And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah according to the commandment of Jehovah to Joshua, the city of Arba, the father of Anak, that is, Hebron.
Joshua has just traced the long border of Judah's land. Then the record stops on one man. Caleb receives a share inside that territory, and the Lord Himself had commanded it. Why name one man in the middle of a land survey? And why does his inheritance include a city named after a giant?
Joshua did not hand out this gift as he pleased. It rested on what God had said. Chapter 14 had already told Caleb's story, and now the verse puts him at the front again.
Chapter 14:6-11 has reported the bold faith of Caleb in claiming what God had promised him. Now God gives him a place of prominence again, for God delights to honor the faith that honors Him. God gives a similar honor to Joshua (ch. 19:49-51). So the faithfulness of Caleb and Joshua (in contrast to the other ten spies) was well rewarded.
The wording — a portion among the people of Judah — has divided readers. Some take it as a hint that Caleb was not born into the tribe at all.
What is said here seems to confirm this: he was given a portion among the people of Judah according to the word of the Lord. That last phrase may belong to what follows rather than to what comes before. Caleb seems to have come from Edomite stock. He was one of those believers from the nations outside Israel, and the history of God's people holds many well-known examples of them. Of such a man our Lord might have said what He said about the Roman officer: "with no one in Israel have I found such faith."
Others read the phrase as a mark of rank, not ancestry. The lesson they draw is the same:
Joshua 15:13 does not mean that Caleb did not belong to the tribe of Judah, as some have thought. It means that he was not a chief of the tribe, yet he received a special portion. He is a picture of the Christian who by faith takes and enjoys the place God has given him, despite everything that opposes him.
The verse gives the city two names and calls Arba the father of Anak. Caleb's target carried a giant's name.
Joshua 14:15 tells us that Hebron was once called Kirjath Arba (city of Arba), and Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. So Caleb did not hesitate to drive out the greatest of the giants. When he did this, "the land had rest from war."
The new name was part of the victory, and Caleb's portion lay in a tribe whose name means praise:
Joshua blessed Caleb as he spoke; and a special blessing from Christ, our Leader, rests upon every Caleb-like Christian. The Lord honoured Caleb's dependence on Himself; He drove out the three sons of Anak and struck Kirjath-arba, and restored to the city its old name of Hebron, which tied the place to the father of the faithful, and not to the great man among the giants… Whatever his name means, Caleb, the faithful man, had his portion in the great inheritance of Judah — "Praise." And so it is today among God's soldiers in spiritual things: faithful men live in praise.
Hebron stands for communion with God. The three sons of Anak stand for the pride that keeps a believer out of it.
They are Anakim, "the long-necked," the people about whom it was said, "Who can stand before the sons of Anak?" So they may well stand for the different forms of pride of heart. God is far from such pride, and it is therefore the worst hindrance to the believer's possession of Hebron, that is, "communion." Sheshai most likely means "white," and so may speak of self-righteousness, the pride of personal character. Ahiman, if we may take it to mean "who is my brother?", speaks of the pride of position, birth, or worldly standing. Talmai, "my furrows," speaks of the pride of work done, of one's own doings.
The book of Judges credits the same conquest to Judah as a whole. That shift is not a contradiction. It is a compliment.
Joshua 15:14-15 credits Caleb with what our chapter credits to Judah. Caleb's energy, perseverance and faith on this occasion were such that his whole tribe bore the imprint of it… What an honour for Caleb, that Judah should have gained the victory! On the other hand, let us not forget that each one of us may help to imprint weakness on the people of God as a whole.
- Commanded. Caleb receives his share "according to the commandment of the LORD." The reward of faith is not a favour arranged between men.
- Claimed. The record honours him a second time, because God delights to honour the faith that honours Him.
- Outsider. Was Caleb an outsider by birth, or a member of the tribe who was not one of its chiefs? Commentators differ. Either way, he holds his place by faith, not by birth.
- Renamed. The city of the giant Arba became Hebron again — a giant's name swapped for a name tied to faith.
