It Has to be Important

If you’ve been waiting, you’re about to be rewarded. My next book, Prize of War, is set to be released October 20.

Prize of War takes place just a few years after the end of the “Journey to Canaan” trilogy. We leave behind the family of Bezalel and Kamose, and this time Caleb’s family takes over.

The story of Acsah is told twice in the Bible. I figure anything God repeats has to be important.

Caleb and Joshua, you probably recall, were the only two of the dozen spies sent into Canaan by Moses who believed God would give them the land and allow them to conquer the giants that lived here. God, through Moses, promised Caleb the city of Hebron as his reward. When he was eighty-five, he asked Joshua to give him that city, although at the time, it was still occupied by the Anakim—the beings twice as tall as humans. Talk about faith! He defeated them, and Hebron became his.

But Debir was still under the control of the Anakim. Caleb promised his daughter as a prize to the man who could take the city of Kiriath-Sepher—the name Debir was then known by. His nephew Othniel led the charge and won not only Debir, but Acsah’s hand in marriage.

Caleb the warrior

It was a challenge to make palatable for present-day readers the fact that Caleb “gave away” his only daughter as a “prize.” I’ve presented Caleb as a godly man in my previous books, and indeed Scripture has nothing bad to say about him. In that era, fathers had complete control over their daughters, including their choice of husband, although most scholars agree they gave their daughters some say. I felt I needed to come up with a reason Caleb would do such a thing. There’s also the issue of marrying her cousin …  but I couldn’t do anything about that! Again, at that time, it was acceptable. No gene issues to worry about then.

There’s also the issue of marrying her cousin …  but I couldn’t do anything about that! Again, at that time, it was acceptable. No gene issues to worry about then. Othniel became Israel’s first judge, the only judge from Judah. He later rescued Judah from the king of Aram-Naharaim in Mesopotamia after they turned from God.

The tale of Acsah and Othniel is a fascinating one. War, romance, epic heroes—not to mention “cities walled up to the sky,” giants, and evil villains.  Prize of War will be available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback on October 20.