Joshua 14:6

"Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that Jehovah spoke unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of Jehovah sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land: and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed Jehovah my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an inheritance to thee and to thy children forever, because thou hast wholly followed Jehovah my God."

The appearance of the tribe of Judah in the person of its official representative Caleb, along with other Judahites who were witnesses, was actually the first order of business on the agenda for casting the lots and distributing the land. Judah naturally came first, due to the "rulership" that pertained to the primogeniture forfeited by Reuben and conveyed upon Judah by their father Jacob. But the so-called Caleb pericope had priority over the casting of lots due to an oath taken by Moses and witnessed by both Caleb and Joshua. What Caleb said here, was, in effect, "We cannot divide the land until this prior question of my right to Hebron is determined." This was nothing but the simple truth. If the lots had been cast, and Hebron had fallen to one of the tribes other than Judah, it would have cost Caleb his rightful reward, as promised by God through Moses. How foolish it is, therefore, to blame some "redactor" or "editor" for the appearance of this episode right where it is. Here is exactly the place this issue was forced to be decided. It is unimaginable that it could have occurred anywhere else!

The masterful manner in which Caleb presented his appeal, the vivid recall of events which at that time were forty-five years in the past, the appeal to Joshua as a witness of Moses' sworn word, according to Woudstra, "reflect an eye-witness account."[13] We are here dealing with events which, of all the people on earth, only Joshua and Caleb had firsthand knowledge and recall of the things mentioned, and the only fair deduction is that in those two men alone we are compelled to find the source of this material. The ancient tradition of Joshua's authorship of this book that bears his name is strongly supported by this and other similar incidents recorded.

"Caleb, the Kenizzite ..." (Joshua 14:6). "Kenaz was evidently a descendant of Edom, but was assimilated into the tribe of Judah."[14] Caleb rose to the chief of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13-14). He was born in Egypt, survived the wilderness experience of Israel, and figured prominently in his advanced age in the subjugation of Canaan. His racial extraction does not cast a cloud upon his legitimacy as a Jew, his status being exactly the same as that of the descendants of Ruth the Moabitess (which included King David), and of Rahab the harlot. The descendants of Ruth and Rahab enjoyed their Jewish privileges through marriage, and the same is true of Caleb. "Before the Exodus, Caleb's father, a non-Israelite, had married a daughter of Hur of the clan of Chelubai (Caleb) in the tribe of Judah (1 Chronicles 2:9,18,19)."[15] From this it is perfectly clear that Caleb was not already in Canaan before the Exodus, nor had the Calebites the ownership of Hebron before Joshua.

A full account of the events that led to the pledge of Hebron to Caleb is found in Numbers 14:21-24 and Deuteronomy 1:35,36. For further comment on these important happenings, see our comments under those passages in these commentaries..

It appears to us that God Himself might have over-ruled events at this juncture in order to bring this instance of Caleb's faithfulness under great dangers into focus for the benefit of all the children of Israel. "The account of Caleb's courageous stand would serve to remind God's people of how the promised land had to be won."[16]

It is a gross error to attribute Caleb's actions here to greed or avarice on his part. "He later willingly yielded his city to the Levites and lived in the suburbs (Joshua 21:12)."[17]