Nearly equal in coverage, in terms of a verse count, Joshua 14 discusses two topics. The first one
pertains to the methodology by which the Hebrews took possession of the Holy Land. Caleb takes up the
latter part of the chapter. Owing to the sheer length and intricacy of Abravanel’s discussion of the
section dealing with tribal allocation, we will leave that for another essay. Here we share Abravanel’s
explanation of Caleb and Judah’s petition to Joshua to take possession of Hebron, the city of the
patriarchs and matriarchs.
“Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son
of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him: You know the thing that the LORD
spoke unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh-
barnea.”
“Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua…” Caleb served as his tribe’s spokesman. For good
reason. He and Joshua were among the original spies, whom Moses dispatched to Israel. “Forty years
old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land. And I
brought him back word 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 the LORD my God.”
Caleb’s petition was a plea to take possession of Hebron, quite the prize. Abravanel asks: Had Hebron
been a separate request, outside of other territory to be slotted to Judah? Or alternatively, was Hebron
part and parcel of the children of Judah’s greater land mass? Further, Abravanel probes, had that region
of Israel been matched up to Judah via the lottery system, as was the methodology by which the other
tribes took possession of their respective territories? For if Joshua, Caleb, and the children of Judah “cut
a private deal”, then it surely smelled of bad optics – if not worse. Indeed, Abravanel fearlessly sets the
high bar in asking these questions.
“Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua…” Though Caleb alone petitioned Joshua for Hebron,
he appeared before Joshua accompanied by fellow tribesmen. Their presence both bolstered Caleb’s
prestige, as well as aided in the success of the outcome, mission.
More than the tribe’s spokesman, Caleb had served as Judah’s tribal chief. For Abravanel, to place this
event along chronological terms, it occurred during the fighting for Israel’s liberation. That despite its
placement here, après-guerre.
To Abravanel, several elements of Caleb’s presentation seem strange. We mention a few items, before
getting to the upshot. One, even though Caleb prefaces, “You know the thing that the LORD spoke unto
Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh-barnea”, he doesn’t elaborate.
Certainly, “And Moses swore on that day, saying: Surely the land whereon your foot has trodden shall be
an inheritance to you and to your children forever” cannot be construed as “the thing that the LORD
spoke.” For if it was, the information would be superfluous.
Two, what’s the significance of Caleb infusing historical context: “Forty years old was I when Moses…”
And if Caleb was twenty-five or sixty-five, does his age impact anything? Or three, “And I brought him
back word as it was in my heart.” Isn’t that identical with: “My brethren that went up with me made the
heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the LORD my God.”
Here is Abravanel’s takeaway, a straightforward approach to better understand our chapter’s verses.
After the spies returned from their mission, Caleb begged a private word with Moses. He confirmed the
majority’s conclusions. Namely, giants had roamed Canaan; cities had impregnable walls and
fortifications; and as for the Canaanites, well, they were tough as nails. Thus, Caleb collaborated his
colleagues’ findings privately to Moses – to a T.
Undoubtedly, military disadvantage lay foremost in Caleb’s mind. Nonetheless, his words came out
differently. Much differently. “But I wholly followed the LORD my God.” To the Hebrews in the desert,
Caleb showed resilience, religious backbone. “If the LORD delight in us, then He will bring us into this
land, and give it unto us--a land which flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 14). In our chapter, Caleb
recalled: ”But I wholly followed the LORD my God.” In contrast to the majority of spies, who “made the
heart of the people melt”, Caleb projected confidence. That is, for Moses’ ears only, Caleb reported the
facts garnered by the other spies. However, and this is crucial, to the Hebrew camp, Caleb spoke
comfortingly. “I wholly followed the LORD.”
Caleb’s faith shone, trumping his intellect, his cognitive dissonance. In this manner, he publicly sanctified
God’s name. Put differently, though his head brought him to one conclusion, his soul another. That is
the meaning of the verse in Numbers 14: “But My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with
him, and has followed Me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall
possess it.”