One of the twelve spies sent by Moses to spy out the land of Canaan (Num. 13:1–20). Caleb represented the tribe of Judah, and while only he and Joshua favored immediate conquest of the land, the other ten spies reported unfavorably and advised returning to Egypt. As a result it was decreed that all those who were twenty years or over at the time of the spies would die in the wilderness and only Caleb and Joshua would survive to enter the Promised Land.
The Book of Joshua records that in the division of the land, Caleb received Hebron and its environs as a reward for his faithfulness (Josh. 14:6–14; cf. 21:13).
