Garden Fountain

[Josh. 15:16] And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.
He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher - This offer was made as an incentive to youthful bravery prize was won by Othniel, Caleb's younger brother (Judges 1:13, 3:9). This was the occasion of drawing out the latent energies of him who was destined to be the first judge in Israel.
Othniel his nephew took the city and won the prize of Achsah. Achsah ask her father also for a blessing of a spring of water and was given the upper springs and the nether springs. As she came unto him - that is, when about to remove from her father's to her husband's house. She suddenly alighted from her traveling equipage - a mark of respect to her father, and a sign of making some request. She had urged Othniel to broach the matter, but he not wishing to do what appeared like evincing a grasping disposition, she resolved herself to speak out. Taking advantage of the parting scene when a parent's heart was likely to be tender, she begged (as her marriage portion consisted of a field which, having a southern exposure, was comparatively an arid and barren waste) he would add the adjoining one, which abounded in excellent springs. The request being reasonable, it was granted; and the story conveys this important lesson in religion, that if earthly parents are ready to bestow on their children that which is good, much more will our heavenly Father give every necessary blessing to them who ask Him.
16-19 is a story of a woman who is symbolically a garden fountain, a well of living water. Her story tells the reader that the good land, endowed with brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hill (Deut. 8:7), will remain good and life supporting only when attention is given to the life giving water that is part of the inheritance.
Water was the utmost importance. Land without water, as Achsah says becomes a wilderness where no crops can grow, no animals graze, and no human can live (Ps. 63:1). Competition over access to water could be a cause of bitter strife (Gen. 26:18-19), and a means by which the strong oppress the weak (Ezek. 34:17-19). Stopping up sources of water was an act of war, it threatened a people’s existence (2 Kgs. 3:19, 25; 2 Chr. 32:3) until a nation became like a garden without water (Isa. 1:30). The story is placed in Debir, to be located at Khirbet Rabud about 7.5 miles south of Hebron. Excavations have revealed rock cut cisterns and, about 1.25 miles to the north, two wells on which Debir was dependent for water. Achsah’s first request was for agricultural land (a field) around Debir. This was apparently granted by her father as a dowry. Her reaction was one of displeasure because the gift had not included access to the water supply. She clapped her hands in anger, (alighted). Without water supply, the gift would be meaningless. To his credit, Caleb responded to his daughter’s request by giving her the two wells that meant the difference between life and death.
Springs, the Hebrew word translated springs is used in this sense only in this story in the O.T. It is from the same root as the word translated ‘roll down’ in Amos 5:24. This suggests a comparison of justice with the upper spring and righteousness with the lower spring, as a reminder that land management must include access to water. Only then can the people draw water from the wells of salvation (Isa. 12:3). Achsah’s request reminds us also of the Samaritan woman’s request for the water of life.