Free Joshua Valiant (Chronicles of the Nephilim) by Brian Godawa

way to possibly prepare manna, your creativity proves itself once again. Manna soup! Thank Yahweh for herbs and spices to flavor his mundane ‘miraculous provision.’”
    Chuckles slipped out around the meal spread. But especially from Achsah. Othniel had watched over Achsah like an older brother as she grew up in Caleb’s frequent absence. Othniel was now aged fifty-three and he shared a closeness with Achsah that sometimes made Caleb feel jealous and then guilty for his lack of fatherly presence in her life. In some ways, he was his brother’s opposite. He was a swarthy man with dark curly hair, deep set eyes and stocky features, but he too had become a trusted warrior and commander of hundreds in Israel’s army.
    “ Brother,” scolded Joshua, “would you rather have some quail again?”
    “ Yes. But only if it is not accompanied by the same consequences as last time,” said Othniel. “I will not forget that chastisement. We had quail meat coming out of our nostrils. One memory I do not treasure.”
    He poked Achsah sitting next to him and she giggled again.
    Othniel was referring to the time when the Israelites had previously complained about the manna provision, and cried out for meat like they had in Egypt. So Yahweh sent them meat. A strong wind brought them so many quail to eat that their entire camp was piled high with squawking and feathers. They got sick of it after a month. Some even died from a plague, the rotting flesh was so bad.
    Joshua’s daughter Abigail peeped, “I still do not understand what manna is.”
    Othniel said with a silly sotto voice, “That is why we call it ‘manna. It means, ‘What is it?’”
    The c hildren giggled again.
    Achsah stroked Abigail’s head and offered, “I think Yahweh wants to teach us to be grateful even for what we do not have.”
    All the adults understood the double meaning of Achsah’s words. She had lost her dear mother Nathifa five years earlier.
    Caleb had met Nathifa seventeen years ago and fell madly in love. For some unknown reason, after they had Achsah, Yahweh would not bless them with any more children. This troubled Caleb deeply because he was an outsider, a convert to Israel from the Canaanite tribe of Kenizzites. So the only way he could feel a true part of the people of Yahweh would be through a large family that would blend into and throughout the nation.
    But that was not to be.
    Any normal Israelite would consider this childlessness a curse from Yahweh for some hidden sin or because of his pagan heritage. But Nathifa did not believe Yahweh owed them anything, and that all suffering was his way of making them draw near to each other and to their god.
    Caleb may have been a gibborim warrior, but he was also a tender lover. He had adored and cherished his Nathifa as life itself. He was so affectionate with her in public, kissing her and embracing her, that he would often get in trouble for too much display in their modest culture.
    W hen a desert plague had swept through the congregation, Nathifa had been struck by it and died. Caleb’s cry of pain could be heard for miles around. He had determined to never remarry because his beloved was too much a part of his happiness, of who he was and what he had become. He could not move on and start anew without her. It would make him feel like Sheol would have won, and she would be forgotten in the land of the living. Living in the pain of loneliness without someone to replace her was the way to keep her memory alive.
    F ortunately, Caleb and Achsah were accepted and loved as kin by Joshua’s family, so they always traveled and set up tents near each other, regardless of their different tribal affiliation. Othniel would watch over Achsah when Caleb was gone, and Joshua’s family would often take care of Achsah when Caleb and Othniel were both on a mission or engaged in military pursuits.
    Joshua’s son Nathan broke through the sad tension that filled the air when he complained, “I hate manna. I