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Joshua 15:17

in Joshua 15

So 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

7 notes on this verse
And 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

the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher

on Joshua 15:16-19

Judges 1:12-15 tells this story again, and the man who takes the town is Othniel, the first judge 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. Her father gives her "both the upper and lower springs".

This site's exposition

captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah

The Berean reads Kenaz as Caleb's brother, which makes Othniel his nephew, and Judges 1:13 calls Kenaz the younger brother. Barnes and Gill take Othniel himself as the younger brother, and Gill admits that the relation raises an objection to the marriage. Othniel reappears as Israel's deliverer at Judges 3:9.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 20.6 · Written before 253.

proposed

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

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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

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 & Brown

1802–1910

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 words

Every 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.

  • 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 stops

Each 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 14:6

    Then 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.

  • Through

    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.

    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.

  • Through

    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.

    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.

Where this verse is studied

About Joshua

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.
Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon, John Martin, 1816, National Gallery of Art. Public domain.

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; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 20.6 and The Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 15, with the verses cited in the note.