By Kathryn Wright
INTRODUCTION
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judg 21:25).
The book of Judges records the events that took place after the nation of Israel entered the Promised Land. Sadly, what began with godly leadership and possession of the land under Joshua and Caleb ended with immorality and civil war. Through the book’s narratives, the author of Judges portrays the nation’s tragic descent into spiritual degradation.
It is striking that women are the lens through which this decay is revealed. Women such as Deborah, Jael, and Delilah serve as an indictment of the men of Israel. In addition, three daughters illustrate the gradual deterioration of the nation’s spiritual condition.
THE WISE FATHER: CALEB AND ACHSAH (JUDGES 1:12-15)
At the beginning of Judges, we see examples of strength and bravery. Caleb, the faithful spy from the days of Moses and Joshua (Num 14:24), offers his daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who will take up the challenge of conquering Kiriath Sepher (Judg 1:12). Othniel, a godly warrior who will later become Israel’s first judge, rises to the occasion (Judg 3:9-11).
Stone comments:
It might seem to us at first that Caleb is not treating his daughter very well when he offers her as the prize for bravery, but we need to recognize that Caleb’s challenge to the soldiers would ensure that his daughter married a strong and brave man who would more than likely be the leader of the family and provide for her. We can also conclude that if this warrior took the city, it would be because he had faith in God. That was the only way the Israelites ever won a battle. So, the chances were also good that Caleb would be providing a man of God for his daughter. So, I conclude from this section that Caleb is going to find a good husband for his daughter (Stone, “The Role of Women in the Book of Judges,” Bible.org, https://bible.org/article/rolewomen-book-judges. Accessed 5 June 2025. Emphasis added).
Caleb’s choice reflected discernment and tender care for his daughter. A man had to be proven worthy of marrying her, so Caleb looked for the qualities of courage and faith. He found them in Othniel. What follows is a beautiful exchange between a loving father and his daughter:
Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs (Judg 1:14-15, emphasis added).
Achsah was a bold and clever bride. While the new couple had been given land, it came without springs. This would have made life difficult in an agricultural society. Therefore, Achsah boldly approached her father and asked for more than land. She asked for springs of water. Achsah was emboldened, undoubtedly because she trusted in her father’s care for her. In response, she was not ignored, but listened to. In fact, Caleb didn’t just listen to her; he blessed the couple. He gave Achsah what she needed in order to flourish and even went beyond what she asked by providing both the upper and lower springs.
This is what godly leadership produces: strong women, courageous husbands, provision, and peace. Judges later records that Israel enjoyed forty years of rest under Othniel’s leadership (3:9-11). Achsah’s inheritance secured abundant life for her, her husband, and any future children.
Three elements make this account notable:
- Achsah is named.
- She dismounts from her donkey.
- She speaks, and her wise request is heard and honored.
Near the end of Judges, another narrative will feature a woman on a donkey. But this time the scenario will be tragically different.
THE WEAK FATHER: JEPHTHAH AND HIS DAUGHTER (JUDGES 11:29-40)
The next father-daughter duo in the Book of Judges is found in 11:29-40, the account of Jephthah. He was a mighty warrior and is listed among the faithful in Hebrews 11. He was a man chosen to lead Israel into battle. But when given leadership, he didn’t trust in God’s promise; instead, he bargained:
“If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me… shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” (Judg 11:30-31).
Rather than entering into battle with faith, Jephthah leads with superstition. When he returns home in victory, his only daughter comes out dancing. His rash vow becomes her ruin. It’s unlikely that her father killed her. Instead, the text and Hebrew wording lean toward his consigning his daughter to lifelong virginity. In the culture in which they lived, her life was as good as destroyed because she would never marry, bear children, or inherit land. She became a living sacrifice to her father’s foolishness.
She knew no man. And it became a custom in Israel… (Judg 11:39).
The tragedy isn’t just what happened to her, but what didn’t happen through her. She left a legacy of emptiness and silence. She became a symbol of loss, not life. Whereas Achsah inherited springs, Jephthah’s daughter inherited isolation.
THE WICKED FATHER: THE CONCUBINE’S DEGRADATION (JUDGES 19:1-30)
The final father-daughter duo in Judges is found in chapter 19. Like Caleb, this unnamed father has a daughter. But unlike Caleb, this father shows no discernment and fails to protect his daughter. Instead, his daughter is reduced to being a Levite’s concubine. As one of Israel’s spiritual leaders, this Levite should have been above reproach in his treatment of this woman. Instead, he neither elevates nor cares for her. She flees him, and the text hints at why: She would rather prostitute herself than live under his roof.
Something is deeply wrong. She eventually returns to her father’s house—but even there, she finds no true refuge. When the Levite comes to retrieve her, her father lavishes hospitality on him. The father raises no concern, asks no questions, and finally sends his daughter back with the Levite. She is not protected by her father, but treated as a piece of property.
The Levite, far from being a righteous counterpart to Othniel, leads her straight into ruin. On their journey home, they spend the night in a house in Gibeah. A mob surrounds the house, demanding that the Levite come out so they can violate him. To protect himself, the Levite instead gives them his concubine:
So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning (Judg 19:25).
The next morning, the Levite arises from his bed to find the concubine lying at the door, her hands on the threshold, indicating a last desperate attempt to find refuge from the ravages of the night before (19:27). The Levite’s response is nothing short of astonishing:
And he said to her, “Get up and let us be going.” But there was no answer. So the man lifted her onto the donkey; and the man got up and went to his place (Judg 19:28, emphasis added).
The Levite shows no remorse upon finding his concubine lying dead at the doorway. He proceeds to dismember her body, dividing it into twelve pieces which he sends throughout Israel to the twelve tribes. He does this, not out of grief, but as a political ploy. His brutal act sparks civil war. As a result, countless more women suffer (Judges 20–21). When fathers fail and spiritual leaders become predators, daughters are no longer honored or heard—they become collateral damage.
Unlike Achsah, the concubine is never named. She never speaks. Her body is placed on a donkey, not as a bride, but as a gruesome warning. At the beginning of Judges, a woman descends from her donkey to claim a blessing. At the end of Judges, a woman is lifted onto a donkey in death.
CONCLUSION
Through these three daughters, the nation’s spiritual condition is revealed. When the nation was spiritually healthy, Achsah was cherished, protected, and given the means to flourish. When spiritually weak, Jephthah’s daughter was cursed, isolated, and cut off from an abundant life or legacy. When the nation was in spiritual darkness, the concubine—nameless, neglected, and brutalized— graphically personified the nation’s moral collapse and lack of godly leadership.
The book of Judges begins with a strong father, a bold daughter, and a faithful son-in-law. It ends with mutilation, civil war, and women sacrificed for men’s protection and pride. Many want to close their eyes to the final account and gloss over the goriness. But the horrors of the passage are meant to be understood in context. If the true context is ignored, we will fail to understand the message so vividly demonstrated in the book of Judges: Sin is always ugly, and its wages are death (Rom 6:23). And when men fail to lead, women are not merely dishonored—they are silenced.
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Kathryn Wright and her husband, Dewey, live in Columbia, SC. She is the GES missions coordinator, women’s conference speaker, writer, and Zoom teacher.
