You are strongly recommended to add to your library the excellent revised edition of Harper's Bible Dictionary titled, The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Revised Edition [book review], edited by Paul J. Achtemeier, with the Society of Biblical Literature (NY: Harper Collins, 1996). It is currently the best one-volume Bible dictionary in English, and it is available at Border's Books, Christian Science Reading Rooms, http://www.borders.com, or http://www.christianbook.com.

Caleb, the founding father of the Calebites, a distinct group of people in Judah, perhaps extra-Israelite in origin. As a representative of Judah, Caleb functions in the spy tradition (Num. 14) as the person who, along with Joshua, brought a positive report to the Israelites about the land available for conquest. In contrast to the other spies whose reports were negative, Caleb won the right to enter God’s land and to inherit space in the vicinity of Hebron in the south. The tradition about Caleb reflects the special interests of Judah, the southern tribe. In contrast to Caleb’s reward, the representatives of the northern tribes were denied entry into the land. The construction of this tradition doubtless mirrors the political struggles between the north and the south after the conquest.

Caleb. One of the spies sent ahead by Moses to explore Canaan (Num 13:6) and permitted to enter it (Num. 14:24) unlike Moses himself (Deut. 34:4). He settled at Hebron (Josh. 14:14).

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