Then the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country and in the Negev and in the lowland. So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
Then from there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). And Caleb said, "The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife." Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. Then it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water." So Caleb gave her the upper and the lower springs.
The descendants of the Kenite, Moses' Father-in-law, went up from the city of palms with the sons of Judah, to the wilderness which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people. Then Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. And Judah took Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with it territory and Ekron with its territory. Now the LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.
Sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem: Judah and Simeon fight against Jerusalem and capture it from the Jebusites. We are told the city is burned, which is a common practice. This was actually done to keep the Law of Herem (the law of the ban). Since this was a holy battle, the spoils belonged to God. The only way to give God a city was to send it up to Him in smoke by burning it. Unfortunately Judah would only capture Jerusalem for a short time.
Interestingly, Jerusalem was not in either Judah's or Simeon's territory. Rather, it was in Benjamin's area. We find later in verse 21 that after Jerusalem is captured, it is quickly turned over to Benjamin. Either Benjamin had little interest in holding it, or he was just incapable of keeping it and lost it back to the Jebusites. Under the leadership of King David, Israel conquered the city again some 400 years later (2 Samuel 5:6-10).
What tended to happen at this point in history was that an Israeli tribe would capture a Canaanite city, but it would often allow the inhabitants to stay as subjects and serfs. The captives would pay tribute (taxes) to the victorious Israelites. It did not always work out well. Jerusalem is one of those instances. Judah and Simeon fought for it and took the city. They gave it to Benjamin. Benjamin allowed the Jebusites to remain in the land. The few Benjamites who settled Jerusalem soon found themselves in the minority to the more dominant Jebusite king. This story would repeat itself over and over again in the land of Canaan.
Judah went against the Canaanites living in Hebron: Next, Judah and Simeon attack Hebron, which is also known as Kiriath-arba. Double, even triple names were typical in that day as they reflected the changing of hands of cities to various nations who spoke various languages. Kiriath-arba means city of four. This refers to the confederation of four city-states who allied for mutual protection and economic gain. Hebron means confederacy or association. It essentially has the same meaning as Kiriath-arba.
Hebron was the ancient city of Abraham. It was also the city the ten unfaithful spies gave the bad report about (when Israel was supposed to go in and take the promise land) in Moses' day because the Anakim lived there (Numbers 13:22-23).
Side note: There are three major geographical areas described in this part of Scripture.
1. The mountains: this area is often called the hill country. It describes the mountainous regions between Jerusalem and Hebron.
2. The South: This area is also known as the Negev. It is a semi-arid region between Hebron and Kadesh-barnea.
3. The lowland: This area is sometimes called the shelphelah. This is the area of the foot-hills which runs north to south between the coastal plain and the central mountain range.
Sheshai, Achiman and Talmai: These were the three lords over three of the city-states that formed this confederacy. They were sons of Anak. They were Anakim, the race of giants who were related to Goliath.
Debir: After that, Judah and Simeon made war with Debir, which is also known as Kiriath-sepher. Kiriath-sepher means city of the book. There were a number of cities named Kiriath-sepher because it is more of a description than a name. Sepher not only means "book", but it can also mean "records" (as in brith records and marriage records). Once a region or a confederacy became large enough, they would designate a city as the common place where they would keep their records. The place would garner the title Kiriath-sepher, or the City of Records.
Caleb said: The next several verses retell the story told in Joshua chapter 15 about a clan leader of Judah named Caleb (the same person who was one of the 12 spies who scouted out Canaan for Moses and came back with a good report). Caleb assigned the task of taking Debir to Othniel, the son of Kenaz. It is interesting to understand that Caleb (and Othniel, his brother) actually came from Edomite heritage. (Remember, Edomites were descendants of Jacob's brother Esau). Somehow, Caleb's ancestors became part of the tribe of Judah and even became the most powerful tribe within Judah. This is something we should not easily forget. It demonstrates how early the Israelites became a diverse and genealogically mixed people.
In return for taking Debir, Caleb gave his daughter Achsah to Othniel. Othniel was Achsah's uncle. As part of her dowry, she received land and then later rights to water wells, which was an important affair in an area of the Negev--a place with great soil but precious little water available.
Give me a blessing: Achsah's prayer is a great example for us to follow when petitioning our Father in heaven.
1. Achsah thought about what she wanted before she went to her father. Before you pray, know what you need before God. She came to God with a very definite request that had been considered before-hand. Think about what you are going to ask before you begin to pray and then pray like you mean business. This woman did not say to her father, "Father, listen to me," and then uttered some pretty oration about nothing. Instead, she knew what she wanted and asked directly for ir.
2. Achsah asked for help with her request. Achsah asked her husband to help petition father. Although we often feel the need to keep our requests to ourselves, it is often best to enlist the help of family and/or friends to aid us in prayer.
3. Achsah knew whom she was asking. Achsah knew whom she needed to ask to receive her request. She could have sent out a Christmas wish list to her family and friends and hope they would in turn acquiesce her request; however, the person she really needed to ask was her father. Such is our lives. When we need something, we should go to our Father first. Perhaps He will use others to fulfill our request, but God is the One we need to ask.
4. Achsah went humbly and yet eagerly to her father.
5. Achsah is a good example to follow because her father asked her what she wanted. God will ask us the same thing. We should know what we want.
6. Achsah shows us that we should ask for what we really want before God. We should not ask for a lesser item in hopes God will give us what we truly desire. Instead, we should ask for what we want straightway.
7. Achsah prayed simply. She did not use many words for her prayer. She said, "Give me a blessing."
8. Achsah mingled prayer with gratitude. She acknowledge past blessings ("You have given me the land of the Negev").
9. Achsah used a past blessing as a reason to ask for more.
10. Achsah realized that what she had been given before was of no use without springs of water. Although she had received one blessing, the blessing was of little worth without the addition of a second blessing.
11. Achsah's father gave her what she wanted.
12. Achsah's father gave to her in large measure.
13. Achsah's father was not critical of her request in the slightest way.
The descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law: The summary of history continues in verse 16 with a reference to Moses' father-in-law's clan the Kenites. This should not be confused with the Kennezites. The Kenites were a clan of the tribe of Midian. They lived where the mountain of the Burning Bush rose up out of the desert floor. Moses' wife's side of the family migrated under the protection of Judah and Simeon to an area called the City of Date Palms. There is no agreement on exactly where this is. It is usually thought to be Jericho. However, there are many scholars who insist it is a little farther south than Jericho.
Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron: Judah and Simeon continue their victories by warring against Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron. These three cities are commonly said to be cities of the Philistines, but as of the time of the opening verses of the Book of Judges, the Philistines had not yet established themselves in those places. Therefore, these three cities were comprised at this time by various Canaanite people.
They could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley: Judah was successful in taking more of the hill country away from the Canaanites. However, they were unable to drive out the Canaanites in the valleys. The Canaanites had iron chariots. Chariots need relatively flat ground to operate. They are nearly useless on steep hills or rocky places. Therefore, the Canaanites could not use their most feared weapons--the chariot--in the hills. Thus, they lost their advantage to Judah. The area of the plains and valleys was another matter. The fearsome chariots enabled the Canaanites to successfully maintain the fertile valleys.
As impressive as Judah's victory was, it was incomplete because they feared the Canaanites and their chariots. This speaks more of a lack of trust than it did to Canaanite superiority. Chariots were no problem for God's people when they trusted God. (See Exodus 14:7-29, Joshua 11:1-8 and 1 Kings 20:21.) The Israelites should have the attitude reflected in Psalm 20:7; "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."
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