Joshua 15:16
in Joshua 15And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kiriath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
KJV
And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath–sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
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This verse in Joshua 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseWill I give Achsah my daughter - In ancient times fathers assumed an absolute right over their children, especially in disposing of them in marriage; and it was customary for a king or great man to promise his daughter in marriage to him who should take a city, kill an enemy, etc. So Saul promised his daughter in marriage to him who should kill Goliath, 1Sa 17:25; and Caleb offers his on this occasion to him who should take Kirjath-sepher. Profane writers furnish many similar examples.
This site's exposition
the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher
on Joshua 15:16-19
Judges 1:12-15 tells this story again almost word for word, and the man who takes the town is Othniel, the first judge of Israel at Judges 3:9. Acsah is the only person in the chapter's sixty-three verses who asks for anything, and she asks for water, since land in the Negev without springs cannot be worked. Her father gives her "both the upper and lower springs".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But now Caleb went up against that City of Letters and said, "I shall give Achsah my daughter for a wife to whoever demolishes the City of Letters and gains possession of it. And Othniel the son of Kenaz seized it." Moreover, Othniel, who received the City of Letters, is interpreted "the reply of God." But "the reply of God" can be said "he to whom God replies," that is, he to whom God reveals secrets and discloses hidden things.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
To wife - Which is to be understood with some conditions, as, if he were one who could marry her by God's law; and if she were willing; for though parents had a great power over their children, they could not force them to marry any person against their own wills.
And Caleb said, he that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it,....
Thus Saul promised a daughter to him that would kill Goliath ( 1 Sam. xvii. 25 ), neither of them intending to force his daughter to marry such as she could not love, but both of them presuming upon their daughters' obedience, and submission to their fathers' will, though it might be contrary to their own humour or inclination.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher--This offer was made as an incentive to youthful bravery (see on 1Sa 17:25); and the prize was won by Othniel, Caleb's younger brother (Jud 1:13; This was the occasion of drawing out the latent energies of him who was destined to be the first judge in Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כָּלֵ֔ב | kalev | Caleb | H3612 → | 35 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [the one] who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יַכֶּ֥ה | yakeh | he will strike | H5221 → | 499 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| קִרְיַת־ | kiryat- | Kiriath | H7158 → | 10 times |
| סֵ֖פֶר | sefer | Sepher | H7158 → | 10 times |
| וּלְכָדָ֑הּ | ulekhadah | and he will capture it | H3920 → | 121 times |
| וְנָתַ֥תִּי | venatati | and I will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַכְסָ֥ה | ʾakhsah | Achsah | H5915 → | |
| בִתִּ֖י | viti | daughter my | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כָּלֵ֔בCaleb
kalevH3612 →35 times
אֲשֶׁר־[the one] who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יַכֶּ֥הhe will strike
yakehH5221 →499 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
קִרְיַת־Kiriath
kiryat-H7158 →10 times
סֵ֖פֶרSepher
seferH7158 →10 times
וּלְכָדָ֑הּand he will capture it
ulekhadahH3920 →121 times
וְנָתַ֥תִּיand I will give
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
ל֛וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַכְסָ֥הAchsah
ʾakhsahH5915 →
בִתִּ֖יdaughter my
vitiH1323 →588 times
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 20.6.