Achsah Asks for Springs of Water

Achsah was the daughter of Caleb and the wife of Othniel.“押撒”Achsah，是迦勒的女儿，俄陀聂的妻子。

After the Israelites entered Canaan, Caleb drove out the Anakites from Hebron and then went up to attack the inhabitants of Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher). Kiriath Sepher was located ten miles south of Hebron. Joshua had captured it once before, but the Canaanites moved back in when the opportunity arose, so Caleb needed to reclaim it. This was for the benefit of the entire tribe, not just for himself. He had already driven out three Anakite chiefs from the land he had requested, so he could have rested and enjoyed his victory. However, because Debir was situated on the edge of the central mountain range and overlooked the Philistine plain, it was a crucial military stronghold that had to be recaptured for the tribe of Judah.

It was during this campaign that the story of Achsah and Othniel unfolded. In ancient times, marriages were mostly arranged by parents. A Jewish historical novel, The Daughter of Caleb, states that Achsah was Caleb’s only daughter, though she had three brothers. Caleb loved her dearly and would often ask her, “What do you want?” Perhaps because she grew up with her brothers, she had a free and open personality and fell in love with a cunning and greedy officer. Caleb’s repeated admonitions were ignored, and he became very angry. After an unsuccessful conversation with Achsah, he made a public proclamation offering her as a prize. Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as his wife.” (Joshua 15:16).

When Othniel heard this command, he became very concerned. He and Achsah were cousins and had grown up together, and he loved her deeply. Though Achsah had chosen someone else before, he still loved her. To prevent her from marrying the wrong person, Othniel, out of faith and courage, stepped forward. Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, captured the city, and Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as his wife (Joshua 15:17). Achsah was finally moved by Othniel’s willingness to risk his life for her.

There was a Jewish custom that women were not supposed to ask men for things directly, even their own fathers. Achsah asked Othniel to ask Caleb for a field, but he allowed her to go herself. The Bible records, “As she was leaving, she urged her husband to ask her father for a field,” and later, Achsah asked Caleb for springs of water. A dowry for people in the ancient Middle East was usually a portion of the bridegroom’s gifts and did not typically include land. For Caleb to give his daughter land as a dowry was a special act of grace. But Achsah was wiser than her kinsman Achan; she did not ask for gold, silver, or clothes but for “springs of water.” She valued a long-term supply over temporary satisfaction. The things we pursue in Christ should not stop at earthly blessings, because “everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again” (John 4:13). Instead, we should fix our eyes on Christ Himself, because the water He gives will become within us a spring of water “welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

*In Jewish legend, Achsah complained to her father that after Othniel captured the city, he did nothing but study the five books of Moses. It is said that while everyone else was mourning Moses, he was diligently memorizing God’s law. He is said to have been able to recite 3,000 laws. Because of this, he became another great man of faith and the first judge after Joshua.