And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh 12

four patriarchs Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their wives (see Gen. xxiii. 19, xxv. 9, xxxv. 29, xlix. 30, 31) were buried there. Also they say that four men of mark, Abraham, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, dwelt there. But Arba is explained in Josh. xiv. 15 to be "a great man among the Anakims," or as a more literal translation would put it, "the greatest man among the Anakim was he." Again in Josh. xv. 13 we are told that he was the father of Anak. For the curious mistranslation of the word man (Adam) in the Vulgate, followed by our Wiclif, in Josh. xiv. 15, see note there. Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai] Cf. Josh. xv. 14. Josephus states that after the siege of Hebron many bodies of men of immense stature were found among the slain, and that the bones of some of them had been preserved until his day.

11. Debir] Also called Kirjath-sepher (the city of the book) and Kirjath-sannah (the city of the palm, or the city of the doctrine, cf. the word Sunnites among the Mohammedans) Josh. xv. 49. Debir has recently, and with great probability, been identified by Lieutenant Conder with Dhâheriyeh (Quarterly Paper of Palestine Exploration Fund, Jan. 1875). Other travellers, e.g. Ritter, had previously described it as a place of importance; and Wilson (Lands of the Bible, 1. 351) remarks on the fact that the sites of five out of the ten cities mentioned in conjunction with Debir in Josh. xv. are found in the immediate neighbourhood. Other reasons for the identification are (1) that the main roads of the district appear to have met here, (2) that there are traces of ancient dwellings, and (3) that though in an arid district, there are springs of water (see v. 15) at no great distance. To which we may add (4) that the name (properly D'vîr) has not been altogether lost in the modern name.

Kirjath-sepher] See last note. The origin of this name, as of Kirjathsannah, has been much disputed. But since recent discoveries have proved the Hittites, who inhabited some portion of Palestine, and who had (see note on last verse) evidently settled in this immediate neighbourhood, to have been an intelligent, cultivated, and powerful nation, there seems less reason than had previously been supposed for rejecting the theory that this town had been the headquarters of the culture of Palestine. The word D'vîr (oracle-see 1 Kings vi. 5, 19—22) may have some connection with the same idea. And Fürst (Lex. s. v.) says that d'vir in Phoenician signifies a book.

12. And Caleb said] The writer now leaves his general narrative and begins to quote the very words of Josh. xv. He evidently has had it in his mind before, but what the book of Joshua has distinctly assigned to Caleb is here described more generally as the work of the tribe to which he belonged. But this introduction of Caleb, without explanation, proves that the writer was aware of the fact that he con

JUDGES

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13 it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: 14 and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field and she lighted from off her ass; and 15 Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou? And she said unto

ducted the expedition against Hebron. Caleb's origin is difficult to trace. He is called the Kenezite, or rather Kenizzite, in Josh. xiv. 6, 14, from which some have inferred that he was of Gentile origin (see the Bishop of Bath and Wells' article in the Dictionary of the Bible, and cf. Gen. xv. 19). It is difficult to unravel the perplexed genealogy of I Chron. ii., iv. But we are told (Exod. xii. 38) that "a mixed multitude" went up with the Israelites out of Egypt. Among them Kenites (v. 16 and ch. iv. 11) were certainly found, and possibly some of the Kenizzites, who were of kindred race, and the genealogy in Chron. ii. and iv. is connected both with Kenites and Kenizzites. See Chron. ii. 55, and iv. 13, 15. Then the appearance of all the tribe of Judah to plead the cause of Joshua's old comrade would suggest that some reason must have existed for their presence in support of his claim, as well as what is said in Josh. xiv. 14, which would seem to imply that this conduct was something especially meritorious on Caleb's part. See also the article on Caleb in Dean Plumptre's Biblical Studies. Also Josh. xv. 13.

to him will I give Achsah my daughter] Cf. 1 Sam. xvii. 25; 1 Chron. xi. 6.

