Joshua 14:13-15 meaning
In Joshua 14:13-15, Joshua carried out God's promise to Caleb.
In the previous passage, Caleb recounted the incident at Kadesh-barnea, the site where the Israelites had camped for an extended period during their wilderness journey. While there, Moses commissioned twelve men to scout the land of Canaan. Ten of them gave a frightening report, discouraging the people. However, Caleb and Joshua trusted God and gave a favorable report about the land. Forty-five years have passed since the day Joshua and Caleb urged the Israelites to trust God, saying,
"The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
(Numbers 14:7-9)
The response of the people was to call for the stoning of Joshua and Caleb, before the LORD directly intervened. The first generation of Israelites was made to wander the wilderness and not receive the inheritance of the Promised Land. Only Joshua and Caleb would be allowed to live and possess the Land, along with the next generation of Israelites, who faithfully obeyed God's commands and trusted His promises (Numbers 14:38).
Because of his unwavering faith, the LORD promised to bless Caleb with a piece of land (Numbers 14:24). After the conquest of Canaan, Caleb requested the hill country of Hebron as his inheritance (Joshua 14:6-12).
Joshua agrees to the request. He blessed him by pronouncing divine favor on him (v 13). Having done so, he gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. We know virtually nothing about Caleb's father Jephunneh. Caleb, a prominent member of the tribe of Judah, had been faithful to God during difficult times. Therefore, God rewarded him with Hebron as his allotment.
The city of Hebron was 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem and less than two miles from Mamre, where Abraham dwelt for some time. It became Caleb's inheritance. The term inheritance (Hebrew "nāḥala") refers to a portion of land granted to someone or a property inherited by descendants. Near Hebron is the Cave of Machpelah which Abraham purchased as a burial place for his wife and family (Genesis 23:17-19). The cave was expanded by King Herod and is still visited today (see image).
The land of Canaan was a gift to Israel, rooted in God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 13). God granted Caleb's request and allowed him to receive Hebron. Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, until this day (v 14). According to Genesis, the Kenizzites were an ethnic group living among the peoples who inhabited the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:19). They dwelt in the region southwest of Hebron in the vicinity of Edom. Some apparently numbered among the people groups in Egypt, and were adopted into the tribe of Judah, perhaps as proselytes.
Caleb was faithful to God. He trusted in the divine promise and waited 45 years to see its fulfillment. God honored his wish and gave him Hebron. That city belonged to Caleb. It was still his possession during the time the writer penned the book because he followed the LORD God of Israel fully (v 14).
Like Joshua, Caleb was courageous. He did not doubt God's promises or fear the enemy. Rather, he adhered to God's stipulations and obeyed Him wholeheartedly. Because of his unwavering faith, he received Hebron as his inheritance. As a parenthetical note, the writer said that the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba (v 15). Kiriath-arba was the place where Abraham's wife, Sarah, died (Genesis 23:2). It is called Kiriath-arba because Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim (v 15).
The Anakim were a race of giants. They were great and tall (Deuteronomy 9:2). On top of that, they were valiant warriors. That is why the Israelite spies, except Caleb and Joshua, feared going to the Promised Land and discouraged the congregation (Numbers 13:33; Deuteronomy 1:26-28). Arba was the most prominent man among the Anakim. No doubt he instilled fear in many people in his days. Caleb's war against the Anakim and his conquering of the hill country is described in more detail in the following chapter. This chapter's goal is to describe how Caleb requested the region for his inheritance and it was granted to him. His possession of this land is confirmed to show the fulfillment of God's promises, while the contest for the land is described in Joshua 15. Thus, after Caleb received his inheritance, the land had rest from war (v 15), meaning the Israelites could live peacefully and securely in Canaan.
This brings a full circle from the days of Abraham to the final inheritance of the land promised to him and his descendants.
Abraham pitched his tent by the oaks of Mamre at Hebron and built an altar there (Genesis 13:18). Sarah died at Kiriath-arba, and Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah facing Mamre as his first legal foothold in the land (Genesis 23:2, 17-20). Isaac and Jacob lived there too (Genesis 35:27). When Caleb receives Hebron, the first piece of Canaan which Abraham’s family ever owned becomes the first inheritance the book records west of the Jordan.
The city's later history keeps the thread going. Hebron became a city of refuge and a priestly city, with its fields left to Caleb (Joshua 20:7, 21:11-13), and David reigned there seven and a half years before he took Jerusalem (2 Samuel 2:1-4, 5:5).
The closing line, the land had rest from war (v 15), repeats the sentence that ended the conquest account (Joshua 11:23). God’s rest came in stages: the large campaigns ended, then each tribe had to settle its own ground.
Hebrews reads these rests as pointing further: "if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that" (Hebrews 4:8). Caleb's rest was real and partial at the same time; the full rest belongs to God's people in Christ.
The author of Hebrews makes the comparison between the failed first generation of Israelites and Christians who harden their hearts and become disobedient and unbelieving (Hebrews 3:12-19). The first generation of Israelites who left Egypt proved disobedient to God and so did not possess the land as their inheritance. They did not enter God's rest. Likewise, New Testament believers can fail to live faithfully, and can also "come short" of receiving their inheritance (Hebrews 3:6).
The inheritance promised to New Testament believers is to share in Christ's rulership over the earth according to God's original plan (Hebrews 2:7-9). The unbelieving Israelites of the first generation in the Old Testament did not enter God's rest (the Promised Land), but they were still God's people. God still miraculously took care of their needs in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:3-4).
Similarly, New Testament believers are made new creations in Christ, which is a completed work. We are God's children no matter what we do (Hebrews 3:1). We cannot out-sin God's grace (Romans 5:20-21). What is in question is our reward—the results of our choices in life. The author of Hebrews encourages us to pursue this additional rest (Hebrews 4:8-9)—the opportunity to receive an inheritance as a reward for finishing the work God gives us to do (Ephesians 2:10). God will not allow us to enter this rest if we are disobedient and live a life to please sin and self. However, everyone who believes on Jesus are irrevocably children of God (John 3:5, 14-15).
The promise of rest given to the first generation of Israelites did not benefit them because they did not walk in faith (Hebrews 3:18-19). In the same way, the promises of God also have no benefit to us without faith to obey them. To inherit God's promises, we must act. Without faith in God, we cannot obey Him; faith is necessary to gain the reward of our inheritance and this additional rest (Hebrews 3:18-19).
As shown in Hebrews 2, all authority was given to Jesus Christ because He was obedient, even to the point of dying on a cross (Hebrews 2:9-10). Jesus wants to share that authority with all who trust and follow Him, enduring rejection from the world as He did (Hebrews 2:10, Revelation 3:21).