CALEB kā ləb (כָּלֵ֖ב, dog, i.e., slave), son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, one of the spies sent to survey the land of Canaan (Num 13; 14). The name is thought by some to go back to totemistic origins. It may rather speak of a man with canine qualities: the rabid one, biting, snarling. In cuneiform lit. the term “dog” is used of abject servitude. A Canaanite king may call himself the “dog” of the Egyp. Pharaoh.

Caleb the son of Jephunneh was one of the two spies (the other was Joshua) who were willing to trust the Lord and enter the land of Canaan. The others agreed that the land was good. They brought back specimens of the fruit of Canaan, but they felt that the inhabitants of the land were so much larger and stronger than the Israelites that there was no hope for Israel.

Caleb was later appointed to the commission created by Moses to assign allotments in the Promised Land to the respective tribes. Caleb represented Judah on the commission (Num 34:19). At the time of the conquest, Caleb was eighty-five years old (Josh 14:7, 10). The town of Hebron was assigned to Caleb, and he occupied it after expelling the Anakim who had previously dwelt there (Josh 14:13, 14). Caleb offered his younger daughter in marriage to the man who would attack and take the nearby town of Kiriath-sepher, or Debir (Josh 15:15-19). The town was taken and Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, was married to Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz.

Caleb’s relationship with the Kenizzites indicates the presence of non-Israelites who became identified with the people and faith of Israel. Caleb and his descendants are part of the tribe of Judah, but they appear to have come from a mixed background.