{"id":54137,"date":"2019-04-21T19:09:39","date_gmt":"2019-04-21T16:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=54137"},"modified":"2022-11-13T13:14:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-13T11:14:21","slug":"akhsa-unsung-heroine-of-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/akhsa-unsung-heroine-of-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Akhsa, Unsung Heroine Of Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How are we to understand Akhsa, Caleb’s forceful daughter who makes her point with such dynamic assurance? Her behavior recalls her own father Caleb’s steadfast conviction even as it stands in critical contrast to her husband’s successes on the battlefield. Confronted with the prospect of “dry lands” that appear barren and inhospitable, Akhsa does not lose her faith and throw up her hands in dejection. Rather, she is absolutely determined to make the best of her difficult situation, to improve upon it and to transform it into triumph. <\/span><\/p>\n

The commentaries understood that her forceful alighting from the donkey was calculated to attract her father’s attention and perhaps represented a show of entreaty. There may be an additional dimension as well: The donkey is the beast of choice for the nomadic shepherd who covers short distances. The great caravan routes that crisscrossed the region were typically covered by camel, an animal built for transporting heavy loads over long distances through inhospitable terrain, but the nomadic shepherd who did not range quite so far covered territory on foot or by his sturdy donkey. Perhaps Akhsa’s forceful dismounting is meant to indicate to her startled father that she is determined to leave nomadic existence behind in order embrace the overwhelming task of homesteading, of farming, and of putting down roots even in difficult territory. <\/span><\/p>\n

With the national project of settling the land looming large on the horizon, her inspired conduct serves as an important example for her people. How will they confront the disappointment and disillusionment bound to arise when the wilderness “myth” of a land flowing with milk and honey is shattered by the more sobering reality of desolate and uncultivated expanses covered by scrub and forest and sometimes strewn with rock and ruin? Will the people of Israel lose heart because of the magnitude of the task placed before them and surrender to despair? Or will they rather take up their mission enthusiastically, cognizant of the fact that the settlement of the land will be a slow and laborious process that will not be completed by them, nor by their children, nor even by their grandchildren? <\/span><\/p>\n

While Otniel secures a military victory over the enemy army, it is Akhsa who will win the day by settling the land. Her determined attitude serves as a profound paradigm to her people: if they can internalize her tenacity then they will achieve success in the new land, in spite of the great challenges that lie before them. <\/span><\/p>\n

From: <\/span>Joshua: The Challenge of the Promised Land<\/em> <\/span>(Jerusalem: Koren, 2015); <\/span>Chapter: \u201cThe Tribal Boundary of Judah\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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