Joshua 15:17
in Joshua 15So Othniel son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
KJV
And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
⋯
This verse in Joshua 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it,.... The relation of Othniel to Caleb is a little intricate, and, as it is understood, occasions objections to the marriage of Caleb's daughter to him; it seems, at first sight, that he was Caleb's own brother, a younger brother, and so uncle to his daughter, and such marriages were forbidden, Lev 18:
This site's exposition
Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher
on Joshua 15:16-19
The one piece of narrative in the chapter, and Judges 1:12-15 tells it again almost word for word. The man who takes the town is Othniel, who becomes the first judge of Israel at Judges 3:9, so the deliverer of the next book is introduced here winning a wife. Achsah is the only person in sixty-three verses who asks for anything, and what she asks for is water, since a south land without springs is a field that cannot be worked; her father gives her both the upper and the nether 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 Awakening1 voice
It is good for those who are setting out in the world to begin betimes with that which is great and good, that, excelling in service when they are young, they may excel in honour when they grow old.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Othniel was probably Caleb’s younger brother; the expression “son of Kenaz” being only an equivalent for the “Kenezite” Jos 14:6.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֛הּ | vaiyilkedah | and he captured it | H3920 → | 121 times |
| עָתְנִיאֵ֥ל | ʾateniel | Othniel | H6274 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| קְנַ֖ז | kenaz | Kenaz | H7073 → | |
| אֲחִ֣י | ʾachi | [the] brother of | H251 → | 630 times |
| כָלֵ֑ב | khalev | Caleb | H3612 → | 35 times |
| וַיִּתֶּן־ | vaiyiten- | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֛וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַכְסָ֥ה | ʾakhsah | Achsah | H5915 → | |
| בִתּ֖וֹ | vito | daughter his | H1323 → | 588 times |
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וַֽיִּלְכְּדָ֛הּand he captured it
vaiyilkedahH3920 →121 times
עָתְנִיאֵ֥לOthniel
ʾatenielH6274 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
קְנַ֖זKenaz
kenazH7073 →
אֲחִ֣י[the] brother of
ʾachiH251 →630 times
כָלֵ֑בCaleb
khalevH3612 →35 times
וַיִּתֶּן־and he gave
vaiyiten-H5414 →2011 times
ל֛וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַכְסָ֥הAchsah
ʾakhsahH5915 →
בִתּ֖וֹdaughter his
vitoH1323 →588 times
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 14:6Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about…
it leads to
- Numbers 14:30
Surely none of you will enter the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
- Numbers 13:6
from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
- Numbers 14:24
But because My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he has entered, and his descendants will inherit it.
- Numbers 14:6
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes
- Joshua 14:14
Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel.
- Numbers 14:30
Through
Judges 3:9But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
it leads to
- Judges 3:15
And again they cried out to the LORD, and He raised up Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite, as their deliverer. So they sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.
- Judges 1:13
So Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
- Judges 3:15
Through
Judges 1:13So Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
it leads to
- Judges 3:9
But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.
- Judges 3:9
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 Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); 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.