![Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 058](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_Bibel_in_Bildern_1860_058.png)
Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ;
Tiberian vocalization
The Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud (Hebrew: ''haNīqqūḏ haṬəḇērīyānī'') is a system of diacritics (''niqqud'') devised by the Masoretes of Tiberias to add to the consonantal text of the Hebrew Bible to p ...
: Kālēḇ;
Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
as a representative of the
Tribe of Judah
According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was the first tribe to take its place in the Land of Israel, occupying the southern ...
during the
Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
'
journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
to the
Promised Land
The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...
.
A reference to him is also found in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
, although his name is not mentioned (
Al-Ma'idah
Al-Ma'idah ( ar, ٱلمائدة, ; "The Table" or "The Table Spread with Food") is the fifth chapter (''sūrah'') of the Quran, with 120 verses ('' āyāt''). Regarding the timing and contextual background of the revelation (''asbāb al-nu ...
: 20-26).
Name
According to ''
The Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'', "since 'Caleb' signifies dog, it has been thought that the dog was the
totem
A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system.
While ''the wo ...
of a
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
". The New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance states that the name ''Kaleb'' (Caleb) is related to the word for "dog" (). The Bible was written down centuries before
Hebrew diacritics
Hebrew orthography includes three types of diacritics:
* ''Niqqud'' in Hebrew is the way to indicate vowels, which are omitted in modern orthography, using a set of ancillary glyphs. Since the vowels can be understood from surrounding, context ...
were introduced, and there is no certain knowledge of how the name was pronounced when the biblical text was written.
In Modern Hebrew, the name is pronounced ; the modern English pronunciation is a result of the
Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift was a series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language that took place primarily between 1400 and 1700, beginning in southern England and today having influenced effectively all dialects of English. Through ...
.
An alternate Hebrew meaning offered for ''Caleb'' is "faithful, zealous, ruthless, bold, brave". This is on the basis of its being actually a compound word, a phenomenon quite common in ancient Hebrew. ''Col'' (, Kaf + Lamed) = "all" or "whole"; ''Lev'' (, Lamed + Bet) means "heart". Therefore, Caleb (or Calev as pronounced in Hebrew) would actually mean "whole-hearted" or "single-minded" or perhaps "fanatical". This might be due to the personal qualities of the Biblical Caleb, a companion of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
and
Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
.
Biblical account
Caleb, son of
Jephunneh (
Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...
, ) is not to be confused with Caleb, great-grandson of
Judah through
Tamar (). This other Caleb was the
son of Hezron, and his wife was Azubah ().
![Altdorfer Joshua and Caleb](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Altdorfer_Joshua_and_Caleb.jpg)
According to , Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was one of
the twelve spies
The Twelve Spies, as recorded in the Book of Numbers, were a group of Israelite chieftains, one from each of the Twelve Tribes, who were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan for 40 days as a future home for the Israelite people, dur ...
sent by Moses into Canaan. Their task, over a period of 40 days, was to explore the
Negev
The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...
and surrounding area, and to make an assessment of the geographical features of the land, the strength and numbers of the
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
, the
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
potential and actual performance of the land, settlement patterns (whether their
cities
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
were like camps or strongholds), and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
conditions. Moses also asked them to be courageous and to return with samples of local produce.
In the Numbers 13 listing of the heads of each tribe, reads "Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh." Caleb's report balanced the appeal of the land and its fruits with the challenge of making a conquest.
of chapter 13 reads "And Caleb stilled the people toward Moses, and said: 'We should go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
[Jewish Publication Society Version (1917)] Caleb and Joshua said the people should trust God and go into the land; the other ten spies, being fearful and rebellious, argued that conquering the land was impossible and immoral.
Caleb as a Kenizzite
Caleb the spy is the son of Jephunneh. Jephunneh is called a
Kenizzite Kenizzite (also spelled Cenezite in the Douay–Rheims Bible) was an Edomitish tribe referred to in the covenant God made with Abraham (). They are not mentioned among the other inhabitants of Canaan in and and probably inhabited some part of Ara ...
