Judah and Achsah

"This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah." The southern border runs from the tip of the Dead Sea past the ascent of Akrabbim, Zin and Kadesh-barnea to "the river of Egypt"; the northern border passes En-rogel and the valley of Hinnom "unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem."

Caleb drives out the three sons of Anak from Hebron, then goes against Debir, "and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher." "He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife." Othniel, Caleb's nephew, takes it. Achsah gets down from her donkey. "What wouldest thou?" "Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs."

Then the towns of Judah, district by district: the Negev, the Shephelah, the hill country, and the wilderness by the Dead Sea, ending with En-gedi. "As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day."

Achsah

Achsah is given as a prize of war, a common ancient practice. But she then acts: she asks her father directly for a "blessing" (a gift, here water rights) and receives two springs. Judges 1:12–15 repeats the story. With the daughters of Zelophehad and Rahab, she is one of the women in Joshua who negotiate for land, family and life. Springs near Hebron (such as the area of Seil ed-Dilbe) have been suggested; the identification is uncertain.

Eleven towns missing from the Hebrew (15:59a)

After 15:59, the Greek Septuagint has a whole district that is not in the Hebrew: "Theko, Ephratha, which is Bethlehem, Phagor, Etam, Kulon, Tatam, Thobes, Karem, Galem, Thether and Manocho: eleven cities and their villages" (checked in the library's Greek, where it appears as part of 15:60). Since Bethlehem and Tekoa were obviously Judahite towns, most scholars think a scribe's eye skipped from one "cities and their villages" to the next in the Hebrew tradition, and the Greek preserves the original. The passage page shows the witnesses.

Districts and dates

The town lists are organized into twelve districts. Albrecht Alt and Frank Cross argued they reflect administrative districts of the kingdom of Judah, perhaps from the 9th–7th centuries BC. Others think older lists were updated. The lists preserve real geography whatever their date.