ("Lion of God", of Judah, Christ the Deliverer) captures Kiriath-sepher, "the city of the book", and wins Achsah, the Bride. She receives from the Father those hidden spiritual blessings, both heavenly and earthly, upper and lower. Without them, all the gifts of God's providence are barren and worthless.
Others read Othniel not as a picture of Christ but as a picture of the believer, and pair him with his wife:
Othniel, the "lion of God", is the type of the heroism of faith. Like the son of Kenaz, that faith finds its strength in Another. Its helpmeet is the simple trust that claims and receives the fullness of the Spirit, so as to make good its portion in the land… Today there are few Othniels, fewer Achsahs, and fewest of all those in whom the two are united.
Elsewhere Scripture credits Joshua himself with taking Debir, and the book of Judges tells the story again. One reference work sorts it out:
Scripture presents Joshua, the leader of Israel, as taking it. But in Judges we find that Othniel was the one who took it, and Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage for its capture.
The repetition is not a mistake. The writer quoted above says Scripture "is not afraid of a repetition which emphasizes God's delight in the achievements of His people."
- Fire spreads. Caleb's persistence did not stop with him. His family caught it, and Othniel went into battle on the strength of an older man's example.
- Fire tested. The prize was not given away. Caleb would let his daughter marry only a man of the Lord's appointing — one who had first faced a real enemy and won.
- Fire aimed. The target was the "city of the book". Writers read it as a centre of learning in enemy hands, and as a picture of all that human wisdom boasts in while leaving the soul without God.
- Fire rewarded. Othniel's name means "lion of God", and his courage matched it. Judges later shows this same man as Israel's first judge and deliverer.
- Fire remembered. Scripture tells the story twice, here and again in Judges, because God delights in what His people achieve by faith.
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
Caleb offered his daughter to whoever could capture Kirjath-sepher. A younger relative, Othniel, took the city and won her. Two questions follow. Who was Othniel, and why does a wedding sit inside a land survey?
Caleb had won Hebron for himself. His drive did not stop with him. It appeared again in a younger relative.
There is a second thing that goes with perseverance: it produces perseverance, or purpose of heart, in others. Caleb was blessed in this way in his own family, for they followed him in his path of faith... The nephew steps into the uncle's footprints and proves worthy of them. The prize he values so highly is Caleb's daughter, and he enters the fight determined to have her. And what about us? Are we set on having Christ at any cost? He overcame for himself, and afterwards he is raised up to deliver others, and in this new role he perseveres to the end.
The verse calls Othniel the son of Kenaz and Caleb's brother. Commentators differ on whether that means a brother or a nephew.
Son of Kenaz, brother or nephew of Caleb. He took Kirjathsepher, and married Achsah, Caleb's daughter. Later he became one of the judges, and he defeated Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. Under him the land had rest forty years.
Othniel's name points away from human strength. The city he took was named for a book.
Othniel means the lion of God — the power of God, not the power of man. He is the one who takes this book, which we believe to be the inspired Scriptures, and makes it in practice the word of God. The man who judges Israel stands for the principle that brings God's people to judge themselves. It is the principle that recognizes this: in this precious book we have God's word, and it searches and tests our hearts. Only as His word searches us do we get free from living independently of God. When pride and independence lift up their head, how do we get free from them? When the word of God becomes a living reality to us, and we bow to its authority.
The town Othniel captured is also called Debir. Kirjath-sepher was its older Canaanite name, and the change of name carries the lesson.
Debir, like Hebron, once had a Canaanite name: it was Kirjath-sepher, the "city of the book." How striking that in Caleb's hands the city of the book becomes the place of a divine oracle! A written word alone gives way to a living Voice — the voice of Him who, when the heart is right with Him, delights to draw near and speak to the heart of the worshiper... For the Christian, of course, the "oracle" is not separated from the "book." It does not replace it or overrule it... God never sets His Word aside. The Spirit of God works with it and gives it power, so that it becomes this to us and gives us the full reality of His presence.
A wedding sits inside a land survey for a reason. The same man shows up at home as in public.
Here again we can see that what marked Caleb out showed just as clearly in his private and family life as in public. He has no sons, so he decides that the man who marries his daughter must prove himself worthy of her and of Hebron. And Othniel proved himself to be just that. Later he became Israel's first judge and deliverer. His wife Achsah, for her part, showed the same energy of faith and the same intelligent grasp of the value of the inheritance the LORD had given His people.
Some read this episode as more than a piece of family history.