(, ,). The Kenizzites are listed as one of the nations associated with the land of Canaan at the time that God made a covenant with Abraham (). However, Caleb is mentioned alongside the descendants of Judah recorded in : "And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh: Iru, Elah, and Naam; and the sons of Elah: Kenaz" ().
, likewise, lists Caleb as a tribal leader in Judah. Contrarily, The Kenizzites are also generally associated with Kenaz, the son of Esau, making them an Edomite clan (see ).
[Freedman & Myers (2000), p]
763
Deeds
In the aftermath of the conquest, Caleb asks Joshua to give him a mountain in property within the land of Judah, and Joshua blesses him as a sign of God's blessing and approval, giving him Hebron (). Since Hebron itself was one of the
Cities of Refuge
The cities of refuge ( ''‘ārê ha-miqlāṭ'') were six Levitical towns in the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah in which the perpetrators of accidental manslaughter could claim the right of asylum. Maimonides, invoking talmudic lit ...
to be ruled by the
Levites
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew defi ...
, it is later explained that Caleb actually was given the outskirts (). Caleb promised his daughter
Achsah
Achsah (; Hebrew: עַכְסָה, also Acsah), was Caleb ben Yefune's only daughter. The meaning of her name is courageous. In Biblical Names the meaning of the name Achsah is: Adorned, bursting the veil.
She was offered in marriage to the man w ...
in marriage to whomever would conquer the land of
Debir A Bible, Biblical word, dvir () may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Names
* Debir King of Eglon, a Canaanite monarch, king of Eglon, Canaan, Eglon, slain by Joshua (). Aided by miracles, Joshua's army routed the Canaanite military, forcing Debir and the other ...
from the giants. This was eventually accomplished by
Othniel Ben Kenaz
Othniel (; he, עָתְנִיאֵל בֶּן קְנַז, ''ʿOṯnīʾēl ben Qenaz'') was the first of the biblical judges. The etymology of his name is uncertain, but may mean "God/He is my strength" or "God has helped me".
Family
The Hebre ...
, Caleb's nephew (), who became Caleb's son-in-law as well ().
1 Samuel states that
Nabal
According to the 1st Book of Samuel Chapter 25, Nabal ( ''Nāḇāl'', "fool")
was a rich Calebite, described as harsh and surly. He is featured in a story in which he is threatened by David over an insult, and ultimately killed by God.
Biblica ...
, the husband of
Abigail
Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later marri ...
before
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, was "a Calebite" (Hebrew ''klby'').
[Fokkelman (1981), p]
482
It is not stated whether this refers to one of the Calebs mentioned in the Bible, or another person bearing the same name.
Traditional Jewish accounts
![Caleb2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Caleb2.jpg)
Traditional Jewish sources record a number of stories about Caleb which expand on the biblical account.
One account records that Caleb wanted to bring produce from the land, but that the other spies discouraged him from doing so in order to avoid giving the Israelites a positive impression of Canaan. They only agreed to carry in samples of produce after Caleb brandished a sword and threatened to fight over the matter. A
Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
refers to Caleb being devoted to the Lord and to Moses, splitting from the other scouts to tour
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
on his own and visit the
graves of the Patriarchs. While in Canaan with the spies, Caleb's voice was so loud that he succeeded in saving the other spies by frightening giants away from them.
[Ginzberg (1911), p]
274
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
Ginzberg, Louis
Louis Ginzberg ( he, לוי גינצבורג, ''Levy Gintzburg''; russian: Леви Гинцберг, ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American rabbi and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish desc ...
(1911).
Legends of the Jews: Bible Times and Characters From the Exodus to the Death of Moses' (Volume III). Philadelphia: The
Jewish Publication Society of America
The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by reform Rabbi Joseph Krausko ...
.
*
* NAS Exhaustive Concordance,
Keleb, accessed 9 June 2017
External links
*
''The Jewish Encyclopedia,'' 1908Gili Kugler, Who Conquered Hebron? Apologetic and Polemical Tendencies in the Story of Caleb in Josh 14
{{Authority control
Tribe of Judah
Book of Numbers people