Caleb
Caleb (Hebrew כָּלֵב; Kalev), was an figure in the Hebrew Bible, noted for his faith in God when the rest of the Hebrew nation feared to enter the "promised land" of Canaan on account of the military superiority of the Canaanites.
The son of Jephunneh
Biblical account
During the Exodus from Egypt, Moses led the the Israelites to build the Tabernacle after their had repented of the sin of worshiping the Golden Calf. He the brought them to the outskirts of Canaan. There Moses sent 12 scouts (or spies, meraglim in Hebrew) into Canaan to report on what was there—one spy representing each of the 12 tribes. "See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many," Moses commanded. "What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not?"
Caleb was on of these spies. In Canaan, he and his colleagues saw a fertile land "flowing with milk and honey." They brought back samples of the abundant crops they had seen. However, they also saw strongly fortified cities and mighty warriors.
After their initial report, Caleb took the lead in silencing the crowd and declaring: "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." (Num. 13:30) Ten of the scouts, however, said that the land would be impossible to claim, and that warriors were in fact giants that made the Israelites seem like grasshoppers.
That night fear overcame the congregation, and the Israelites began to speak of electing a leader to take them back to Egypt. Among the spies, only Joshua (from the tribe of Ephraim) and Caleb (representing Judah), testified that God would be able to deliver Canaan into the hands of the Hebrew nation. The Israelites who favored returning to Egypt, however, spoke of stoning them.
At this point, the narrative indicates that God grew so angry with the Israelites that he spoke to Moses and expressed his plan to destroy all the Israelites, starting a new nation centering on Moses himself. Moses implores God to forgiven Israel's sin, and He agrees, with the stipulation that none of the current generation would enter the promised land except Caleb. "Because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly," God tells Moses, "I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." (Num 14:24)[1]
To force their obedience, God strikes the congregation with a plague. All of the spies except Caleb and Joshua died as a result. The Israelites now have a change of heart and determine to attack Canaan. Lacking divine support, they are defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites and driven back into wilderness.
For their faithlessness in response to Caleb's report, God caused the Israelites to wander in the desert for 40 years before being allowed to enter Canaan and conquer it. The only adult Hebrews to survive these 40 years and enter Canaan were Caleb and Joshua.
After the conquest of Canaan, Caleb he was given Hebron and the region around it. Caleb drove out the three powerful chieftains from the area—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. Identified as descendants of Anak, these were of the race earlier characterized as giants. (Joshua 15) In the conquest of this territory he offered the hand of Achsah, his daughter, to the man who would capture Hebron (Kiriath Sepher) for him. The feat was accomplished and the maiden won by Caleb's nehpew, Othniel. At Achsah's request, valuable "upper springs" were added to the original bequest.
Caleb's name is connected with several towns in southern Judah, and several clans of the area were known as Calebites (I Chron. 2). 1 Samuel 25:3 states that Nabal, the husband of Abigail before David, was of the house of Caleb. He had been a wealthy owner of blocks in the "Negev of Caleb."
Name and identity
According to the biblical text, Caleb was of the tribe of Judah. He represented that tribe among the 12 spies. However, Caleb is also identified several times as a Kenizzite, one of the Canaanite tribes who land was given to Abraham by God, as mentioned in Genesis 15:19. Moreover, Caleb's nephew or brother Othniel was the "son of Kenaz." This leads to speculation that the Kenizzites may have affiliated with the Israelites at some point fighting alongside them in their quest to unify Canaan under the Israelite federation. In this theory, Caleb's role in the Exodus story would probably have been written back into Israelite history to express their organic belonging to the tribe of Judah.
Caleb's name is spelled with the same consonants as כֶּ֫לֶב kéleḇ meaning "dog," prompting the common conclusion that the name Caleb means "dog." However it is also sometimes understood to mean "as the heart." Elsewhere, the biblical text uses the flowery expression כְּלֵבָב kəlēḇāḇ "as the heart" and כִּלְבַב kilḇaḇ "as the heart of," and there is also the modern expression כִּלְבָבִי k'l'vavi "after my own heart."
In rabbinical literature
In Rabbinical Literature:
In the rabbinical sources, Caleb, the son of Hezron (I Chron. ii. 18-20), is identified with Caleb, the son of Jephunneh (Num. xiii. 6), the epithet "Jephunneh" having been given to him because he "turned away" ( = ) from the sinful intention of the other spies who advised the people against going into the Holy Land. Caleb is also called (I Chron. iv. 5) "Ashhur," because his face became black () from much fasting, and "father of Tekoa" (), because he fastened () his heart on God, and in this faith he married the prophetess Miriam, whom, although she was neither fair nor healthy, he treated with fatherly love (), appreciating her own piety and her relationship to such brothers as Moses and Aaron.
