Joshua 15

The land given to Judah (vs. 1-12)--This chapter deals entirely with the territory of Judah, which will become exceedingly important as the centuries go by. Again, I would encourage the reader to get a good Bible map and look at it; it's almost essential, in understanding the subsequent history of the Israelites, to have at least some idea where the various tribes settled. Judah's southern border was the southern extremity of Israel (v. 1). It bordered on Edom and the Wilderness of Zin (v. 1). It began at the southern tip of the Salt (Dead) Sea (v. 2), and westward went all the way to the "Brook of Egypt" (v. 4). This is not the Nile, but a nameless little stream east of that river that apparently was the dividing line between Egypt and Canaan. The eastern border of Judah ran up the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan River, and then the boundary extended all the way westward to the Great (Mediterranean Sea). The rest of the place names don't mean a lot to us and would require a rather detailed map to identify. But still, the basic boundary of Judah can be established from the text.

Caleb's promise (vs. 13-19)--Caleb took possession the land Joshua gave to him (see Joshua 14). As he said he would attempt to do, he drove out some of the Anakim of that region (v. 14). He took some more land, then perhaps ran into a snag at a town called Kirjath Sepher. So in verse 16, he said, "He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife." Othniel, who was Caleb's nephew and destined to become the first of the judges, won the prize (v. 17). There was one more thing Achsah, Caleb's daughter, wanted: "Since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs" (v. 19). Her request was not unreasonable. It was a dry, arid land, unsuitable for agriculture without water. So it was natural that Othniel and Achsah would want some water on their land.

The cities of Judah (vs. 20-63)--The rest of the chapter is virtually nothing more than a listing of the cities Judah conquered. Verses 21-32 catalog the cities in the south; verses 33-47, those in the "lowlands" (this will include some major Philistine cities); verses 48-60 record the towns in the mountain country, and verses 61 and 62 a few in the wilderness. The chapter closes by noting that the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, could not be driven out. That will have to wait almost 400 years until David finally does it.