Judges 1:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.”

NIV: And Caleb said, 'I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.'

NASB: And Caleb said, 'Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as a wife.'

CSB: Caleb said, "Whoever attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher, I will give my daughter Achsah to him as a wife."

NLT: Caleb said, 'I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.'

KJV: And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

NKJV: Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.”

This segment repeats the story from Joshua 15:15–19. It may be that the writer includes it to complete the record of Judah's conquering the people within the borders of their territory. For modern readers, it also creates some confusion about the order in which the events of this chapter took place. Ancient writers were more interested in themes than strict timelines, however. In this case, the precise historical order doesn't change the point of the passage.

Caleb has already defeated three descendants of Anak to claim his inheritance of the city of Hebron. Debir, also known as Kiriath-sepher, may be near enough to Hebron to be part of Caleb's inheritance, as well. Its inhabitants must likewise be defeated before Caleb can claim it.

Caleb aims to resolve two needs with a single proposition. He has a city that needs conquering and a single daughter of marrying age. He announces that whoever captures the city will receive his daughter Achsah for a wife. Consistently with ancient views of marriage as a social and economic contract, not necessarily a question of love, fathers reserved the right to marry their daughters to whomever they chose. We're not told Achsah's feelings about being the prize in this contest. She is, however, portrayed as both bold and respectful of her father in the following verses.

Judges 1:1–20 describes the campaign of the tribes of Judah and Simeon, to drive out or destroy all the Canaanites from their large territory in southern Israel. It begins with victories over Bezek and Jerusalem. The report rehearses the former victories by Caleb and his family in the hill country. The campaign continues into the desert wilderness of the Negeb, where a group of descendants of Moses' father-in-law settles. Judah dominates the hill country but doesn't entirely evict the wicked Canaanites because of their iron chariots.

Judges 1 summarizes the early efforts of the tribes of Israel to drive the Canaanites from the land or to destroy them entirely (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). The process starts well with a string of successes by Judah and Simeon in the south. Then the news turns sour as one tribe after another is said to have failed to drive the Canaanites out of their allotted territories. Instead, they occupy certain territories, often allowing inhabitants of the land to live among them.

Judges 1 continues immediately from the death of Joshua (Joshua 24:29–30). It begins a new era for Israel, now referred to as the time of "the judges." In a series of reports, tribe by tribe, the narrator describes Israel's success or failure to drive the deeply wicked Canaanites (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4) from the land or to destroy them. Judah experiences much success, but it is unable to drive the inhabitants out of one region, at least. Every other tribe either fails utterly to remove the Canaanites, or only gradually grows strong enough to capture the territory.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).