Debir

Debir (meaning an orator or a word) was an important Canaanite city in the hill country of Judah, also called Kirjath-sannah and Kirjath-sepher ("city of the book," suggesting it may have been a scribal center). It was captured first by Joshua (Joshua 10:38–39) and later by Caleb's nephew Othniel, who received Caleb's daughter Achsah in marriage as a reward (Joshua 15:15–17; Judges 1:11–15). The city was assigned to the tribe of Judah and made a Levitical city (Joshua 21:15). Its probable identification is with Tell Beit Mirsim, excavated by W.F. Albright, though Khirbet Rabud has also been proposed. The narrative of Othniel's conquest of Debir is particularly noteworthy as it introduces the first judge of Israel.