Water scarcity is one of the biggest challenges facing our world, already severely felt in the kingdom of Jordan as reported this past week in the NYT. Even as it’s getting worse - this challenge was always there, and it’s always ingenuity and creative solutions that continue to save the day. One such story of survival shows up in today’s chapter - a surprising and dramatic scene starring a heroine, hiding inside three verses, in the midst of long lists of who gets which plundered plot of land among the tribespeople of Judah. In recent chapters Joshua and co. continue the conquest of Canaan and begin to allocate the land. After taking over Hebron and subduing its giants, Caleb, 85 year old active warrior, has his eye on one more nearby and stubborn fortress. In a grand patriarchal way he announces: Whoever conquers Devir, also known as Kiryat Sefer, will be worthy of marrying Caleb’s daughter, Achsa, as a prize. Achsa, ends up marrying the warrior Oteniel who wins the day and will one day be the first Judge among the people. She may or may not be thrilled about being a battle bounty - but we are told that she is not happy about the real-estate allotted to them by her father - way down south. So she stages this scene:
וַיְהִ֣י בְּבוֹאָ֗הּ וַתְּסִיתֵ֙הוּ֙ לִשְׁא֤וֹל מֵֽאֵת־אָבִ֙יהָ֙ שָׂדֶ֔ה וַתִּצְנַ֖ח מֵעַ֣ל הַחֲמ֑וֹר וַיֹּֽאמֶר־לָ֥הּ כָּלֵ֖ב מַה־לָּֽךְ׃וַתֹּ֜אמֶר תְּנָה־לִּ֣י בְרָכָ֗ה כִּ֣י אֶ֤רֶץ הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙ נְתַתָּ֔נִי וְנָתַתָּ֥ה לִ֖י גֻּלֹּ֣ת מָ֑יִם וַיִּתֶּן־לָ֗הּ אֵ֚ת גֻּלֹּ֣ת עִלִּיּ֔וֹת וְאֵ֖ת גֻּלֹּ֥ת תַּחְתִּיּֽוֹת׃
“..She made herself fall from her donkey, and Caleb asked her, “What is the matter?” She replied, “Give me a blessing; for you have given me away as a dry land, but give me springs of water.” And Caleb gave her Upper and Lower Gulloth.”
As one of only few women named in this book, Achsa’s miniature story has caught the attention of many readers, including more critical feminist angles. Dr. Havelock writes: “The story of how Achsah the daughter of Caleb acquires water rights represents the reconciliation of overlapping territorial claims...water rights are negotiated within a nonmilitary discourse.”
She literally gets off her ass to demand her rights. With creative cunning, getting Caleb to behave like a father and not just a ruler. And when she says ‘give me a blessing’ - non-hebrew readers miss the pun. Is she saying ‘blessing’ - B’eracha - or is she saying ‘pool of water’ - Bre’cha - or both?
Achasa, like her father, and husband, may be one of the local native people of Canaan, the Kenizaites who only later become incorporated into the national narrative of the tribes as cohesive unit. As a woman and as a local voice she challenges the land distribution - and ruptures the system by focusing on water rights. Like many before her, the link to water is not just about emotional or fluid fluffy romance. Water is what drives the living force of civilizations and women’s leadership as heads of households positioned them - as in this story - at the forefront of the fight for equal shared rights. She used cunning and negotiations - not battle tactics - to get her household the water they need to survive.
Havrelock adds: “ This dialogue that pertains to water rather than war stands out in a book focused on battle. The text introduces a female speaker who is, therefore, not a soldier, in order to show that no matter the conquering army, access to water concerns everyone present. Water acquisition is a local procedure involving negotiation. After the battles, a young woman faces the necessary fact of residence: everyone has to draw from existing sources of water. This need, more tangible than the national narrative, forms the basis of a regional system. “
Achsa’s story will be repeated twice more in the Bible, with slight differences but always echoing her first name. Whoever she was, her legacy as local leader with enough vision and authority to quench the thirst of her people lives on. Perhaps as a reminder to us today to pay closer attention to water scarcity in our reality and our future -and turn to the wisdom of women to lead us to creative solutions that leave nobody behind.
Image: John Singleton 19th century
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Women have two ways of dismounting תִּצְנַ֖ח and תִּפֹּל. The first is what Achsa does from her ass תִּצְנַ֖ח מֵעַ֣ל הַחֲמ֑וֹר The second is what Rivqah does from her camel when she first catches sight of Yitschaq וַתִּפֹּל מֵעַל הַגָּמָל׃. Achsa leaps into action like a paratrooper. Rivqah falls in love.
Every now and then there is, among the other threads and vectors, the echo of a reprise, a kind of textal allusiveness, or "intert-textual," that adds yet another color to the skein. As here where Achsa's dismount surely echoes that of Rebecca, who falls for Isaac, the same who was a well-redigger par excellence, the "water boy" of the patriarchs. And already in Genesis water rites are an issue...