Chapter Fourteen

1–5. The general foundations for the division of the Canaanite land among nine and a half Israelite tribes. 6–15. The inheritance of Caleb—Hebron.

Joshua 14:1. And these are the portions which the Israelites received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of Israel apportioned to them; Josh 14:1-5. Before the history of the division of the Canaanite land, the biblical narrator has placed an introduction in which he has set forth the general foundations for this division, consisting in an indication of who performed this division, in what manner, and to whom. The division was performed by those appointed by Moses, the high priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the “heads of the fathers” (literally from the Hebrew “the heads of the fathers of the tribes”) or princes of the tribes (Num 34:17-28). The division was performed by means of “the lot” (Num 26:55-56) in accord with the divine command, which required that in determining the size of the inheritance, account be taken of the size or smallness of the tribe receiving the inheritance (Num 26:53-56). The fulfillment of this requirement in the distribution of land by lot suggests the idea that the lot indicated only the position of the inheritance that fell to the tribe in a certain region of the Canaanite land, while its size was determined according to the number of people comprising the tribe. The method of drawing lots itself (Josh 18:6), nowhere indicated in the sacred books, consisted, according to the opinion of the rabbis, in the following: two containers (bowls or boxes) were set up, into one of which pieces of leather or tablets with the names of the tribes inscribed on them were placed; into the other, similar objects with the names of the regions of the Canaanite land subject to division; upon the withdrawal of a sign with the name of a tribe, there followed the drawing of a sign with the name of the region, which became the possession of the tribe and according to its size was expanded or contracted. The entire western-Jordan region was thus divided among nine and a half tribes. To explain this, Josh 14:3-4 indicates, first, that two and a half tribes had already received inheritances in the east-of-Jordan region, and one tribe, due to its special purpose, received no inheritance, and, second, that the posterity of Joseph formed two separate tribes. The word “therefore” in Josh 14:4 does not correspond in either the Hebrew text or the Greek-Slavonic translation.

Joshua 14:5. As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did when they apportioned the land. Reference is made to the divine command in Num 18:20.

Joshua 14:6. Then the tribe of Judah drew near to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you at Kadesh-barnea; Caleb was the head of a clan in the tribe of Judah (Num 13:4; 1 Chr 2:9) and a prince in this tribe (Num 34:18-19). He bore the surname Kenizzite, which is also given to him in Num 32:12, not because he was descended from another people—the Kenizzites (Gen 15:19)—for which there is no indication, but, it must be supposed, because the name Kenaz or surname Kenizzite was borne by one of his illustrious ancestors, perhaps the founder of that clan whose head he was and whose members bore the same surname (Josh 15:17) or name (1 Chr 4:15). Caleb’s coming forward, accompanied by other members of the tribe of Judah, with a request to give him the Hebron mountain (Josh 14:12), shows that the tribe of Judah first felt the need for establishing settlements in the conquered land; in this was also expressed the special disposition of this tribe toward the southern region of Canaan. What the Lord spoke to Moses “concerning me and you,” that is, concerning Caleb and Joshua son of Nun, is found in Num 14:24. Regarding Kadesh-barnea—see Josh 10:41.

Joshua 14:7. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him what was in my heart: “And I brought back word to him,” that is, to Moses, “what was in my heart,” that is, Caleb expressed sincerely the opinion he had formed from spying out the Canaanite land, not fearing reproach for this from the others who participated in the spying, and not dreading the people’s anger (Num 14:10).

Joshua 14:8. My brothers who went with me frightened the hearts of the people, but I followed the Lord my God with complete loyalty. “My brothers,” that is, the other spies. The disagreement of Joshua son of Nun with them in their judgment concerning the Canaanite land was itself clearly understood in the words Caleb addressed to him and was too well known to those present to need special mention, lest it arouse suspicion of seeking favor from the Israelite leader.

Joshua 14:9. And Moses swore on that day, saying, “Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God with complete loyalty”; Joshua 14:10. And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said; it is now forty-five years since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel journeyed in the wilderness; and now, behold, I am eighty-five years old. Joshua 14:11. I am still as strong today as I was on the day when Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going out and coming in. The divine command concerning the bestowal of the land “upon which your foot has trodden” as a hereditary possession to Caleb was transmitted by Moses in Deut 1:36. From Caleb’s words: “The Lord has kept me alive... it is now forty-five years,” the blessed Theodoret himself drew the conclusion that the conquest of the Canaanite land lasted 7 years. “After God’s sentence,” he says, “pronounced over six hundred thousand,” meaning the one at Kadesh according to Num 14, “the Hebrews spent thirty-eight years wandering in the wilderness; therefore, seven years remain until forty-five.” To clarify this conclusion, one may add reference to Deut 2:14, where it is said that thirty-eight years passed from the departure from Kadesh-barnea and the crossing of the valley of the Zered on the way to Canaan. Seven years of war are counted in the words “and Israel journeyed in the wilderness” as part of the period of wandering, since during them the people had not yet achieved a permanent settlement. By the words “going out and coming in” is meant in general the vital activity of a person (see Num 27:17 and others).

Joshua 14:12. Now give me this mountain about which the Lord spoke on that day; for you heard on that day that the Anakim were there, and the cities were great and fortified; it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as the Lord said. By “this mountain” is meant the mountainous region in which Hebron is located; here the spies had seen the giants of Anakim (Num 13:23), who, despite the defeat inflicted upon them by Joshua son of Nun (Josh 11:21), had again seized this region. In the concluding words of his request, “it may be” (in Hebrew “ulay”—“is it not?”), “the Lord will be with me,” Caleb, who up to this point had followed the Lord with complete loyalty (Josh 14:8-9), expresses of course not doubt concerning the feasibility of his intention to drive out the giants, but hope and desire to do so with God’s help.

Joshua 14:13. And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh [the Kenizzite] as an inheritance. “And Joshua blessed him,” that is, wished him God’s help.

Joshua 14:15. Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba; this man was the greatest among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war. Regarding the former name of Hebron see the Expository Bible, vol. 1, p. 153. By the words “and the land had rest from war,” it is again indicated (Josh 11:23) that the peaceful state of the Canaanite land was favorable to its division among the Israelite people. * * * Keil. Iosua, 111. The Works of the Blessed Theodoret, vol. 1, p. 283.