Josué 15:17 Midrash : Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition), Vayikra Rabbah, Bereshit Rabbah & Sifrei Devarim

(Ex. 1, 21) And it came to pass because the midwives feared God that He made them houses. Rab and Levi both explain the above passage: One says that this means kingly houses and the other said it means priestly and Levite houses. The latter interpretation refers to Moses, and the former contends that kings came forth from Miriam who was also one of the midwives, for it is written (I Chr. 1, 2) And Azubah died when Kaleb took unto himself Ephroth who bore unto him Chur and again it is written (I Sam. 17, 22) Now David was the son of that Ephritite, [hence David was of the same family as Miriam]. (I Chr. 2, 18) And Kaleb the son of Chetzron begot children of Azubah, and of Jerioth and these were her sonss Jeshner, Shobah and Ardon. Is he then the son of Chetzron? Behold he is the son of Yephunah, as stated (Num. 13, 6) He was called with the last name because he turned away from the advice of the spies. And again is he not the son of Kenaz, as it is written (Hosh. 15, 17) And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Kaleb, captured it? Said Raba: "He was a step-son to Kenaz." (Fol. 12) This can be proved by the following — he is called a Kenizzite, but not the son of Kenaz. Hence the inference is maintained. (Ib. 14, 14) Azubah, refers to Miriam, "why was she called Azubah? Because every young man forsook her in the beginning; she begot, behold, she was married to him and she begot him? Said R. Jochanan: "Whoever marries a man from a respectable family for heavenly sake is considered by Scripture as if he begot her." Yerioth she was called, because her face was greenish like the curtains of the Temple. And these were her sons. Do not read Baneha (her sons) but boneha {who built her up); yashar means who kept himself straight in the right path, [did not listen to the spies]; Sho'ab means, who turned himself away [from his evil inclinations]; Ardon means who rebelled against his evil inclination, and according to others because his face was as prim as a rose. (I Chr. 4, 5) And Aschuhr the father of Teke'ah had two wives, Chelba and Nea'arah; i.e., Ashchur refers to Kaleb, and why was he called Ashchur; because he darkened his face because of the many fasts he observed, Abi, who became like a father to his wife; teko'ah, who attached his heart unto his Father in heaven; there were two wives, the one Miriam became like two wives; Chela and Na'arah, neither was her name Chela nor Na'arah, but it means in the beginning she was sick, and at the end she became young, (Ib., ib. 7) And the sons of Chilah were Zareth, Zochar and Ethnan; i.e., Zureth means that she caused grief and animosity to her friend [because of her beautiful] appearance; Zochar means that her face was like the mid-day; Ethnan because she appeared very handsome.

