Joshua 15:18
in Joshua 15One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, when she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her ass; and Caleb said, What wouldest thou?
KJV
And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?
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This verse in Joshua 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAs she came - As she was now departing from the house of her father to go to that of her husband. She moved him - Othniel, to ask of her father a field, one on which she had set her heart, as contiguous to the patrimony already granted. She lighted off her ass - ותצנח vattitsnach, she hastily, suddenly alighted, as if she had forgotten something, or was about to return to her father’s house. Which being perceived by her father, he said, What wouldest thou? What is the matter? What dost thou want?
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".
This site's exposition
When she got off her donkey
Judges 1:14 repeats the scene in the same words. Barnes reads her getting down from the donkey as a sign of respect, and Clarke takes the Hebrew verb to mean she alighted suddenly, as though she had something to ask. She urged Othniel to make the request, yet in verse 19 she makes it herself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
As she came - Or, as she went, namely, from her father's house to her husband's, as the manner was. She moved him - She persuaded her husband, either, 1.
And it came to pass, as she came unto him,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Afield - In Jdg 1:14, “the field,” i. e. the well-known field asked by Achsah and given by Caleb as a “blessing,” i. e. as a token of goodwill, which when the Book of Judges was written had become historical. The “field” in question was doubtless in the neighborhood of Debir, and was especially valuable because of its copious springs. Achsah’s dismounting was a sign of reverence.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְּבוֹאָ֗הּ | bevoah | when came she | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙ | vatesitehu | and she incited him | H5496 → | |
| לִשְׁא֤וֹל | lishol | to ask | H7592 → | 171 times |
| מֵֽאֵת־ | meet- | from with | H854 → | 929 times |
| אָבִ֙יהָ֙ | ʾaviha | father her | H1 → | 1212 times |
| שָׂדֶ֔ה | sadeh | a field | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וַתִּצְנַ֖ח | vatitznach | and she went down | H6795 → | |
| מֵעַ֣ל | meal | from on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַחֲמ֑וֹר | hachamor | the donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
| וַיֹּֽאמֶר־ | vaiyomer- | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָ֥הּ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| כָּלֵ֖ב | kalev | Caleb | H3612 → | 35 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| לָּֽךְ׃ | lakh | [is] to <the> you |
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
בְּבוֹאָ֗הּwhen came she
bevoahH935 →2568 times
וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙and she incited him
vatesitehuH5496 →
לִשְׁא֤וֹלto ask
lisholH7592 →171 times
מֵֽאֵת־from with
meet-H854 →929 times
אָבִ֙יהָ֙father her
ʾavihaH1 →1212 times
שָׂדֶ֔הa field
sadehH7704 →334 times
וַתִּצְנַ֖חand she went down
vatitznachH6795 →
מֵעַ֣לfrom on
mealH5921 →5755 times
הַחֲמ֑וֹרthe donkey
hachamorH2543 →96 times
וַיֹּֽאמֶר־and he said
vaiyomer-H559 →5305 times
לָ֥הּto <the> her
lah
כָּלֵ֖בCaleb
kalevH3612 →35 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
לָּֽךְ׃[is] to <the> you
lakh
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
3 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
1 Samuel 25:23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.
it leads to
- Judges 1:14
One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 20:41
When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept…
- 1 Samuel 24:8
After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence
- Judges 1:14
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; 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); 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 The Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 15, with the verses cited in the note.