Judges 1:14

Read Josh. 15:18.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 14. See Clarke on Jud 1:12.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) When she came to him.—When she first reached his house as a bride.

She moved him.—He was too modest to ask for himself, and he declined her request; but she will not enter till she has gained her way.

A field.—Rather, the field. In the passage in Jos_15:18 there is no definite article, but by the time this book was written the field then obtained by Achsah had become historical.

Lighted.—Not merely in sign of reverence (like Rebecca in Gen_24:64, and Abigail in 1Sa_25:25), but “leaped off” with eager impetuosity. The Hebrew verb tsanach here used occurs in Jdg_4:21, where it is rendered “fastened,” i.e., “drove it firmly by a blow.” The LXX. render it “screamed” or “shouted from the ass;” the Vulg., “sighed as she was sitting on the ass;” but they probably had a different reading. “Suddenly,” says Ewald, “as if some accident had happened to her, she fell from her ass, and on being embraced by her anxious father, she adjured him as if in words of inspiration” (Hist. Isr. ii. 366).

What wilt thou?—Caleb was unable to understand her conduct in refusing to enter the house of her bridegroom.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. when she came] into her husband’s house (Rth_4:11), or from the place where she had been kept in safety during the campaign (Moore).

she moved him to ask] Jos_15:18; but since Achsah herself asks the favour Jdg_1:15, it is more natural to read he moved, instigated, her to ask. The LXX and Vulgate give this sense, but their evidence as to the original reading is not very decisive; nor is it easy to see why ‘he instigated her’ should have been altered to the present text.

she lighted down from off her ass] to shew respect (Gen_24:64; 2Ki_5:21) and to beg a favour (1Sa_25:23). The meaning of the verb lighted, descended, only again in Jdg_4:21 (‘it pierced through’ RV.) and Joshua 15, is inferred from the context. To this day in the East the traveller who begs hospitality, for instance, in a Bedouin camp is required to dismount and approach the sheikh on foot.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Ver. 14. And Enoch also] Enoch foretold the day of judgment before Noah the deluge. That day is longer before it comes, but shall be more terrible when it is come.

Behold] One calleth this word a starry note; another compares it to a hand in the margin of a book pointing to some notable thing; another compares it to the sounding of a trumpet before some proclamation, to procure attention; and it is no more than need, so heedless we are of our soul’s health. Hence the heathen’s hoc agite, Well this. in their sacred services. And the deacons in Chrysostom’s time were appointed to call often upon the people in these words, Oremus, attendamus, Let us pray, let us pay attention. I am afraid, saith a divine, most of us do believe the predictions of Scripture but as we believe the predictions of an almanac, which tells you that such a day will be rain, and such a day will he wind; you think it may come to pass, and it may not. So here; such a threatening may be fulfilled, and it may not; let us venture it; it may be "the Lord will deal" with us not according to his present menaces, but "according to all his wondrous works," as those rebellious Jews suggested to Jer 21:2.

The Lord cometh] Syr. Maranatha. Hence the Jews say that the great excommunication Maranatha was instituted by Enoch.

With ten thousand of his saints] Or, with his holy myriads; sc. of saints and angels; he shall not leave one of them behind him in heaven, Mat 25:31. And whereas it is said, The Lord cometh, it shows that he is already on his way, and will be with us shortly. Where St Jude had this prophecy of Enoch it much matters not. The Jews have yet to this day some relics of it in their writings. And Tertullian tells us (de Habitu Mulierum), (but who told him I know not), that the book of Enoch’s prophecies were preserved by Noah in the ark, and that they continued and were read until the times of the apostles. But because they contained many famous testimonies concerning Jesus Christ, the Jews out of malice suppressed and abolished the whole book.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