13. Othniel the son of Kenaz] See ch. iii. 9-11; also Josh. xv. 17. The Hebrew does not enable us to decide whether Othniel or Kenaz were Caleb's brother. Ewald is inclined to the former view (History of Israel, 1. 251, cf. II. 286, note). As Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, the latter appears probable, but it is of course possible that the term son of Kenaz is equivalent to Kenizzite in Josh. xiv. 6, 14. In the genealogy of Chron. ii., iv., the names Caleb and Kenaz appear to have been family names. For the construction, see Numb. x. 29; 2 Sam. xiii. 3, 32, &c. The family of Othniel was of importance in Israel down to the time of David. See Chron. xxvii. 15, where his family and that of the Zarhites (vv. 11, 13) are mentioned, and cf. Josh. vii. 17.

14. a field] So it is in Josh. xv. 18. Here it is the field, i. e. the particular portion of land she ultimately obtained.

lighted] The word only occurs here and in the original passage in Josh. xv. and in ch. iv. 21 of the nail sinking (or crashing) down into Sisera's temples. It is impossible to say whether gradual or rapid motion is meant.

What wilt thou] Or, what is the matter with thee. Literally, what to thee. Achsah's conduct evidently caused surprise to Caleb. Most likely she suddenly flung herself from the ass and sunk on her knees in an imploring attitude.

him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her

the upper springs and the nether springs.

16. The movements of the Kenites.

And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, 16 went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the

15. a blessing] See Gen. xxxiii. 11; 1 Sam. xxv. 27; 2 Kings v. 15.

a south land] Literally, a land of the dry region (Negeb, see note on v. 9).

the upper springs and the nether springs] Six miles and a half north of Dhâhariyeh are found fourteen springs or pools on different levels, no doubt the upper and lower pools mentioned here. See Lieut. Conder's statement already quoted (note on v. 11).

16. THE MOVEMENTS OF THE KENITES.

16. the Kenite] Cf. Gen. xv. 19; Numb. xxiv. 21; and see ch. iv. II; I Sam. xv. 6, xxvii. 10, xxx. 29; 1 Chron. ii. 55. Moses' father in law] Rather, brother in law.

II.

See note on ch. iv.

We learn

Cf. Numb. x. 29-32, where Hobab, Jethro's son, is called a Midianite, in agreement with the narrative in Exod. ii., iii. from this passage that Hobab responded to Moses' appeal.

the city of palm trees] Jericho-see ch. iii. 13; Deut. xxxiv. 3; 2 Chron. xxviii. 15. No trace of the palm-grove now remains, but it has only gradually disappeared. It is said that its last vestiges might have been seen as late as the year 1838. Relics of it are sometimes washed up from the Dead Sea even now. The name Jericho (city of fragrance) was no doubt derived from its situation in the midst of the palms.

wilderness of Judah] Where John the Baptist preached (Matt. iii. 1). "It is a plateau of white chalk, 2000 feet lower than the watershed, and terminated on the east by cliffs which rise vertically from the Dead Sea shore to a height of about 2000 feet. The scenery is barren, and wild beyond all description. The chalky ridges are scored by innumerable torrents, and their narrow crests are separated by broad flat valleys. Peaks and knolls of fantastic forms rise suddenly from the swelling downs, and magnificent precipices of ruddy limestone stand up like fortress walls above the sea. Not a tree nor a spring is visible in the waste, and only the desert partridge and the ibex are found ranging the solitude." Conder, Handbook to the Bible, pp. 213, 214. It lay between the Hebron range of mountains and the Dead Sea.

south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

17-21. Further prosecution of the expedition of Judah and Simeon.

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed 18 it: and the name of the city was called Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the

Arad] See Josh. xii. 14. Now Tell 'Arâd, about twenty miles south of Hebron. "A white crowned hill, with traces of ruins, a day's journey west of the south end of the Dead Sea." Tristram, Bible Places, p. 11.

17-21. FURTHER PROSECUTION OF THE EXPEDITION OF JUDAH AND SIMEON.

