Caleb

Caleb, sometimes transliterated as Kaleb (כָּלֵב‬, Kalev; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land. A reference to him is also found in the Quran, although his name is not mentioned. 2Name According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, "since 'Caleb' signifies dog, it has been thought that the dog was the totem of [Caleb's] clan". The New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance states that the name Kaleb (Caleb) is related to the word for "dog" (keleb). The Bible was written down centuries before Hebrew diacritics were introduced, and there is no certain knowledge of how the name was pronounced when the biblical text was written. In Hebrew, the name is pronounced or ; the modern English pronunciation is courtesy of the Great Vowel Shift. 2Biblical account Caleb, son of Jephunneh (Numbers 13:6) is not to be confused with Caleb, great-grandson of Judah through Tamar (1 Chronicles 2:3-9). This other Caleb was the son of Hezron, and his wife was Azubah (I Chronicles 2:18,19). According to Numbers 13, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Their task, over a period of 40 days, was to explore the Negev and surrounding area, and to make an assessment of the geographical features of the land, the strength and numbers of the population, the agricultural potential and actual performance of the land, settlement patterns (whether their cities were like camps or strongholds), and forestry condition