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Joshua

About this book
Chapter 14

1 The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders. 2 The land assignments to the nine-and-a-half tribes were made by drawing lots, as the Lord had instructed Moses. 3 Now Moses had assigned land to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan, but he assigned no land to the Levites. 4 The descendants of Joseph were considered as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites were allotted no territory, though they were assigned cities in which to live, along with the grazing areas for their cattle and possessions. 5 The Israelites followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses and divided up the land. 6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report. 8 My countrymen who accompanied me frightened the people, but I remained loyal to the Lord my God. 9 That day Moses made this solemn promise: ‘Surely the land on which you walked will belong to you and your descendants permanently, for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’ 10 So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, while Israel traveled through the wilderness. See here, I am today eighty-five years old! 11 Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then. 12 Now, assign me this hill country that the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard then that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. But assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer them, as the Lord promised.” 13 Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron. 14 So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel.⁠ 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite.) Then the land was free of war.

Texts in conversation

Compare Numbers 14:24 and Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:14

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Numbers 32 names both Caleb and Joshua as faithful, unlike Numbers 14 and Joshua 14, which only mention Caleb. The change suggests later editing meant to harmonize the story with traditions that give Joshua a central role.

Passages

Numbers 14:24

Hebrew Bible
23 they will by no means see the land that I promised on oath to their fathers, nor will any of them who despised me see it— 24 Only my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed me fully—I will bring him into the land where he had gone, and his descendants will possess it. 25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites were living in the valleys.) Tomorrow, turn and journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

Numbers 32:12

Hebrew Bible
11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.’ 13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites, and he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years, until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Numbers

Joshua 14:14

Hebrew Bible
12 Now, assign me this hill country that the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard then that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. But assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer them, as the Lord promised.” 13 Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron. 14 So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite.) Then the land was free of war.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

References

"... Numbers 32:12 ... This same report occurs in Numbers 14:24 (J) and in Joshua 14:14, but there only Caleb “went after YHWH completely.” Joshua is not mentioned. It appears that Joshua was added here by the Redactor because he was merging both J and P texts, and in P Joshua had been added alongside Caleb in the scout's story ..."
Richard Elliott Friedman, The Bible with Sources Revealed: A New View into the Five Books of Moses (New York: HarperOne, 2005), 301.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Numbers 14:24 and Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:14

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