Today people rarely think about the meaning of their child’s name. But Caleb? A “dog”? Really?
When we come to 1 Chronicles 2:18-55, we discover a strange thing. We might call it the genealogy of grace. Here is a lengthy and detailed record of the family of Caleb. It could almost be described as a portrait of spiritual adoption. Caleb we know was a Kenite, not an Israelite. Some have suggested that this must be another Caleb, but that’s highly unlikely. Would there be another Caleb with a daughter named Achsah (v 49)? And at the end of Caleb’s line we read, “These were the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab” (1 Chron 2:55). Thus the Rechabites were also Kenites ( Jer 35:2-10). The Kenites lived around the patriarchs, mostly on the southern border of the land near Arad (Gen 15:18-21). Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, was a Kenite ( Jdg 1:16), as was Heber, the husband of Jael (4:11). All these—with the exception of Caleb’s family—seemed to have dwelt alongside, but not as part of, the nation of Israel. However, Caleb represented the tribe of Judah as their spy (Num 13:6) and, due to his unswerving faithfulness, was given his inheritance first at Hebron, in the midst of Judah’s territory, before any Israelites received theirs. You’ll forgive me if my mind wanders to the New Testament, and the words of the Lord to the newly converted Paul. He said Paul’s ministry was to take the Good News to “the Gentiles…to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:17-18). One day, praise His holy name, the gospel came to our towns, to our houses, to our hearts. And we too were added into the genealogy of grace!