Four opened with vows; three made unreasonable requests but the Holy One blessed be He responded favorably, and one made an unreasonable request and the Omnipresent responded to him unfavorably. These are they: Eliezer, servant of Abraham; Saul; Yiftaḥ; and Caleb. Eliezer made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be that the girl to whom I shall say: Tilt your jug please…[it is she You have confirmed for Your servant, for Isaac]” (Genesis 24:14). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: Had a Canaanite maidservant or a prostitute emerged, would you have said: “It is she You have confirmed for Your servant, for Isaac” (Genesis 24:14)? But the Holy One blessed be He acted on his behalf and arranged for Rebecca to [come to] him.
Caleb made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “Caleb said: To whoever smites Kiryat Sefer and captures it, I will give Akhsa my daughter to him as a wife” (Joshua 15:16). The Holy One blessed be He responded to him: Had a Canaanite, a mamzer, or a slave captured it, would you have given him your daughter? What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He arranged for his brother to capture it, as it is stated: “Otniel ben Kenaz, [brother of Caleb,] captured it” (Joshua 15:17).
Saul made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be that the man who smites him, the king will enrich him with great wealth, and he will give him his daughter” (I Samuel 17:25).¹⁵Saul offered his daughter in marriage to the man who would smite Goliath. The Holy One blessed be He said: Had an Amonite, a mamzer, or slave killed him, would you have given him your daughter? The Holy One blessed be He arranged for David [to kill Goliath], and [Saul] gave him his daughter Mikhal.
Yiftaḥ made an unreasonable request, as it is stated: “It will be, that whatever emerges from the doors of my house […I will offer it up as a burnt offering]” (Judges 11:31). The Holy One blessed be He said: Had a camel, a donkey, or a dog emerged, would you have presented it as a burnt offering? The Holy One blessed be He responded to him unfavorably and arranged for his daughter [to emerge] for him.
“It was upon his seeing her that he rent his garments” (Judges 11:35) – he could have had his vow dissolved and gone to Pinḥas. He said: I am a king; shall I go to Pinḥas?¹⁶Yiftaḥ considered it beneath his dignity for him to have to go to Pinḥas to dissolve his vow. Pinḥas said: I am the High Priest and the son of a High Priest; shall I go to this ignoramus? In the meanwhile, that miserable one¹⁷Yiftaḥ’s daughter; see Judges 11:35–40. died, and both of them were liable for her blood. Pinḥas, the Divine Spirit left him. That is what is written: “Pinḥas son of Elazar had been the chief official over them in the past; the Lord was with him” (I Chronicles 9:20). Yiftaḥ’s limbs fell off one by one and were buried. That is what is written: “He was buried in the cities of Gilead” (Judges 12:7). It is not written, “In the city of Gilead,” but rather, “in the cities [of Gilead].” It teaches that his limbs fell off one by one, and he was buried in many places.
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish and Rabbi Yoḥanan: Reish Lakish said: He was obligated to give money and to sacrifice upon the altar.¹⁸When Yiftaḥ’s daughter emerged, he should have just taken a sum of money corresponding to her value and used it to purchase animals for sacrifice. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: He was not obligated to give money, as we learned: An item that is fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall be sacrificed; an item that is not fit to be sacrificed atop the altar, shall not be sacrificed atop the altar.¹⁹Thus, his vow did not take effect at all upon his daughter. Some add, based on Tanḥuma, that the text here should state: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: If you bring your valuations before Me, I consider it as though you sacrificed your souls [nafshotekhem] before Me. That is why it is stated: “If a man articulates a vow in accordance with the valuation of persons [nefashot] to the Lord” (Etz Yosef). Moreover, anyone who vows and fulfills his vow, merits to pay his vow in Jerusalem. That is what is written: “I will pay my vows to the Lord” (Psalms 116:18). Where? “In the courtyards of the house of the Lord, in your midst, Jerusalem. Halleluya” (Psalms 116:19), and it says: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His kindness is forever” (Psalms 118:1).

“The sun rises and the sun sets” (Ecclesiastes 1:5) – Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Do we not know that the sun rises and the sun sets? The meaning is, however, that before the Holy One blessed be He causes the sun of a righteous person to set, he causes the sun of his righteous counterpart to rise. The day that Rabbi Akiva died, Rabbeinu [Yehuda HaNasi] was born, and they applied this verse in his regard: “The sun rises and the sun sets.” On the day that Rabbeinu died, Rav Ada bar Ahava was born, and they applied this verse in his regard: “The sun rises and the sun sets.” On the day that Rav Ada bar Ahava died, Rabbi Avun was born, and they applied this verse in his regard: “The sun rises and the sun sets.” On the day that Rabbi Avun died, his son Rabbi Avun was born. On the day that Rabbi Avun died, Abba Hoshaya of Teriya was born. On the day Abba Hoshaya died, Rabbi Hoshaya was born, and they applied this verse in his regard: “The sun rises and the sun sets.”
Before He caused Moses’ sun to set, He caused Joshua’s sun to rise, as it is stated: “The Lord said to Moses: Take you Joshua, the son of Nun […and lay your hands upon him]” (Numbers 27:18). Before Joshua’s sun set, the sun of Otniel ben Kenaz rose,³Otniel was the first of the Judges, (as the leaders of Israel were called after Joshua’s death). as it is stated: “Otniel son of Kenaz…captured it”⁴Otniel captured Kiryat Sefer while Joshua was still alive. (Joshua 15:17). Before Eli’s sun set, Samuel’s sun rose: “The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was lying in the Sanctuary of the Lord” (I Samuel 3:3).⁵This is interpreted here as a metaphor: Before the life of Eli, the priest of God, was “extinguished,” Samuel was already in place to act as spiritual leader in the Sanctuary. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Like a calf without blemish.⁶This sentence is an error and should be deleted (Yefe Toar). Before the Holy One blessed be He caused Sarah’s sun to set, Rebecca’s sun rose. First, “behold, Milka, she too has borne children” (Genesis 22:20),⁷One of Milka’s descendants listed there is Rebecca. and only then: “Sarah’s lifetime was one hundred years….”