- Contagious. Caleb's faith marked his whole tribe. One person's faith — or one person's weakness — leaves its mark on the people of God.
And thence Caleb dispossessed the three sons of Anak, Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, who were born of Anak.
Caleb had asked for Hebron, and here he takes it: three named giants lose the city. Israel had heard those names before, from spies who came back afraid.
The three men Caleb expelled were not new enemies. The spies had brought back their names forty-five years before, and the report left Israel terrified.
At the end of the forty years Caleb had to subdue, name for name, the very men who had filled the souls of the spies with terror. Unbelief does not let us escape the difficulties, even when we are still going to enjoy the effects of the promise.
Caleb did not ask for an easy corner of the land. He asked for the one place that had broken everyone else's nerve.
He had a right to pick and choose his inheritance from all the best of the land given to the fathers. And after forty-five years of patience he chose that city, with the land around it. The sons of Anak lived there, and there the spies had felt their own smallness with terror. It is the only city named in Numbers 13 as being in the land, and it was the home of the giants. Through seven years of conflict, Joshua and all Israel had left those giants alone. Yet Caleb dares to say that if the Lord will be with him, he will be able to drive them out, as the Lord said. It was simple faith, holding on to the end. It had the humility, and also the boldness, that faith gives — no pretension, no boasting, but the quiet confidence of one who walked with God.
The spies had measured themselves against the giants. Caleb measured the giants against God.
Verse 14 tells us that in conquering Kirjath Arba (or Hebron) Caleb drove out Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the sons of Anak. Giants meant no more to Caleb than weak men did, for God was with him. He therefore took possession of Hebron, which pictures the communion with God that every believer is entitled to, but which many do not enjoy.
Commentators also read the three names as pictures. Each one, on this reading, stands for a form of pride.
Of Caleb's conquest we have no details. To those with whom God is, what is all the massed strength of the sons of Anak? Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai are dispossessed, and Hebron is his own. The names are not easy to interpret, and we can only suggest what they might mean. They were Anakim, "the long-necked," the people of whom it was said, "Who can stand before the sons of Anak?" They may well stand for the different forms of pride of heart from which God is far off. That pride is therefore the most terrible hindrance to the believer's possession of Hebron, that is, "communion." Sheshai, which most probably means "white," may in this way speak of self-righteousness, the pride of personal character. Ahiman, if we may take it to mean "who is my brother?", speaks of the pride of station, birth, or worldly condition. Talmai, "my furrows," speaks of the pride of work accomplished. They all fall before whole-hearted Caleb; and they will just as surely fall before everyone like him.
The city was called Kirjath-arba, after the great man among the giants. Caleb's victory gave it back its older name.
Joshua blessed Caleb as he spoke; and a special blessing from Christ, our Leader, rests on every Caleb-like Christian. The Lord honoured Caleb's dependence on Himself. He drove out the three sons of Anak and struck Kirjath-arba. He gave the city back its old name of Hebron, which linked the place with the father of the faithful, and not with the great man among the giants.
Another record of the same victory gives the credit to the whole tribe of Judah, not to Caleb alone.
Joshua 15:14-15 credits to Caleb what Judges 1 credits to Judah. Caleb's energy, perseverance and faith on this occasion were such that his whole tribe bore the stamp of it... What an honour for Caleb, that Judah should have gained the victory! On the other hand, let us not forget that each one of us may help to stamp weakness on the people of God as a whole.
- Named: Caleb fought the same giants, name for name, that had terrified the spies. Unbelief delays the battle; it never cancels it.
- Chosen: He asked for the hardest place. Israel had avoided that city through seven years of war, and Caleb waited forty-five years for it.
- Measured: Giants counted no more to him than weak men, because God was with him.
- Pictured: The three sons of Anak picture three faces of pride — in character, in birth, in work done. Pride is what keeps a believer out of communion with God.
- Renamed: The giant's city became Hebron again, tied to Abraham and not to Arba. One man's faith left its stamp on his whole tribe.