1. Judges 3:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What sets Othniel apart from Israelites in the preceding narrative?

Judges 3:9 (ESV)

9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.

While the Israelites of the preceding context took Canaanite daughters as their wives (Judges 3:6), Othniel took an Israelite wife, Achsah (previously introduced in Judges 1:11–15). She acted with initiative for positive spiritual outcomes, and thus elevated Othniel’s ideal judgeship. This is again particularly true when she is contrasted to the last major judge’s woman, Delilah.1