King James Version
Joshua 14
15 verses with commentary
Caleb's Inheritance
And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Transition to land division: 'And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance unto them.' The plural leadership—Eleazar (priest), Joshua (military/political leader), and tribal heads—shows corporate decision...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**XIV.
FOURTH DIVISION OF THE BOOK.
DIVISION OF THE TEBBITORY ON THE WEST OF JORDAN TO NINE TRIBES AND A HALF**
(Joshua 14-19, inclusive).
(1) **And these are the countries which . . . Eleazar . . . and Joshua . . . distributed.**—Here we enter upon the record of the third portion of Joshua’s great work. He had (1) to bring Israel over Jordan; (2) to conquer the land; (3) to divide it among the tr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.(1-5)
Caleb obtains Hebron.(6-15)
**Verses 1-5**
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for us. Let us survey our heritage of present me...
Read full commentary →By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.
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KJV Study Commentary
Method of allocation: 'By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.' The use of lots (<em>goral</em>, גּוֹרָל) wasn't gambling but seeking divine guidance. Proverbs 16:33: 'The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.' The lots revealed God's sovereign allocation, removing human favoritism. T...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **By lot . . . as the Lord commanded . . . Moses.**—See Numbers 26:52-56; Numbers 34:17-29.
**The nine tribes, and for the half tribe;** and (3) **For Moses had given;** and (4) **For the children of Joseph were two tribes.**—The argument of these verses can only mean that the tribal inheritances were to be *twelve in number, *and therefore the Levites were excluded from any distinct territori...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.(1-5)
Caleb obtains Hebron.(6-15)
**Verses 1-5**
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for us. Let us survey our heritage of present me...
Read full commentary →For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.
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KJV Study Commentary
Levite exceptionalism: 'For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.' The repetition of Transjordan allocation (previously mentioned) emphasizes the distinction with Levi's unique situation. Levites received no tribal territory because 'the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance' (13:33). T...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.(1-5)
Caleb obtains Hebron.(6-15)
**Verses 1-5**
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for us. Let us survey our heritage of present me...
Read full commentary →For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.
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KJV Study Commentary
Joseph's double portion: 'For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.' Joseph's blessing through his two sons receiving tribal status (Genesis 48:5) meant he effectively got double portion—firstborn's inheritance despite Reuben's biol...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.(1-5)
Caleb obtains Hebron.(6-15)
**Verses 1-5**
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for us. Let us survey our heritage of present me...
Read full commentary →As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land</strong>—This succinct verse establishes the theological foundation for the land distribution detailed in chapters 13-21. The phrase <strong>as the LORD commanded Moses</strong> (כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה אֶת־מֹשֶׁה, <em>ka'asher tzivvah YHWH et-Mosheh</em>) grounds the allocation in divine mandate, not hum...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 14
Chapter Outline
The nine tribes and a half to have their inheritance.(1-5)
Caleb obtains Hebron.(6-15)
**Verses 1-5**
The Israelites must occupy the new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it had not been inhabited. Yet every man might not go and settle where he pleased. God shall choose our inheritance for us. Let us survey our heritage of present me...
Read full commentary →Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
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KJV Study Commentary
Caleb's approach to Joshua marks a significant moment in the land distribution. The phrase 'children of Judah came unto Joshua' indicates tribal representation, though Caleb speaks personally. His identification as 'son of Jephunneh the Kenezite' reveals he was technically not ethnically Israelite but an Edomite clan integrated into Judah (Genesis 36:11, 42). This makes Caleb's exemplary faith eve...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
**INHERITANCE OF JUDAH** (Joshua 14:6 to Joshua 15:63).
(6) **Caleb the son of Jephunneh**—Caleb was the commissioner appointed from the tribe of Judah to divide the land (Numbers 34:19). His coming forward on this occasion to ask for his own inheritance first of all might appear to savour of self-interest, if the post of honour for which he applied had not been also the most dangerous and difficu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10-15. the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up--**The answer of the divine oracle was to this effect: the crisis is owing not to unfaithfulness in Me, but sin in the people. The conditions of the covenant have been violated by the reservation of spoil from the doomed city; wickedness, emphatically called folly, has been committed in Israel (Psa 14:1), and dissimulation, with other aggravations of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
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KJV Study Commentary
Caleb's testimony: 'Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.' Caleb recalls the pivotal spying mission (Numbers 13) forty-five years earlier. The phrase 'as it was in mine heart' indicates his honest report matched his genuine conviction, not merely what Moses wanted to hear. Whil...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Forty years old was I . . .** and (10) **I am this day fourscore and five years old.**—In this speech we have the only direct evidence as to the duration of the wars of Canaan under Joshua. The spies were sent from Kadesh-barnea in the second year of the Exodus, about 38½ years before the passage of Jordan (see Deuteronomy 2:14). Thus Caleb would be 40+38=78 years old when they crossed the J...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-18. So Joshua rose up early, and brought Israel by their tribes--**that is, before the tabernacle. The lot being appealed to (Pr 16:33), he proceeded in the inquiry from heads of tribes to heads of families, and from heads of households in succession to one family, and to particular persons in that family, until the criminal was found to be Achan, who, on Joshua's admonition, confessed the fa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Caleb contrasts his faithfulness with the other spies' unfaithfulness. The phrase 'my brethren...made the heart of the people melt' (<em>achai...himssu et-lev-haam</em>, אַחַי...הִמְסִיסוּ אֶת־לֵב־הָעָם) uses <em>masas</em> (מָסַס), meaning to dissolve or melt with fear. The ten faithless spies' fearful report caused Israel's rebellion and 40-year judgment (Numbers 13-14). Caleb's declaration 'I w...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-18. So Joshua rose up early, and brought Israel by their tribes--**that is, before the tabernacle. The lot being appealed to (Pr 16:33), he proceeded in the inquiry from heads of tribes to heads of families, and from heads of households in succession to one family, and to particular persons in that family, until the criminal was found to be Achan, who, on Joshua's admonition, confessed the fa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
