Caleb (כָּלֵב, Kalev; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev) is a male given name. A character called Caleb is named in the Bible. A reference to him may also be found in the Quran, although his name is not mentioned.
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When the Hebrews came to the outskirts of Canaan, the land that had been promised to them by God, after having fled slavery in Egypt, Moses (the Hebrew leader) sent twelve spies (Hebrew: מרגלים, meraglim) into Canaan to report on what was there—one spy representing each of the Twelve Tribes. Ten of the spies returned to say that the land would be impossible to claim, and that giants lived there who would crush the Hebrew army. Only two, Joshua (from the tribe of Ephraim) and Caleb (representing Judah), returned and said that God would be able to deliver Canaan into the hands of the Hebrew nation.
The Bible records that, because of the testimony of ten of the spies, the Hebrews chose not to enter Canaan. For this disobedience, God caused them to wander in the desert for forty years before being allowed to enter Canaan and conquer it as their home. The only adult Israelites allowed to survive these forty years and enter Canaan were Joshua and Caleb (son of Jephunneh), as a reward for their faith in God. This is recorded in the Book of Numbers. Caleb is called "my servant" by God in Numbers 14:24, a position of the highest honor heretofore used only for Moses. Caleb, son of Jephunneh,first mentioned in the above account (Numbers 13:6) is not to be confused with another Caleb, great-grandson of Judah through Tamar( 1 Chronicles 2:3-9). This other Caleb was the son of Hezron, and his wife was Azubah (I Chronicles 2:18,19).
Caleb, son of Jephunneh, is thought by many to be a true Israelite by birth, since he is associated with and represented the tribe of Judah as one of the 12 spies. Jephunneh could have descended from some member of the non-Israelite Kenizzites (Ge 15:18, 19) who associated with the descendants of Jacob (Israel), marrying an Israelite wife. Perhaps the name Kenizzite in his case derives from some ancestral Judean family head named Kenaz, even as Caleb’s brother was so named.—Jos 15:17; Jg 1:13; 1Ch 4:13.
However, Jephunneh is clearly called a Kenizzite (Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6,14), and the Kenizzites are listed (Genesis 15:19) as one of the nations who lived in the land of Canaan, at the time that God covenanted to Abram (Abraham)to give that land to his descendants forever (Genesis 17:8). Furthermore, a search of Caleb's ancestry in 1 Chronicles 4, does not list his line of descent as being from Judah, since Jephunneh's father is not listed there. It would seem that Jephunneh wished to be included in the nation of Israel, and was included without his ancestral lineage in the tribe of Judah. This provision, for a Gentile to be included in Israel was clearly spelt out in the regulations for Passover (Exodus 12: 48,49). In this Exodus passage it is written: "If an alien who resides with you wants to observe the Passover to the LORD, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may come near to observe it. He is to be like a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person is to eat it. A single law exists for the native and the alien who resides among you." (Exodus 12:48,49 ISV)
Notice carefully that right from the very beginning of the Nation of Israel, God makes full provision for a Gentile to enter the Nation. A Gentile enters through the covenant of circumcision, as a sign that he has accepted the WHOLE of God's covenant. As a full member, he then has exactly the same rights and obligations as a native-born Jew, and from then on is treated by God as a full member of His family, provided that the circumcision was a true circumcision of the heart. He is then assigned to one of the twelve tribes, and becomes grafted into the root of Abraham. This would explain the manner of Caleb's 1 Chronicles 4 entry, and the lack of mention of his ancestry. When a Gentile joins the Family of Israel, his ancestry IS Israel!
At the time of God's covenant with Abram, God made it clear to Abram that the sins of the people of Canaan- in particular the Amorites- had not yet reached the point where God was ready to act in judgement of them. All nations are given time to repent of their wickedness, and although God foreknew that the Amorites would not repent, he nonetheless gave them time, in order to prove that his judgement at the hands of Joshua was a just one. This is the context, one of ripeness for judgement, in which Joshua, Caleb, and the other ten went to spy out the land. It is also the clear explanation of Joshua's later conquest of the land; a conquest in which Caleb fully participated.
Notably, all references to the Kenizzite connection, which would imply a "quasi-foreign" status, were removed from the Septuagint, which adds instead a qualifier (ό διακεχωιζιδμένος) that means "he who goes against the current".[1] The Talmud (Sotah 11b) also interprets the name Jephunneh in this vein: "he (Caleb) was a son who turned —panah— from the counsel of the spies".[2]
A Midrash refers to Caleb being devoted to the Lord and to Moses, splitting from the other scouts to tour Hebron on his own and visit the graves of the Patriarchs.
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 (Joshua 14). Since Hebron itself was one of the Cities of Refuge to be ruled by the Levites, it is later explained that Caleb actually was given the outskirts (Joshua 21:11-13). Caleb promised his daughter Achsah in marriage to him who will conquer the land of Debir from the giants. This was eventually accomplished by Othniel Ben Kenaz, Caleb's half-brother, who became Caleb's son-in-law as well (Joshua 15:16,17).
The story of Caleb is a fascinating and glorious one. God promised Abram that " I'll bless those who bless you, but I'll curse the one who curses you, and through you all the people of the earth will be blessed." Caleb is a truly wonderful example of a "Righteous Gentile" in the eyes of God. He saw and understood clearly that the blessing of God is with the people of Israel, and with his father Jephunneh he left his own people to become a part of God's people. In doing so he laid up blessing for his household forever. At this time of rising anti-Semitism in the earth (2011), each Gentile family must decide whether or not they will be aligned with the People of Israel. Their decision will determine their destiny. This is the clear and unmistakeable message of Gen 12:3 and the life of Caleb.
In 1 Chronicles 2:18 one "Caleb son of Hezron" is mentioned. That Caleb is noteworthy for being the great-grandfather of architect Bezalel. Per the context, this man was an Israelite by lineage, which (if the Kenizzite hypothesis holds) would make it implausible that he and the other Caleb are the same person (even though the Talmud argues so in Sotah 11b).[2][3]
1 Samuel 25:3 states that Nabal, the husband of Abigail before David, was "of the house of Caleb". It is not stated whether this refers to one of the two Calebs mentioned in the Bible, or another person bearing the same name.
Caleb's name is spelled with the same consonants as כֶּלֶב kéleḇ meaning "dog", prompting the common conclusion that the name Caleb means "dog". In Eblaite language, the name Galibu (Caleb) is found, meaning "dog-like" in the sense of fleet-footed (as the hound overtakes the deer, which is the model of fleetness in Semitic lore).
Another plausible origin is a transposition of a name found in other ancient Semitic languages such as Phoenician and Ugaritic, meaning "servant of the Lord" [1].
In the Quran Caleb is mentioned in the 5th Surah of the Quran (5:20-26). The two men mentioned here are Caleb and Joshua: "Remember Moses said to his people: "O my people! Call in remembrance the favour of The Lord unto you, when He produced prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any other among the peoples. "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." They said: "O Moses! In this land are a people of exceeding strength: Never shall we enter it until they leave it: if (once) they leave, then shall we enter." (But) among (their) God-fearing men were two on whom The Lord had bestowed His grace: They said: "Assault them at the (proper) Gate: when once ye are in, victory will be yours; But on Allah put your trust if ye have faith." They said: "O Moses! while they remain there, never shall we be able to enter, to the end of time. Go thou, and thy Lord, and fight ye two, while we sit here (and watch)." He said: "O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother: so separate us from this rebellious people!" The Lord said: "Therefore will the land be out of their reach for forty years: In distraction will they wander through the land: But sorrow thou not over these rebellious people"
Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Caleb". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.