One of the twelve spies of Canaan; tribal leader of Judah during the conquest and settlement
Caleb
KAY-leb
The Judahite spy who, with Joshua, alone urged Israel to trust God and take Canaan — and who, decades later at 85, still claimed the hill country he had scouted as a young man.
Life and work
Caleb, son of Jephunneh and a leader of the tribe of Judah, was one of twelve men Moses sent to scout Canaan. Where ten spies returned with a fearful report about fortified cities and giants, Caleb (joined by Joshua) insisted Israel could take the land: "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30). For this, God promised that Caleb — unlike the rest of his generation — would live to enter the promised land (Numbers 14:24, 30).
Caleb reappears 45 years later, after the conquest had begun, to claim his promised inheritance. Addressing Joshua directly, the 85-year-old Caleb recalled his youthful faithfulness and declared he was still "as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me" (Joshua 14:6-12), asking for the hill country of Hebron, then held by the Anakim — a people described elsewhere as intimidatingly large. Joshua granted the request, and Caleb personally drove out the Anakim to take the city (Joshua 14:13-15; 15:13-14).
Caleb later offered his daughter Achsah in marriage to whoever conquered Kiriath-sepher (Debir); his own nephew Othniel took the city and married her, and Othniel would go on to become Israel's first judge (Joshua 15:15-19; Judges 1:12-15, 3:9-11).
- Occupation
- Tribal leader and military commander of Judah
- Places
- Egypt in his youth; the Sinai wilderness; Hebron in the hill country of Judah, which became his personal inheritance
Extra-biblical evidence
No archaeological find or extrabiblical text names Caleb individually. He is known solely from the biblical text (Numbers, Joshua, Judges, and later genealogical references in 1 Chronicles).
Scripture references
- Numbers 13:30, 14:6-9, 24 — Urges Israel to trust God and take Canaan; promised he alone (with Joshua) will enter the land
- Joshua 14:6-15 — At 85, claims and receives Hebron as his inheritance
- Judges 1:12-15 — Offers his daughter Achsah in marriage to the conqueror of Debir
Further reading
Reflect
At eighty-five, Caleb still said, 'Give me this hill country' — what challenge do you still want to take on?
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