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KJV Study Commentary
Divine promise recalled: 'And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.' Moses's oath guaranteed Caleb's inheritance—specifically the land he'd personally scouted (Hebron area). The phrase 'whereon thy feet have trodden' uses symbolic language of possessi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **And Moses sware on that day . . . the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine.**—Whether Moses referred to Hebron specifically in this promise, it is impossible to say.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**16-18. So Joshua rose up early, and brought Israel by their tribes--**that is, before the tabernacle. The lot being appealed to (Pr 16:33), he proceeded in the inquiry from heads of tribes to heads of families, and from heads of households in succession to one family, and to particular persons in that family, until the criminal was found to be Achan, who, on Joshua's admonition, confessed the fa...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. wandered: Heb. walked
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Caleb's testimony celebrates God's faithfulness in preserving his life through 45 years of wilderness wandering and conquest. The phrase 'the LORD hath kept me alive' (<em>hecheyah Yahweh oti</em>, הֶחֱיָה יְהוָה אוֹתִי) uses a causative Hebrew verb—God actively maintained Caleb's life, not merely passively allowed it. The time reference 'these forty and five years' spans from the Kadesh-barnea in...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give ... glory to God--**a form of adjuration to tell the truth.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Caleb's ongoing vitality: 'And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.' Caleb, now eighty-five, attributes his longevity and vigor to God's faithfulness. The phrase 'kept me alive' (<em>chayah</em...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **As yet I am as strong this day . . .**—But by Joshua 13:1, “Joshua had aged.” Yet Joshua died at the age of 110, only 25 years older than Caleb was at this time. They were contemporaries. But the far greater responsibility lying upon Joshua (with a possible difference of temperament) may very naturally account for the one man’s having aged so much more rapidly than the other.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
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KJV Study Commentary
Caleb's request demonstrates remarkable faith and courage. The phrase 'give me this mountain' (<em>ten-li et-hahar hazeh</em>, תֵּן־לִי אֶת־הָהָר הַזֶּה) asks for Hebron and its surrounding highlands, the very territory that terrified the other spies 45 years earlier (Numbers 13:22, 28, 33). The reference 'whereof the LORD spake in that day' grounds the request in divine promise. The clause 'for t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. a goodly Babylonish garment--**literally, "a mantle of Shinar." The plain of Shinar was in early times celebrated for its gorgeous robes, which were of brilliant and various colors, generally arranged in figured patterns, probably resembling those of modern Turkish carpets, and the colors were either interwoven in the loom or embroidered with the needle.
**two hundred shekels of silver--**...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.</strong><br><br>Caleb's reward culminates a 45-year saga of faithfulness (14:7-10). Caleb, along with Joshua, had stood against the ten fearful sp...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22-23. Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent--**from impatient eagerness not only to test the truth of the story, but to clear Israel from the imputation of guilt. Having discovered the stolen articles, they laid them out before the Lord, "as a token of their belonging to Him" on account of the ban.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day</strong>—Hebron (חֶבְרוֹן, "association/alliance") was one of Canaan's most ancient cities, associated with Abraham (Genesis 13:18, 23:2). That Caleb (כָּלֵב, "dog" or "wholehearted") received it as personal inheritance rewards his faithfulness 45 years earlier when he, alone with Joshua, broug...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **The Kenezite.**—This epithet seems to be connected with *Kenaz *(Joshua 15:17).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**22-23. Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent--**from impatient eagerness not only to test the truth of the story, but to clear Israel from the imputation of guilt. Having discovered the stolen articles, they laid them out before the Lord, "as a token of their belonging to Him" on account of the ban.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba</strong>—Kirjath-arba (קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע) means "city of Arba" or "city of four." Arba (אַרְבַּע) was <strong>"a great man among the Anakims"</strong>—perhaps the greatest of the giant clans that terrorized the ten spies (Numbers 13:28, 33). The Hebrew <em>ha-adam ha-gadol</em> (הָאָדָם הַגָּדוֹל, "the great man") could mean physically great (g...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **Kirjath-arba.**—“Arba the father of Anak” (Joshua 21:11). Arba means *four *in Hebrew, and therefore some have endeavoured to interpret it as the city of four. Rashi, for example, says it was “the city of Ahiman, and Sheshai, and Talmai, and their father.” Others have tried to make it one of four confederate cities like Gibeon and its allies. But the text of Joshua seems to leave no doubt t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24-26. Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan--**He with his children and all his property, cattle as well as movables, were brought into one of the long broad ravines that open into the Ghor, and after being stoned to death (Nu 15:30-35), his corpse, with all belonging to him, was consumed to ashes by fire. "All Israel" was present, not only as spectators, but active agents, as many as pos...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-15**
Caleb's request is, "Give me this mountain," or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the e...
Read full commentary →