Joshua 14: Caleb’s Special Request
1 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 3 For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. 4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. 5 As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land.
6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). Then the land had rest from war.
“As the men of Judah come forward to receive their land, Caleb speaks up to make a special request (14:6–12). In 14:6, Caleb is introduced as a Kenizzite. According to Genesis 15:19, the Kenizzites were a Canaanite people during the time of Abraham. When and how Caleb and his family became a part of the covenant community remains unclear. But by the time of the exodus, Caleb’s family has apparently been well integrated into the tribe of Judah, such that not long afterward, when Moses sends spies to spy out the land, Caleb is selected as the representative of Judah (Num. 13:1–16). In this, Caleb belongs to a group including Rahab of Jericho, Ruth the Moabitess, and Uriah the Hittite, all of whom have become an integral part of the covenant community by their faith.
What Caleb requests is that the Lord’s promised land reward to him through Moses be honored. To make his case, Caleb first summarizes events that took place some forty- five years ago, when he was sent out as one of the spies (14:6–9; cf. Num. 13:1–14:38). He especially highlights the contrast between his response and the response of the other spies, and he recounts the Lord’s subsequent promise to give him the portion of land that he personally walked through as he spied out the land (Num. 14:24; Deut. 1:34–36). Then, testifying to the Lord’s faithfulness in keeping him alive through the wilderness years and beyond, Caleb declares that he is just as strong and ready to take on the enemy as before (14:10–11). He then requests to be given the hill country, as the Lord has promised, and expresses confidence that, with the Lord’s help, he can drive out the Anakites, known both for their physical build (cf. Num. 13:33; Deut. 9:2) and for their large and well- fortified cities (14:12).
So Joshua gives Hebron, located at the heart of the hill country, to Caleb as an inheritance (14:13–15)." (The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary)
“What is here mentioned was first pronounced by God himself, and that with an oath, Numbers 14:21-24. It was also, however, repeated by Moses, so that the expression of the sacred writer is just.” (Benson Commentary)
Unlike in the other tribes, we see no lapse in Caleb’s faithfulness. “Caleb finally drove out this formidable race and occupied Hebron and its dependent towns and district permanently. See Joshua 15:13 following.” (Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible)
“In our day of departure from God and unbelief, may we be like Caleb, ‘wholly following the LORD.’ We, too, wait in faith and in patience for the promised inheritance, which some day will be ours, when He comes to reward His Saints. Then as Israel’s land had rest from war (verse 15) we shall enter into our rest from strife and conflict.” (Arno Gaebelein)
“As we contemplate this ancient record it should surely stir our hearts and lead us to act as Caleb did— in the energy of faith taking possession of that which God has declared He has given to us in Christ. No foe can withstand the man of God who presses forward in power of the Spirit and in obedience to the Word. An old hymn says, ‘Faith, mighty faith the promise sees and looks to that alone; Laughs at impossibilities and cries: It shall be done.’ Such a faith was Caleb’s and in this he is an example for us all. We are too apt to take the line of least resistance, to be content with that which seems the easiest thing instead of valiantly going on in faith to lay hold of the best that God has for us, no matter what difficulties may seem to make it impossible for us to overcome the foe and to enter into and enjoy our allotted portion.” (H A Ironside)
Caleb of Judah chose the land of the great giants as a home. They had named it "Kirjath Arba" after the greatest of the Anakim. And that was its name in patriarchal times; see Genesis 23:2. But it was renamed Hebron by Israel, after a faithful Levite. Caleb's heart had been won by Yahweh to Israel in their stories of antiquity. “Hebron... stood on the hill known as El Arbain. The modern city straddles both ridges of the mountain range. Hebron is situated 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem and less than two miles from Mamre, where Abraham spent much of his life. It is 3,000 feet above sea level and marks the southern end of the Judean highlands. From this elevation the land slopes down rapidly to the east, but gradually to the west and south. The soil is relatively fertile, and a variety of fruits (apples, plums, figs, pomegranates, apricots), nuts, and vegetables are grown easily. To the south is the Negev, where the grazing land is excellent. A large number of springs and wells dot the landscape and assure residents of an abundance of water. In OT times Hebron included Mamre, the place where Abraham built an altar to the Lord after parting from Lot (Gn 13:18). It was here, too, that he learned of the capture of his nephew Lot (14:12- 16); and here that, years later, he entertained three angels and was told of the judgment soon to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah (ch 18). Sarah died in Hebron, and Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the Hittite (Gn 23:8- 9, 17; 25:9- 10; 49:29- 32; 50:12- 13) in which to bury her. This cave is now within the walls of the modern city, and the famous mosque of Haram el- Khalil was built over it. This building commemorates the traditional site of the cave of Mamre in Hebron, burial location for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Tyndale Bible Dictionary) Caleb's intent had to be to rest with them the grave.