What does Judges 1:15 mean?

Othniel is marrying Achsah, daughter of Caleb (Judges 1:11–14), as a reward for victory in the battle at Debir. As Achsah approaches Othniel on a donkey, she urges him to ask her father for a field, apparently as a kind of wedding present. Before Othniel can say anything, however, Caleb notices the exchange. He asks his daughter what she wants as she dismounts from the donkey.

Because her father asked, Achsah seems comfortable giving her request directly to him. She asks her father for a blessing. Since he has set her in the land of the Negeb, she asks for land with springs of water.

This request is both daring and savvy. Her question holds Caleb responsible for where she will live in the world; after all, he is the one who decided to marry her to Othniel, and he himself has settled in this place. The region around Hebron was not actually in the wilderness region of the Negeb. That was a desert area to the south. Yet it was dry and desert-like in places. Achsah recognized that if she and her husband and their future family were to thrive, they would need access to water.

Caleb generously gives his daughter exactly what she requests, including a field with both upper and lower springs of water. This completes a re-telling (Judges 1:12–14) of information first given in Joshua 15:15–19.