This episode looks slight, but its position and its repetition convince me it is a deliberate picture. Othniel — "Lion of God," of Judah, Christ the Deliverer — captures Kirjath-Sepher, "the city of the book," and wins Achsah, the Bride. She receives from the Father those hidden spiritual blessings, heavenly and earthly, the Upper springs and the Nether. Without them all the gifts of providence are barren and worthless.
- Caught, not taught. Caleb's faith produced the same purpose of heart in a younger relative. A life of faith stirs others to follow.
- Won, not wished for. Othniel wanted the prize enough to fight for it. The question left for us: are we set on having Christ at any cost?
- Strength named. "Lion of God" means the power of God, not the power of man. The winner's name says whose strength took the city.
- Book becomes voice. The city of the book becomes the place of God's oracle. His word is not just a book we own; it is a living voice that searches the heart.
- Proved then promoted. Othniel overcame in his own fight first, and then became Israel's first judge and deliverer. Private victory came before public service.
And it came to pass as she came, that she urged him to ask of her father a field; and she sprang down from the ass. And Caleb said to her, What wouldest thou?
Caleb had promised his daughter Achsah to the man who could take Kirjath-sepher, and Othniel won her. Her next move raises two questions: why did she send her husband to ask, and why did she get down off her donkey to ask herself?
Achsah's boldness did not come out of nowhere. One writer traces it back to the home she grew up in.
Here again we may notice that Caleb's character showed in his private and family life as much as in public. He had no sons. So he decides that whoever marries his daughter must prove himself worthy of her and of Hebron. And Othniel proved to be just that. He later became Israel's first judge and deliverer. Achsah his wife showed the same energy of faith, and the same understanding of the worth of the inheritance the LORD had given His people.
In the verse Achsah urges Othniel to make the request. One writer sees two people who wanted the same thing, and a father who needed no go-between.
I think Othniel and Achsah were of one mind about the land of Canaan, and when she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. But there was no need for Othniel to ask on her behalf, for the father himself loved her, and it was pure joy to him that he had a daughter who loved the land that he loved.
She gets down off her donkey before she asks. One commentator makes that small movement a lesson for our own praying.
Achsah, Caleb's daughter, is a fresh example of perseverance. Caleb had given her to Othniel, and she moves her husband to ask for yet more. She wanted a field, and springs of water as well. So she asks for a blessing on the field of her possession, and to get it she gets down off her donkey to put her request — an example of perseverance in prayer and pleading. The springs of water are richly given to her, and this too has daily instruction for us. When we take the word of God in our hands, do we earnestly ask God for springs to water it? Have you, like Achsah, taken the place of one who begs, asking God for the spiritual help that alone can make it fruitful for your soul?
She asks for a field, gets it, and then asks again. The reason is the ground itself.
Achsah seems to mean "anklet," as Othniel is said to mean "lion of God." What follows is full of significance. When Achsah came to Othniel she had urged him to ask her father for a field, and she had got it — but in a south land, dry and needy. So she boldly goes further and begs her father to give her springs of water. He gives generously: upper springs and lower springs.
Caleb's question opens a door instead of closing one.
Little wonder that with such a father Achsah wanted all she could get of that beloved inheritance. And I am sure it gladdened old Caleb's heart to see his dear child get down off her donkey as she came up to him. He could see she wanted something, and so came the question, "What do you want?" Do you think the boldness of her request annoyed him? Did he reply, "I've given you a south land already; is that not enough? Why should I give you more?" No, no. Achsah was a daughter after his own heart. She valued the land of Canaan, and she wanted some of the springs of Canaan — and he gave her twice as much as she asked for!
Othniel took the city; Achsah asked for the water. Another writer puts the two together.
Where the springs of water in the home and the sword abroad go together, there you find the true spirit of possessing. It is where the wisdom that provides living water for the flocks and the courage that conquers the enemy live side by side... In practice, the true owner of God's blessings is the one who is as careful to cultivate what he has won as he is brave to conquer what he does not yet possess. Achsah did not get down from her donkey for nothing when she asked her father for gifts. Her eager, practical spirit is a lesson to everyone.
- Inherited — Caleb's faith marked his home. Achsah valued the land as her father did.
- Urged — she and Othniel wanted the same thing, so she moved him to ask for a field.
- Dismounted — she came down off the donkey to ask, a picture of perseverance in prayer.
- Asked — a dry field in the south was not enough, so she asked again, for water.
- Answered — her father's question was an invitation, and he gave her twice what she asked for.