(1) One of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land by Moses (Num. 13:1–14:45). He represented the tribe of Judah. When the spies returned, they reported that the land was beautiful and fertile, flowing with “milk and honey.” However, they also described the inhabitants as fearsome and dangerous. The majority of the spies gave a counsel of despair, saying, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Num. 13:31). Caleb, supported by Joshua of Ephraim, gave a minority report, advising that they attack the land. The advice of the ten spies convinced the people who lacked faith in God’s ability to give them victory. In response to their complaints, God determined that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt would die in the wilderness. Thus, they spent forty years wandering before they were permitted to enter the land. The faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua, were exceptions, the only ones in their generation allowed to actually enter the Promised Land.
Caleb was forty when he served as a spy and eighty-five at the time the land began to be distributed to the tribes. Caleb came forward and asked that Joshua give him the land around Hebron. To actually possess the city, he successfully drove out the dreaded Anakites, who particularly put terror in the hearts of the Israelites (Josh. 14:6–15; 15:13–15).
(2) A descendant of Judah through Perez and Hezron (1 Chron. 2:9, 18–20).