Questions and Answers | Who is Caleb?
Is Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, a Gentile from the Kenizzites?
The Old Testament mentions Caleb several times. He is first named along with Joshua as one of the two spies who brought back a positive report on the Promised Land during Israel’s failure at Kadesh-Barnea
(Numbers 13–14). This account often refers to him as “Caleb son of Jephunneh” (Num. 13:6; 14:6, 30, 38). Later accounts refer to him by his extended genealogy, “Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite” (Num. 32:12; Josh. 14:6, 14). Three times the Scriptures mention him in connection with the early judge “Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother” (Judges 1:13; 3:9; see also Joshua 15:17).
In the book of Genesis, we find that Kenaz was a grandson of Esau, and therefore was not directly part of one of the tribes of Jacob (see Gen. 36:11, 15).The descendants of Kenaz would not have been the offspring of Jacob or part of the Israelite community by birth.
Scripture also says that Caleb and Othniel were part of the tribe of Judah (Num. 13:6), and they received their inheritance possession (Josh. 15:13). Thus we can reasonably conclude that at some point either Caleb or his father would have been proselytes to Israel—Gentiles who placed faith in the God of Jacob and submitted themselves to His commandments. The Lord was pleased to use both Caleb and Othniel to provide victorious leadership for the people of Israel.
BY Dr. Eric C. Redmond
Dr. Eric C. Redmond serves as a professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and as associate pastor of adult ministries at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Ill. He is married to Pam and they have five children. He is the author of Say It! Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition (Moody Publishers), Where Are All the Brothers? Straight Answers to Men's’ Questions about the Church (Crossway), a commentary on Jonah in the Christ-Centered Exposition Series (B&H Publishers), and a study guide on Ephesians in the Knowing the Bible series (Crossway).