Dictionaries :: Caleb

Caleb:

a dog. (1.) One of the three sons of Hezron of the tribe of Judah. He is also called Chelubai (1Ch 2:9). His descendants are enumerated (18-20, 42-49).

(2.) A "son of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah" (1Ch 2:50). Some would read the whole passage thus: "These [i.e., the list in ver. 42-49] were the sons of Caleb. The sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, were Shobal, etc." Thus Hur would be the name of the son and not the father of Caleb (ver. 19).

(3.) The son of Jephunneh (Num 13:6; 32:12; Jos 14:6,14). He was one of those whom Moses sent to search the land in the second year after the Exodus. He was one of the family chiefs of the tribe of Judah. He and Joshua the son of Nun were the only two of the whole number who encouraged the people to go up and possess the land, and they alone were spared when a plague broke out in which the other ten spies perished (Num 13; 14). All the people that had been numbered, from twenty years old and upward, perished in the wilderness except these two. The last notice we have of Caleb is when (being then eighty-five years of age) he came to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, after the people had gained possession of the land, and reminded him of the promise Moses had made to him, by virtue of which he claimed a certain portion of the land of Kirjath-arba as his inheritance (Jos 14:6-15; 15:13-15; 21:10-12; 1Sa 25:2,3; 30:14). He is called a "Kenezite" in Jos 14:6,14. This may simply mean "son of Kenez" (Num 32:12). Some, however, read "Jephunneh, the son of Kenez," who was a descendant of Hezron, the son of Pharez, a grandson of Judah (1Ch 2:5). This Caleb may possibly be identical with (2).

(4.) Caleb gave his name apparently to a part of the south country (1Sa 30:14) of Judah, the district between Hebron and Carmel, which had been assigned to him. When he gave up the city of Hebron to the priests as a city of refuge, he retained possession of the surrounding country (Jos 21:11,12; 1Sa 25:3).

Caleb:

a dog; a crow; a basket

Caleb:

ka'-leb (kalebh; in the light of the cognate Syriac and Arabic words, the meaning is not "dog," which is kelebh, in Hebrew, but "raging with canine madness"; Chaleb): As a person, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, occurs in the story of the spies (Nu 13 ff). He represents the tribe of Judah as its prince (Nu 13:6; compare Nu 13:2). While the majority of the men sent out by Moses bring back evil report, Caleb and Hoshea, or Joshua, the son of Nun, are the only ones to counsel the invasion of the promised land (Nu 13:30; 14:6 ff). Accordingly, these two alone are permitted to survive (Nu 14:38; 32:12). Upon the conquest and distribution of the land by Joshua, Caleb reminds the leader of the promise made by God through Moses, and so he receives Hebron as an inheritance for himself and his descendants (Jos 14:6-15), after driving out from thence the Anakim who were in possession of the city (Jos 15:14). In the parallel account in Jud 1:8 ff, the dispossession of the Canaanite inhabitants of Hebron is ascribed to Judah (Jud 1:10). Both accounts agree in mentioning Othniel, a younger brother of Caleb, as the conqueror of Kiriath-sepher or Debir; as his reward he receives the hand of Achsah, Caleb's daughter. Achsah is given by her father a portion of the Southland; but, upon request, she obtains a more fruitful locality with upper and nether springs (Jos 15:15-19; Jud 1:12-15).

In 1Sa 30:14 Caleb is undoubtedly the name of a clan which is, moreover, differentiated from Judah. Modern scholars therefore assume that Caleb was originally an independent clan which in historical times merged with Judah. As Caleb is called the son f Kenaz (Jud 1:13) or the Kenizzite (Nu 32:12), it is further believed that the Calebites were originally associated with an Edomite clan named Kenaz (Ge 36:11), and that they entered their future homes in the southern part of Palestine from the south. Their migration up north would then be reflected in the story of the spies.

In the genealogical tables (1Ch 2), Caleb is made a descendant of Judah through his father Hezron. He is the brother of Jerahmeel, and the "father" of Hebron and of other towns in Judah. (Chelubai, 1Ch 9:9, is apparently identical with Caleb.)

Nabal, with whom David had an encounter, is called a Calebite, i.e. one belonging to the house of Caleb (1Sa 25:3).

Written by Max L. Margolis

Caleb: One of the Two Survivors of the Israelites

Permitted to enter the land of promise,

Num 14:30, 38; 26:63-65; 32:11-13; Deu 1:34-36; Jos 14:6-15

Caleb: Sent to Canaan as a Spy

Num 13:6

Caleb: Brings Favorable Report

Num 13:26-30; 14:6-9

Caleb: Assists in Dividing Canaan

Num 34:19

Caleb: Life Of

Miraculously saved,

Num 14:10-12.

Caleb: Leader of the Israelites after Joshua's Death

Jdg 1:11, 12

Caleb: Age Of

Jos 14:7-10

Caleb: Inheritance Of

Jos 14:6-15; 15:13-16

Caleb: Descendants Of

1Ch 4:15

Caleb:

(capable).

(1.) According to 1 Chronicles 2:9; 2:18-19; 2:42; 2:50, the son of Hezron the son of Pharez the son of Judah, and the father of Hur, and consequently grandfather of Caleb the spy. (B.C. about 1600)

(2.) Son of Jephunneh, one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to Canaan (Numbers 13:6). (B.C. 1490) He and Oshea or Joshua the son of Nun were the only two of the whole number who encouraged the people to enter in boldly to the land and take possession of it. Forty‐five years afterwards Caleb came to Joshua and claimed possession of the land of the Anakim, Kirjath‐arba or Hebron, and the neighboring hill country. Joshua 14. This was immediately granted to him, and the following chapter relates how he took possession of Hebron, driving out the three sons of Anak; and how he offered Achsah his daughter in marriage to whoever would take Kirjath‐sepher, i.e. Debir; and how when Othniel, his younger brother, had performed the feat, he not only gave him his daughter to wife, but with her the upper and nether springs of water which she asked for. It is probable that Caleb was a foreigner by birth,-a proselyte, incorporated into the tribe of Judah.