Caleb---the SLAVE

Caleb was no stranger to pain and suffering. 

The Bible tells us in Exodus 1:11-14 (Amplified Bible)

11) So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens. And [the Israelites] built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

12) But the more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites.

13) And the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to severe slavery.

14) They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.

Caleb would have been between 35 and 40 years old when Moses led the Hebrew nation out of Egypt. He knew well the sting of the overseer's lash. 

Caleb---the MAN

Who, then, was Caleb?

We know that he was the son of Jephunneh (Numbers 13:6) who was a Kennizite (Joshua 14:6). Jephunneh’s name means: for whom a way is prepared, nimble, or a beholder

The Kennizites were among the original inhabitants of Canaan in Abraham’s day (Genesis 15:19) Kenaz was also listed as a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:15) and so an Edomite.

From Smith’s Bible Dictionary we have this: Father of Caleb the spy, appears to have belonged to an Edomitish tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their founder.

The Kenizzite Hypothesis (from Wikipedia)

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, first mentioned in Numbers 13:6 is not to be confused with Caleb, great-grandson of Judah through Tamar (1 Chronicles 2:3-9). This other Caleb was the son of Hezron, and his wife was Azubah (I Chronicles 2:18, 19).

Caleb the spy is the son of Jephunneh. Jephunneh is called a Kenizzite (Numbers 32:12, Joshua 14:6, 14). The Kenizzites are listed (Genesis 15:19) as one of the nations who lived in the land of Canaan, at the time that God covenanted with Abram (Abraham) to give that land to his descendants forever (Genesis 17:8). However, Caleb is mentioned among the descendants of Judah recorded in 1 Chronicles 4: "And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz (1 Chronicles 4:15). Thus Caleb seems to have been recognized as a leader of the tribe of Judah.

There were provisions for a Gentile to be included in Israel as were clearly spelt out in the regulations for Passover (Exodus 12: 48, 49). In this Exodus passage it is written: "If an alien who resides with you wants to observe the Passover to the lord, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may come near to observe it. He is to be like a native of the land, but no uncircumcised person is to eat it. A single law exists for the native and the alien who resides among you." (Exodus 12:48, 49 ISV) Some consider Kenizzites as an Edomite tribe, in which case Caleb would be a descendent of Jacob´s brother Esau.

But many view Caleb as a true Israelite by birth, since he is associated with and represented the tribe of Judah as one of the 12 spies. Jephunneh could have descended from some member of the non-Israelite Kenizzites (Ge 15:18, 19) who associated with the descendants of Jacob (Israel), marrying an Israelite wife. Perhaps the name Kenizzite in his case derives from some ancestral Judean family head named Kenaz, even as Caleb’s brother was so named (Joshua 15:17; Judges 1:13; 1 Chronicles 4:13).

So, in all reality there is no conclusive evidence that Jephunneh was or was not an Edomite, a member of the ancient tribe of Kennizites that inhabited Canaan during Abraham’s sojourn there, or (more likely), simply the head of the family of KENAZ, tribe of Judah. There is much conjecture while at the same time the admission, amongst scholars, of some confusion concerning the Hebrew genealogies. Suffice it to say that Caleb, Jephunneh’s son, was a ruler and a prince of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13:2).

We also know of a certainty that Caleb, whose name means “dog”, was a man who “wholly followed the Lord” (Numbers 32:12).