articlesforchristians

THE FAMILY BACKGROUND OF CALEB

Esau, the twin brother of Jacob, married a daughter of Ishmael (Abraham’s son through Hagar) and settled in Mount Seir. From his descendants came fourteen men known as “dukes,” a term from the Hebrew word alluph, meaning a captain of thousands. One of these dukes was named Kenaz. See Genesis chapter 36 for the listing of Esau’s children.

Caleb was the son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah. Jephunneh is described as a “Kenezite,” leading to the theory that he may have been the son of Kenaz, a duke, who married an Israelite woman from the tribe of Judah, making Caleb his son from this chosen tribe. See Numbers 32:12.

The name Caleb is said to mean “dog,” which might seem odd until you realize that in Akkadian, the related word was a metaphor for a loyal servant of the king. Caleb showed this kind of loyalty to both God and Moses, faithfully following God’s instructions and taking action to claim the land from the Canaanites.

Othniel, the son of Kenaz and a blood relative of Caleb (Judges 1:13), shared the same conquering spirit as Caleb. He later went on to become the first judge of Israel (Judges 3:9-10).