Judges 1:24-25

1:24 the spies spotted ¹  a man leaving the city. They said to him, “If you show us a secret entrance into the city, we will reward you.” 1:25 He showed them a secret entrance into the city, and they put the city to the sword. But they let the man and his extended family leave safely.

Judges 1:1

Judah Takes the Lead

1:1 After Joshua died, the Israelites asked ²  the Lord, “Who should lead the invasion against the Canaanites and launch the attack?” ³ 

Judges 1:11-15

1:11 From there they attacked the people of Debir. ⁴  (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 1:12 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife.” 1:13 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, ⁵  captured it, Caleb ⁶  gave him his daughter Acsah as a wife.

1:14 One time Acsah ⁷  came and charmed her father ⁸  so she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 1:15 She answered, “Please give me a special present. ⁹  Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “saw.”

² tn The Hebrew verb translated “asked” (שָׁאַל, sha’al) refers here to consulting the Lord through a prophetic oracle; cf. NAB “consulted.”

³ tn Heb “Who should first go up for us against the Canaanites to attack them?”

⁴ tn Heb “they went from there against the inhabitants of Debir.” The LXX reads the verb as “they went up,” which suggests that the Hebrew text translated by the LXX read וַיַּעַל (vayya’al) rather than the MT’s וַיֵּלֶךְ (vayyelekh). It is possible that this is the text to be preferred in v. 11. Cf. Josh 15:15.

⁵ tn “Caleb’s younger brother” may refer to Othniel or to Kenaz (in which case Othniel was Caleb’s nephew; so CEV).

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Heb “him.” The pronoun could refer to Othniel, in which case one would translate, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 15. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18 // Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. The translation takes Caleb to be the referent, specified as “her father.”

⁹ tn Elsewhere the Hebrew word בְרָכָה (vÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).

¹⁰ tn Some translations regard the expressions “springs of water” (גֻּלֹּת מָיִם, gullot mayim) and “springs” (גֻּלֹּת) as place names here (cf. NRSV).