Joshua 14-15

The Olympics have been over for a while now (don't you just love the timeliness of these posts?), but one quality the vast majority of the athletes have in common is their youth. The human body just naturally peaks at a certain age, after which it's all downhill, as they say--the angle may be shallow or precipitous, but it goes downward all the same. That's not to spurn the truly amazing feats of certain older athletes, but they probably would be even better if their bodies were younger.

Of course, while superior physicality is one quality that those in their salad days enjoy, it's not the be-all and end-all. With age comes experience and, we hope, wisdom. (Or at least more wisdom compared to one's youth.) Caleb is the only other Israelite besides Joshua who was an adult during the exodus from Egypt; he has seen the miracles that God has wrought and has endured all 40 years of the wilderness wanderings. You could say that he has a bit of experience and, as his conviction to trust in God shows, wisdom. And yet at 85 years old, he's just as spry as anyone, "vigorous to go out to battle" (14:11). Sure, some of the younger Israelites might outmatch him physically, but passion and motivation go a long way. Keep in mind, too, that Caleb was 40 years old when he originally surveyed the Promised Land, which would have made him 80 when the Israelites started their five-year campaign to conquer Canaan. I doubt many armies today would accept an 80-year-old as an active soldier.

Amidst all the administrative land allotments, we do get a little anecdote in chapter 15: Caleb promises the hand of his daughter, Aksah, (who I suppose could have been anywhere between something-teen and 60 years old) "to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher" (15:16). Turns out his nephew Othniel accomplishes the deed. But that's not all. Aksah then asks her Uncle Caleb for the "upper and lower springs" of Negev (15:19), which Caleb readily grants. Maybe I'm reading too much into the situation, but Aksah sure seems like an enterprising individual. Not only will she have access to water, that most precious resource, but she could also potentially charge passerby to use those springs.

Chapter 15 ends with a note that the Israelites were not able to "dislodge the Jebusites" (15:63). (I just imagine the Jebusites holed up in a literal cozy hunting lodge, complete with bearskin rugs and a roaring fireplace.) The author gives no reason, which makes any possible hypothesis based on this verse mere supposition. Were there just too many Jebusites? Were they awesome warriors? Did the Israelites become too friendly with them? In any case, the Jebusites lived in a little city named Jerusalem, which I'm sure will be important later on….