She moved him, etc. There is some obscurity in this verse, which seems to tell us that Achsah, on her wedding-day, when she was going to her husband s house, persuaded him to ask of her father the field, viz. that in which the springs of water were, and which were not included in her original dower; and then goes on to tell us that Achsah herself made the request. The Septuagint reads, "Othniel urged her to ask the field of her father," and the Vulgate has, "Her husband told her to ask her father," and then it follows naturally, "and she lighted from off her ass," etc. But the Hebrew reading may be right, and it may be that when her husband, brave in storming a city, but timid in asking a favour, hung back, she, with the tenacious will of a woman, sprang off the ass herself, and successfully preferred her request. Dean Stanley identifies (though not with absolute certainty) the "field thus obtained by Achsah with an unusually green valley amidst the dry, barren hills of the south country, lying south or west of Hebron, called Wady Nuukur, through which Caleb and Achsah must have ridden on their way from Hebron to Debir, or Kirjath-sepher. This valley breaks into a precipitous and still greener ravine, and both the upper and lower pastures are watered by a clear, bubbling rivulet, which rises in the upper meadow, and flows to the bottom of the ravine below. The name of a village, Dewir, seems to represent the ancient Debir.

Vers. 14, 15. Compensations.

Of the wisdom and carefulness of Achsah we have here abundant proof. They were nobly and honourably exercised. She is the daughter of a rich man, and becomes the bride of a brave soldier who had evidently little but his sword and his reputation to boast of. She is jealous lest he should be rewarded with a mere titular distinction. He has been nobly oblivious of material rewards, she shall be proportionably watchful over his interests. She therefore urges her husband as he passes in triumph to Hebron to ask for the field through which they march. The thoughts of the hero are not to be directed into any such sordid channel. But she, taking advantage of the occasion as she lights from off her ass, asks her father in symbolic language to compensate her for the poverty to which he had consigned her. "Thou hast given me a south land (i.e. married me to a poor younger son); give me also springs of water." To this reasonable request Caleb makes generous response. "She slides from her ass, suddenly, as if she fell, so that her father asks, "What is the matter with thee?" Her answer has a double sense, "Thou gavest me away into a dry land; give me also springs (Cassel).

I A BLESSING WITH A DRAWBACK. Of the bravery of Othniel there could be no question; of his poverty there could be as little. It might be honourable for her to be his wife, but she would have to suffer many sacrifices in leaving the wealthy home of her father, and her husband would have an additional burden to sustain. Are not the dispensations of providence, even when we judge them on the whole to be best for us, frequently as mysteriously qualified and limited? No man would probably care to exchange his life for another"s, but "there"s a crook in every lot." Material blessings generally contain within them elements of discipline, and sometimes even of punishment. But they are alike the gift of a loving father, and are to be accepted in the spirit of trust and affection.

II COMPENSATIONS. IS the gift of Achsah"s father open to grave drawbacks? It is not therefore unalterable. Something may be done to lessen its inconveniences, if not entirely to remove them. Her father is reasonable, and she at once makes appeal to his sense of what is fit and proper. Her request is granted. So with ourselves. Our heavenly Father who apportioned our lot is surely as reasonable and affectionate as any earthly one. It is for us to exercise the same wisdom as Achsah, and request that God will give us such alleviations to our portion in life, or reveal to us those that already exist. Sometimes there are compensations latent in the very circumstances of which we complain: springs of water to moisten a sun-parched soil. In any case God is able to bestow upon us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

she urged him

"Aksah urged Othniel"

give her a field ... Since you have given me the land

This implies that Caleb did give her the field when she asked him for it in verse 14. In verse 15, she is now asking for springs of water in addition to that field. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Give me a blessing

"Do a favor for me" or "Do this for me"

Since you have given me the land of the Negev

Caleb gave Aksah in marriage to Othniel, so she lived with Othniel in the city that he had captured in the Negev. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "Since you have given me in marriage to live in the Negev" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

ancestor

donkey

bless

Negev

fountain

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

She cajoled him. She advised him, as in "he took counsel"; one counsels a person, and directs his thinking to an alternative. This is my opinion.

She lowered herself. "She lowered herself" as if falling at her father's feet.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.