Second to None
Joshua Chapter 14, the Strange and the Spectacular
Vital Stats:
Verses: 15
Is It Read At Synagogue?: In a Byzantine Empire-era custom, this chapter was chanted starting at Verse 6 (and through the first six verses of the next chapter) as the Haftarah for the Torah portion of Vayigash, the second-to-last portion in Genesis. Some Karaite communities would only chant Verses 6 through 15 for the very same Haftarah.
Famous Quotes/Phrases: I’m not sure whether it counts as a famous quote, but Caleb tells Joshua that his strength has not abated even in his old age (85). Moses is described similarly upon his death, as the closing verses of the Torah tell us that he is just as strong as ever at the time of his death at the age of 120.
Basic Plot: Joshua, the priest Eleazar, and the heads of the tribes continue to assign portions of the Promised Land to the tribes. When the tribe of Judah approaches Joshua, we hear from an old friend: Caleb, son of Yefuneh, who is linked to Joshua in one of the Israelites’ lowest moments; they had been the two lone Israelite scouts who, as we read in the book of Numbers, stay truthful by promising that the Israelites would successfully conquer the land. Caleb says that God had fulfilled the promise to keep him alive after all these years, and now requests to dispossess the Anakites living in the town of Hebron. Joshua agrees, and Caleb transitions to this new chapter in his life.
What’s Strange: When Caleb refers to promises made to him, he also includes one made by Moses, namely that Caleb would inherit a part of the land he had scouted. The only problem? The commentator David Kimchi (better known as the Radak) points out that Moses makes no such promise in the Torah. Still, Caleb’s claim seems perfectly logical; after all, he and Joshua are two of the more virtuous figures in the Torah, standing strong with words of truth while the rest of the scouts stoke the Israelites’ fear by announcing the worst possible outcomes. It makes sense that Moses would promise Caleb such an appropriate reward.
What’s Spectacular: To me, Caleb is one of the more intriguing characters in the Hebrew Bible. For reasons explained above, he and Joshua are linked in an otherwise cataclysmic event for the Israelites. (The behavior of the untruthful scouts, combined with the Israelites who buy into those scouts’ false reports, is the reason why God punishes the people with 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.) Yet it is Joshua who becomes far more famous, first as Moses’ successor, and then as arguably the most successful Israelite general of all time. Why does Joshua get so much acclaim, and Caleb comparatively little?
There’s no way to know for sure, but I’d like to think that Caleb is so loyal to God and the Israelites’ general fortunes that he doesn’t mind that Joshua gets the top job instead of him. Or, maybe Caleb doesn’t want the top job in the first place. Caleb is bold enough to claim his reward and a moment in the sun, but doesn’t seem to hope for much more. Perhaps this is why Caleb intrigues me so much. Not everyone gets to be Joshua; sometimes, just being a Caleb is good enough for the rest of us. We don’t always need to have the grandest ambitions in order to feel fulfilled.
Shabbat Shalom!