Although the son of Jephunneh, Caleb is also called "the Kenizzite" (A. V., "Kenezite," Josh. xiv. 6, 14; compare Judges i. 13), because Kenaz, the father of Othniel, was his stepfather; Othniel thus being in fact his half-brother (Soṭah 11a, 12a, where the names of Azubah's children [I Chron. ii. 18] are applied to Caleb in haggadic fashion; see also Ex. R. i. 17).
When Caleb came to Palestine as one of the spies, he visited the graves of the Patriarchs in Hebron (compare Num. xiii. 22) and prayed for their help against the sinful intention of his colleagues (Soṭah 34b). It was also he alone who insisted that the spies should take some of the fruits of the country with them in order to convince the people of the extraordinary fertility of Palestine. As they did not wish to do this Caleb drew his sword and said: "If you will not take any fruit with you, then either my life or yours!" (Tan., Shelaḥ 15, ed. Buber; Num. R. xvi. 14). Thoroughly realizing the evil intentions of the spies, and knowing that it was useless to attempt to dissuade them, he did not betray his plans to them, but acted as if he agreed with them (Tan., l.c. 19; Num. R, l.c. 19). But when the spies began to incite the people against Moses, and hissed Joshua, who attempted to act as peacemaker, Caleb, whom they had thought to be on their side, rose and said, "This is not the only thing the son of Amram has done for us."—here all the ring-leaders were silent—"He has taken us out of Egypt; he has divided the sea for us; and he has fed us with manna. Now, therefore, if he were to command us to make ladders and scale the heavens, we should obey him. Let us go up at once and take possession" (Soṭah 35a; Num. R. l.c.; Tan., l.c.). When the country was divided, Caleb and Joshua received the portions that had been intended for the other spies (B. B. 117b, 118b).
Caleb was the father of Hur from his second wife Ephrath (I Chron. ii. 19), and, therefore, the progenitor of the Davidic house, the "Ephrathite" (I Sam. xvii. 12; Soṭah 11b; Sanh. 69b).J. Sr. L.
Critical view
The eponymous ancestor of the clan of Calebites. Since "Caleb" signifies dog, it has been thought that the dog was the totem of the clan. Modern criticism finds several different strata to this material, representing different points of view. The oldest writer (J) calls him simply Caleb in Josh. xv. 14-19; and Judges i. connects him with the expulsion of the sons of Anak from Hebron, and with the gift of Achsah and of certain lands to Othniel. D and P call him Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and make him one of the twelve spies. In the original form of the story he alone brought back the favorable report, and so of all that came out of Egypt he alone entered Canaan.
A branch of the Edomite clan of Kenaz (compare Judges i. 12 with Gen. xxxvi. 11, 15, 42) that, before the Israelitish conquest, had migrated to southern Judah and settled in the vicinity of Hebron. They appear to have entered the country from the south and to have been friendly to the Hebrews, from which fact, perhaps, arose the story of Caleb's favorable report as one of the twelve spies. They were afterward absorbed in the tribe of Judah. This union had not fully taken place at the time of David's career as an outlaw (I Sam. xxv. 3, xxx. 14). The narratives in Josh. xv. 14 et seq. and Judges i. 12 et seq. were composed to establish the claim of certain Calebite clans to particular localities (see Achsa and Othniel). It appears from I Chron. ii. 18 et seq. that the pre-exilian territory of the Calebites included Ziph and Mareshah and other towns in the extreme south of Judah; while another list in the same chapter (verses 46 et seq.), by representing certain personified towns as sons of Caleb's concubines, among which is Bethlehem, indicates that after the Exile the clan was pushed farther north. This was doubtless due to the occupation of the south by Edomites.J. J
Footnotes/sources
1. Gary N. Knoppers, I Chronicles 1 - 9 (New York:Doubleday, 2003), p. 305; also see pp. 347-349 in the same book.
See also
- Animal names as first names in Hebrew
- The Chronicler
External links
- The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1908
- Calev in the Biblical Encyclopedia Tanakh Profiles (Hebrew/English) See also translations of names.
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- ↑ Interestingly, Joshua is not mentioned here, or in the earlier scene where Caleb alone quiets the crowd. In a parallel account (Numbers 14:30) thought to originate from a separate source tradition Caleb and Joshua are both mentioned, with Joshua receiving top billing.