17. Zephath] Supposed by most explorers to have retained its ancient name, and to be the present Sebaita in the midst of the Negeb. Robinson, however (Biblical Researches, III. 150), prefers Es-Sufah. Called Hormah first, because of the terrible defeat inflicted on the Israelites by the Amalekites (Numb. xiv. 45), and afterward because of the destruction of the Canaanites related in this passage and in Numb. xxi. 3. Hormah (see margin of Numb. xxi. 3) signifies utter destruction. See next note. Also Josh. xii. 14, xix. 4; 1 Sam. xxx. 30; 2 Chron. xiv. 10. The name Hormah only is used by Moses. Only here and in 2 Chron. xiv. 10, is the older name used.

utterly destroyed it] The word cherem, used of the destruction of Jericho and the other Canaanitish cities, originally means to shut up (whence our word Harem). Hence in the Hiphil or causative voice it comes to mean cause to shut up, thence to consecrate, and thence to devote to utter destruction, to place under a ban. From this word Hormah (see last note) is derived.

18. Gaza] The scene of one of Samson's greatest exploits. See ch. xvi. 3. One of the five lordships of the Philistines, Josh. xiii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. 17, 18. It had apparently not been captured in Joshua's time, see Josh. x. 41, xi. 22. As it appears to have been again in the hands of the Philistines in the time of Samson and Samuel (see passages just cited and ch. iii. 3), the Israelites could not have held it long; The LXX., however, which is followed by Josephus, inserts a "not here, and continues it throughout the verse. This reading agrees better with what follows. Josh. xi. 22 seems to bear out this reading. See also ch. iii. 3. Gaza is sometimes called Azzah in Scripture (Deut. ii. 23; 1 Kings iv. 14; Jer. xxv. 20). It is now called Ghaisch.

with the coast thereof] Literally, and her border. The word coast (French côte) from the Latin costa, a rib or side, had the same sense of

coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. And the 19 LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled

side as the French word now has. The Hebrew word is translated indifferently by coast and border in our version.

Askelon] More properly Ashkelon, known later as Ascalon, now Askalan. One of the five Philistine lordships (see passages cited above). It lay on the Philistine coast, about midway between Gaza and Ashdod. It is mentioned in later times (see Jer. xxv. 20, xlvii. 5, 7). It was famous in the history of the Crusades as having been besieged and taken by Richard I. "Within the walls and towers now standing Richard held his court." Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, p. 257..

Ekron] This was also one of the five lordships of the Philistines. It soon returned under the hands of the Philistines. See i Sam. v. 10, vi. 17. It lay near what ultimately became the border of Judah, though it probably, like Gath, fell under Israelite dominion in the reigns of David and his immediate successors (1 Chron. xviii. 1).

19. but could not drive] Judah is the nominative to the verb here, not, as some objectors to the inspiration of Scripture have supposed, Jehovah. The successes of Judah are ascribed to Him who gave them. But his failures are his own. Had he had faith enough, no chariots of iron would have enabled the inhabitants of the valley to resist him. Cf. Josh. xi. 4-6, xvii. 16, 18. It is of course possible (see note on last verse) that Judah may have taken the cities of the 'Emek by a sudden assault, but have been unable to hold them.

valley] Here 'Emek, generally a wide valley enclosed by hills, though sometimes it is used in a sense equivalent to plain. It seems as though it is here intended to signify the Shephêlah (see v. 9).

chariots of iron] These seem to have caused much dread to the Israelites. They seem even to have appalled the stout heart of Joshua (Josh. xi. 6). What these chariots were is uncertain. Scythe-chariots ("chaarys full of weepnes in manner of sithis," Wiclif) do not appear to have been known to the Egyptians, and Xenophon in his Cyropaedia says that Cyrus introduced them from the Scythians. It is therefore possible that they were ordinary war-chariots such as we find described in the Iliad. See, for further information, Dr Cassel's note in Lange's Commentary, translated in Clark's Theological Library. Also the Article "Chariot" in the Dictionary of the Bible. The LXX. renders here most curiously ὅτι Ρηχὰβ διεστείλατο αὐτοῖς, leaving the word "chariots" untranslated, no doubt from the difficulty mentioned above. 20. as Moses said] See Numb. xiv. 24; Josh. xiv. 9. Caleb, in the latter passage, mentions circumstances which Moses has not recorded. The only satisfactory explanation of his words seems to be that the spies separated, and that Hebron was the place visited by Caleb. The text follows the narrative in Joshua.

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