Othniel

Biblical Record

Othniel was the son of Kenaz and a member of the family of Caleb. He first appears in Joshua 15:15-19, and a nearly identical account appears in Judges 1:11-15. Caleb promised to give his daughter Achsah as a wife to whoever attacked and captured Kirjath-sepher. Othniel took the city and married Achsah. Kirjath-sepher was the city later called Debir. On that occasion Achsah asked her father for springs of water and received the upper springs and the nether springs.

Judges 3:7-11 records how Othniel became a judge (a leader who guided Israel). When Israel forgot God and served the Baals and the Asherahs, God delivered them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, and Israel served him for eight years. When the people cried out, God raised up Othniel as a deliverer. "And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him" (Judges 3:10), and he judged Israel, went out to war, and prevailed, and the land had rest for forty years. 1 Chronicles 4:13 lists Othniel the son of Kenaz and his son Hathath in the genealogy of the descendants of Judah.

Significance Within Scripture

Othniel is the first judge named in the Book of Judges. Although his account is brief, it presents in its most concise form the pattern that recurs throughout the book: sin, oppression, crying out, deliverance, and rest. For this reason some interpreters regard him as the "model judge." The text records no failings on Othniel's part. This contrasts with the later stories of Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson, and his account is therefore read as the starting point of the progressively declining period of the judges.

Othniel's name does not appear in the New Testament. Hebrews 11:32 lists the names of several judges, but he is not among them.

Interpretations and Debates

• Relationship to Caleb: The New Korean Revised Version renders Judges 1:13 as "Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother." In the Hebrew, however, "Caleb's younger brother" can refer either to Kenaz or to Othniel. Accordingly, some interpreters regard Othniel as Caleb's nephew, while others regard him as Caleb's younger brother.
• The Kenizzites: Caleb is called "the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite" (Numbers 32:12). Genesis 15:19 mentions "the Kenizzites" among the peoples living in the land of Canaan, and in Genesis 36 "Kenaz" appears as a name among the descendants of Esau. On this basis some scholars hold that Caleb's family originally came from outside Israel and was incorporated into the tribe of Judah. Others consider the resemblance to be merely a matter of shared names.
• Cushan-rishathaim: "Rishathaim" can be read as meaning something like "double wickedness." For this reason some view it not as an actual name but as an epithet. The historical identity of this king has not been established. There is also a well-known proposal to emend "Aram (Mesopotamia)" in the text to the similarly spelled "Edom."
• Dating: Othniel belongs to the early period of the judges, but estimates of his date vary depending on how one dates the Exodus.
• Later tradition: The Talmud is said to preserve two stories about Othniel. One holds that after the death of Moses, Othniel restored legal rulings that had been forgotten; the other identifies him with Jabez of 1 Chronicles 4. Both are Jewish traditions not found in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Sermons on Judges 3 frequently emphasize that Othniel represents the next generation that inherited Caleb's faith, and that deliverance comes when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon a person. In Sunday school studies of Judges, he is introduced as the first judge. Because his record is brief, however, he is less well known than Gideon or Samson.