People of the Bible

Caleb, son of Jephunneh

The name Caleb means “a dog; a crow; a basket.” Caleb is mentioned in 30 verses of the Bible, first in Numbers 13:6.

Family of Caleb

Father

Siblings

Children

Who was Caleb?

The son of Jephunneh (Num. 13:6; 32:12; Josh. 14:6, 14). He was one of those whom Moses sent to search the land in the second year after the Exodus. He was one of the family chiefs of the tribe of Judah. He and Joshua the son of Nun were the only two of the whole number who encouraged the people to go up and possess the land, and they alone were spared when a plague broke out in which the other ten spies perished (Num. 13; 14). All the people that had been numbered, from twenty years old and upward, perished in the wilderness except these two. The last notice we have of Caleb is when (being then eighty-five years of age) he came to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, after the people had gained possession of the land, and reminded him of the promise Moses had made to him, by virtue of which he claimed a certain portion of the land of Kirjath-arba as his inheritance (Josh. 14:6-15; 15:13-15; 21:10-12; 1 Sam. 25:2, 3; 30:14). He is called a “Kenezite” in Josh. 14:6, 14. This may simply mean “son of Kenez” (Num. 32:12). Some, however, read “Jephunneh, the son of Kenez,” who was a descendant of Hezron, the son of Pharez, a grandson of Judah (1 Chr. 2:5). This Caleb may possibly be identical with (2).

Biography adapted from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), public domain, linked via Theographic Bible Metadata.

Key verses about Caleb

  • Numbers 13:6

    Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

  • Numbers 13:30

    And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

  • Numbers 14:6

    And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:

  • Numbers 14:24

    But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.

  • Joshua 14:6

    Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh–barnea.

  • 1 Samuel 25:3

    Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb.

Timeline of Caleb's life

DateEvent
1528 BCBirth of Caleb
All 30 verses mentioning Caleb

Other people named Caleb