Joshua · chapter 15 of 24
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Joshua 15 describes the inheritance of the tribe of Judah: its borders, from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean, and the cities of each region. In the middle of the description we read that Caleb drives out the three sons of Anak from Hebron, that Othniel conquers Debir and wins Caleb's daughter Achsah as his wife, and that Achsah asks for springs of water. The chapter ends by noting that Judah could not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem.
Judah is the first tribe to receive its territory west of the Jordan, and its lot is the largest. It is the tribe from which David will come and, later, the Messiah. Joshua 15 is largely a geographical document, but embedded in it are two short stories of faith and courage, and an honest note about an incomplete victory.
The inheritance of Judah, by its clans, reaches to the border of Edom and to the wilderness of Zin in the south. The southern border starts at the end of the Salt Sea, passes south of the ascent of Akrabbim, through Zin, Kadesh-barnea and Hezron, and goes on to the Brook of Egypt and the sea. The eastern border is the Salt Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan. The northern border goes up from there by Beth-hoglah and the Arabah, passes the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben, and the Valley of Hinnom, south of the Jebusite slope, that is, Jerusalem, and reaches Kiriath-jearim and the Great Sea. The western border is the Mediterranean Sea.
In the middle of the description, Caleb receives the portion Joshua gave him, Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron, and drives out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. From there he goes up against the inhabitants of Debir, formerly called Kiriath-sepher, and says he will give his daughter Achsah as a wife to whoever takes it. Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, conquers it and receives Achsah. She urges him to ask her father for a field, and then she herself asks Caleb for a blessing: since he gave her land in the Negeb, let him give her springs of water as well. Caleb gives her the upper springs and the lower springs.
Then the chapter lists the cities of Judah by regions: those at the far south in the Negeb, those of the lowland, those of the hill country and those of the wilderness, a total that includes many cities with their villages. At the end, a note says that the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, and that the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah to this day.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Joshua gives Caleb, son of Jephunneh, a portion in the midst of Judah, following the Lord's command: Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. The promise God made to Caleb is fulfilled with name and place.
Caleb offers his daughter Achsah to whoever conquers Debir, and Othniel takes it. The young man's courage and the prize offered show that the conquest demanded risk and commitment.
Achsah asks her father for a blessing: land with springs of water, because the Negeb is dry. Caleb gives them abundantly, upper and lower. Asking clearly of a generous father is a good picture of prayer.
The people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, who lived with them to the day this was written. The text is honest: the inheritance was given, but not all of it was possessed.
5 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. — Joshua 15:14
Answer: His daughter Achsah as a wife. — Joshua 15:16
Answer: Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother. — Joshua 15:17
Answer: A blessing: springs of water, because the land she received was in the dry Negeb. — Joshua 15:19
Answer: The Jebusites. — Joshua 15:63
The episode of Achsah and Caleb shows a simple, courageous prayer. Achsah received a dry field and, instead of settling, asked for water. In a small group you can ask what real needs we bring before our heavenly Father, without fear of asking for specific things. God is not annoyed by sincere requests.
The final note about Jerusalem reminds us that sometimes we receive more than we manage to possess. All of us have areas of life in which God has already given victory, yet we still live alongside something we have not finished resolving. Acknowledging it honestly is the first step to asking for help.
Joshua 15 ends with Judah in possession of its vast territory, though with the Jebusites still in Jerusalem. In Joshua 16, the book turns to describe the inheritance of the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, in the center of Canaan.
The text simply says they were not able to. Jerusalem was a fortified city on the heights, and the Jebusites stayed there until David conquered it centuries later. It is a note of realism showing that the conquest was not complete in Joshua's time.
They were descendants of a people of great stature who lived in the region of Hebron. The spies of Numbers 13 were frightened when they saw them. Caleb, who had seen the same scene forty-five years earlier, is now the one who drives them out.