And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.
The verse comes after the account of Achan's sin and its consequences, in the portion of Joshua that records the conquering of the Canaanites and the division of the land. It belongs to the account in Joshua 11-21 of the division and settling of the Promised Land among the tribes, which also shows Israel's lack of faith and slowness, and which ends with God having done all He had promised.
The verse identifies Debir as one of the mountain cities allotted to Judah and states its earlier name was Kirjath-sepher. That former name Kirjath-sepher means book town, suggesting the town held a notable library, perhaps of clay tablets kept in its temple.
After driving out the sons of Anak and taking Hebron for his possession in Canaan, Caleb went up to Debir against the giants with only his own immediate followers. He promised his daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who would smite and take the city. In going up to Debir, Caleb proved the faith he had spoken forty-five years before that Israel was able to possess the land held by giants. He succeeded because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel, and in that wholehearted following lies the secret of all success.
The record teaches that when life seems a dry, barren south land, it is privilege to ask a blessing of the heavenly Father, who is more ready to grant good gifts than people are to ask. Receiving from Him through Christ Jesus the living water of salvation ends thirst for unsatisfying earthly pleasure. That gift becomes within a well of water springing up to eternal life to impart to others, so that those blessed become a blessing by coveting earnestly the best gifts.
The verse comes after the account of Achan's sin and its consequences, in the portion of Joshua that records the conquering of the Canaanites and the division of the land. It belongs to the account in Joshua 11-21 of the division and settling of the Promised Land among the tribes, which also shows Israel's lack of faith and slowness, and which ends with God having done all He had promised.
The verse identifies Debir as one of the mountain cities allotted to Judah and states its earlier name was Kirjath-sepher. That former name Kirjath-sepher means book town, suggesting the town held a notable library, perhaps of clay tablets kept in its temple.
After driving out the sons of Anak and taking Hebron for his possession in Canaan, Caleb went up to Debir against the giants with only his own immediate followers. He promised his daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who would smite and take the city. In going up to Debir, Caleb proved the faith he had spoken forty-five years before that Israel was able to possess the land held by giants. He succeeded because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel, and in that wholehearted following lies the secret of all success.
The record teaches that when life seems a dry, barren south land, it is privilege to ask a blessing of the heavenly Father, who is more ready to grant good gifts than people are to ask. Receiving from Him through Christ Jesus the living water of salvation ends thirst for unsatisfying earthly pleasure. That gift becomes within a well of water springing up to eternal life to impart to others, so that those blessed become a blessing by coveting earnestly the best gifts.