Girls · Hebrew · Old Testament · rare · Conquest / Settlement
Achsah
/AK-sah/
עַכְסָה
"Anklet; adorned"
Joshua 15:16
RoleDaughter of Caleb; claimant of inheritance
Etymology
From the Hebrew 'ekes' (עֶכֶס), meaning anklet or bangle. The name suggests adornment and beauty — someone who is decorated or prized.
Who they were
Achsah's story is brief but significant. Her father Caleb — the spy who trusted God when ten others did not — offered her in marriage to whoever captured the city of Kiriath-Sepher. Othniel, Caleb's nephew, took the city and won her hand. But Achsah was not passive in this arrangement. She urged Othniel to ask her father for a field, and then went further herself. She dismounted from her donkey before Caleb and said: 'Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negev, give me also springs of water.' Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs. In an era when women had few property rights, Achsah boldly claimed her portion — and got more than she asked for. She appears in both Joshua and Judges, and her story is sometimes read as a model of women asserting their inheritance in God's economy.
Family
- Father
- Caleb
- Spouse
- Othniel
Character qualities
- Boldness in asking
- Initiative
- Awareness of her worth
- Practical wisdom
Key verse
Joshua 15:19
Where they appear
Themes
Variants & related forms
Acsah · Aksah
Read their story
Achsah's story begins in Joshua.
The full passage is at Joshua 15:16. Any modern translation will do — the NLT and NIV are the most readable; the ESV and NKJV stay close to the wording the church has used for centuries.
Find a Bible to read it in →