CALEB (Hebr. “dog”). — A contemporary and collaborator of Giosuè. Of the tribe of Judah, he was, together with Giosuè, among the twelve sent by Mosè, while he was at Cades, to explore the land of Canaan. He was forty years old when, during forty days of exploration, he went as far as Emath. On returning to Cades, he encouraged the dispirited Israelites, refuting the exaggerations of his companions, who reported that they had encountered in Canaan inhabitants of enormous strength in impregnable cities. But he was unable to instill the optimism of his faith into the dejected and rebellious people, who were therefore all excluded from entering the Promised Land; only C. and Giosuè were exempted from this punishment, as a reward for their faith (Num. 13, 2; 14, 38).
At the age of 85 he occupied the fortified cities of Hebron and Cariath Sepher (Jos. 15, 13-19, cf. Iudc. 1, 10-15), contributing to the conquest and division of the land of Canaan (Num. 34, 19); hence Eccli. 46, 9 celebrates the “vigor” of his “old age.”
He was the “elder brother,” or more precisely the father-in-law, of the judge Othoniel, to whom he had given his daughter Axa as a reward for the capture of Cariath Sepher (Iudc. 1, 12, 13; 3, 9). Through his father Iephone, C. was connected (Num. 32, 12 and Jos. 14, 6, 14) with Cenez, who in Gen. 36, 11 and I Par. 1, 36, 53 is listed among the sons of Esaù-Edom. C.’s family was therefore perhaps of Idumaean origin, although it must soon have been incorporated into the tribe of Judah. The C. of I Par. 2, 42-55, also called Calubi (ibid., 2, 9), is usually regarded as an ancestor of C. because of the different paternity (Hesron) and descent, and because of the mention (ibid., 2, 20) Beseleel (v.) the craftsman of the tabernacle (Ex. 31, 2). Nevertheless, F. de Hummelauer maintains that they are identical, either eliminating verse 2, 20 as spurious or supposing that Beseleel was an already elderly foreigner who was subsequently incorporated into C.’s family.