Joshua 14
יהושע פרק י״ד
Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: Joshua | Chapter: 14 of 24 | Day: 14 of 742
Date: February 25, 2026
קלאוד על הנ״ך
Joshua chapter 14 opens the western land distribution and immediately pivots from administrative procedure to one of the most inspiring personal narratives in the entire Bible. The chapter begins with a brief procedural note (verses 1-5): the land of Canaan is to be apportioned by the priest Eleazar, by Joshua, and by the tribal heads, using the sacred lot (goral). The involvement of all three authorities — priestly, military, and tribal — underscores the gravity and legitimacy of the process. The text also pauses to explain a mathematical puzzle: if Joseph’s descendants formed two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh), and the Levites received no territorial inheritance, the numbers still work out to twelve allotments for the nine and a half western tribes.
But the heart of the chapter is the speech of Caleb ben Yephunneh (verses 6-12), one of the most powerful addresses in the Book of Joshua. Caleb approaches Joshua at Gilgal and invokes their shared history as the only two spies who brought back a faithful report from Canaan forty-five years earlier (Numbers 13-14). “I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I gave him a forthright report. While my companions who went up with me took the heart out of the people, I was loyal to my Eternal God.” Caleb is now eighty-five years old, and his words pulse with undiminished vigor: “I am still as strong today as on the day that Moses sent me; my strength is the same now as it was then, for battle and for activity.”
What makes Caleb’s request extraordinary is not just his physical vitality but his spiritual audacity. He does not ask for easy, already-secured territory. Instead, he specifically requests the hill country of Hebron — the very region inhabited by the Anakim, the fearsome giants whose presence had caused the other spies to despair. “Though you too heard on that day that Anakites are there and great fortified cities, if only God is with me, I will dispossess them, as God promised.” Caleb’s faith is the precise mirror-image of the spies’ failure: where they saw only obstacles, he sees divine promise. Where they shrank before the Anakim, he marches toward them.
Joshua blesses Caleb and grants him Hebron. The chapter’s closing note is rich with significance: “The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; [Arba] was the great man among the Anakites. And the land had rest from war.” The ancient name Kiriath-arba (“City of Four” or “City of Arba”) links this allotment to the patriarchal narratives — Hebron is where Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah, where the patriarchs and matriarchs are buried (Genesis 23). Caleb’s inheritance thus connects the conquest to the very origins of Israel’s covenant with God. The repetition of “the land had rest from war” — echoing the identical phrase from 11:23 — signals that the military narrative has definitively closed. What follows is the patient, detailed work of building a nation on the land that was promised.
פרק י״ד · Chapter 14
פסוק א׳ · Verse 1
Hebrew:
וְאֵ֛לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נָחֲל֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִחֲל֜וּ אוֹתָ֗ם אֶלְעָזָ֤ר הַכֹּהֵן֙ וִיהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן וְרָאשֵׁ֛י אֲב֥וֹת הַמַּטּ֖וֹת לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
English:
And these are the allotments of the Israelites in the land of Canaan, that were apportioned to them by the priest Eleazar, by Joshua son of Nun, and by the family heads of the Israelite tribes,
פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2
Hebrew:
בְּגוֹרַ֖ל נַחֲלָתָ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֤ה יְהֹו��ה֙ בְּיַד־מֹשֶׁ֔ה לְתִשְׁעַ֥ת הַמַּטּ֖וֹת וַחֲצִ֥י הַמַּטֶּֽה׃
English:
the portions that fell to them by lot, as GOD had commanded through Moses for the nine and a half tribes.
פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3
Hebrew:
כִּֽי־נָתַ֨ן מֹשֶׁ֜ה נַחֲלַ֨ת שְׁנֵ֤י הַמַּטּוֹת֙ וַחֲצִ֣י הַמַּטֶּ֔ה מֵעֵ֖בֶר לַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן וְלַ֨לְוִיִּ֔ם לֹא־נָתַ֥ן נַחֲלָ֖ה בְּתוֹכָֽם׃
English:
For the portion of the other two and a half tribes had been assigned to them by Moses on the other side of the Jordan. He had not assigned any portion among them to the Levites;
פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4
Hebrew:
כִּֽי־הָי֧וּ בְנֵֽי־יוֹסֵ֛ף שְׁנֵ֥י מַטּ֖וֹת מְנַשֶּׁ֣ה וְאֶפְרָ֑יִם וְלֹֽא־נָתְנוּ֩ חֵ֨לֶק לַלְוִיִּ֜ם בָּאָ֗רֶץ כִּ֤י אִם־עָרִים֙ לָשֶׁ֔בֶת וּמִ֨גְרְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם לְמִקְנֵיהֶ֖ם וּלְקִנְיָנָֽם׃
English:
for whereas the descendants of Joseph constituted two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, the Levites were assigned no share in the land, but only some towns to live in, with the pastures for their livestock and cattle.
פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5
Hebrew:
כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ אֶת־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כֵּ֥ן עָשׂ֖וּ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַֽיַּחְלְק֖וּ אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ {פ}
English:
Just as GOD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did when they apportioned the land.
פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6
Hebrew:
וַיִּגְּשׁ֨וּ בְנֵי־יְהוּדָ֤ה אֶל־יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ בַּגִּלְגָּ֔ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֵלָ֔יו כָּלֵ֥ב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּ֖ה הַקְּנִזִּ֑י אַתָּ֣ה יָדַ֡עְתָּ אֶֽת־הַדָּבָר֩ אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִ֗ים עַ֧ל אֹדוֹתַ֛י וְעַ֥ל אֹדוֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּקָדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵֽעַ׃
English:
The Judahites approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know what instructions GOD gave at Kadesh-barnea to Moses, the agent of God, concerning you and me.
פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7
Hebrew:
בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִ֨ים שָׁנָ֜ה אָנֹכִ֗י בִּ֠שְׁלֹ֠חַ מֹשֶׁ֨ה עֶבֶד־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֹתִ֛י מִקָּדֵ֥שׁ בַּרְנֵ֖עַ לְרַגֵּ֣ל אֶת־הָאָ֑רֶץ וָאָשֵׁ֤ב אֹתוֹ֙ דָּבָ֔ר כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר עִם־לְֽבָבִֽי׃
English:
I was forty years old when Moses the servant of GOD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I gave him a forthright report.
פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8
Hebrew:
וְאַחַי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָל֣וּ עִמִּ֔י הִמְסִ֖יו אֶת־לֵ֣ב הָעָ֑ם וְאָנֹכִ֣י מִלֵּ֔אתִי אַחֲרֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃
English:
While my companions who went up with me took the heart out of the people, I was loyal to my ETERNAL God.
פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9
Hebrew:
וַיִּשָּׁבַ֣ע מֹשֶׁ֗ה בַּיּ֣וֹם הַהוּא֮ לֵאמֹר֒ אִם־לֹ֗א הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר דָּרְכָ֤ה רַגְלְךָ֙ בָּ֔הּ לְךָ֨ תִהְיֶ֧ה לְנַחֲלָ֛ה וּלְבָנֶ֖יךָ עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם כִּ֣י מִלֵּ֔א��ָ אַחֲרֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהָֽי׃
English:
On that day, Moses promised on oath, ‘The land on which your foot trod shall be a portion for you and your descendants forever, because you were loyal to my ETERNAL God.’
פסוק י״ · Verse 10
Hebrew:
וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּה֩ הֶחֱיָ֨ה יְהֹוָ֥ה ׀ אוֹתִי֮ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֵּר֒ זֶה֩ אַרְבָּעִ֨ים וְחָמֵ֜שׁ שָׁנָ֗ה מֵ֠אָ֠ז דִּבֶּ֨ר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶת־הַדָּבָ֤ר הַזֶּה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־הָלַ֥ךְ יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וְעַתָּה֙ הִנֵּ֣ה אָנֹכִ֣י הַיּ֔וֹם בֶּן־חָמֵ֥שׁ וּשְׁמֹנִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃
English:
Now GOD has preserved me, just as promised. It is forty-five years since GOD made this promise to Moses, when Israel was journeying through the wilderness; and here I am today, eighty-five years old.
פסוק י״א · Verse 11
Hebrew:
עוֹדֶ֨נִּי הַיּ֜וֹם חָזָ֗ק כַּֽאֲשֶׁר֙ בְּי֨וֹם שְׁלֹ֤חַ אוֹתִי֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה כְּכֹ֥חִי אָ֖ז וּכְכֹ֣חִי עָ֑תָּה לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה וְלָצֵ֥את וְלָבֽוֹא׃
English:
I am still as strong today as on the day that Moses sent me; my strength is the same now as it was then, for battle and for activity.aand for activity Lit. “and to go out and come in.”
פסוק י״ב · Verse 12
Hebrew:
וְעַתָּ֗ה תְּנָה־לִּי֙ אֶת־הָהָ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֑וּא כִּ֣י אַתָּֽה־שָׁמַ֩עְתָּ֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַה֜וּא כִּֽי־עֲנָקִ֣ים שָׁ֗ם וְעָרִים֙ גְּדֹל֣וֹת בְּצֻר֔וֹת אוּלַ֨י יְהֹוָ֤ה אוֹתִי֙ וְה֣וֹרַשְׁתִּ֔ים כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָֽה׃
English:
So assign to me this hill country as GOD promised on that day.bas GOD promised on that day Cf. Num. 14.24. Though you too heard on that day that Anakites are there and great fortified cities, if only GOD is with me, I will dispossess them, as GOD promised.”
פסוק י״ג · Verse 13
Hebrew:
וַֽיְבָרְכֵ֖הוּ יְהוֹשֻׁ֑עַ וַיִּתֵּ֧ן אֶת־חֶבְר֛וֹן לְכָלֵ֥ב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּ֖ה לְנַחֲלָֽה׃
English:
So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned Hebron to him as his portion.
פסוק י״ד · Verse 14
Hebrew:
עַל־כֵּ֣ן הָיְתָֽה־חֶ֠בְר֠וֹן לְכָלֵ֨ב בֶּן־יְפֻנֶּ֤ה הַקְּנִזִּי֙ לְֽנַחֲלָ֔ה עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה יַ֚עַן אֲשֶׁ֣ר מִלֵּ֔א אַחֲרֵ֕י יְהֹוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
English:
Thus Hebron became the portion of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, as it still is, because he was loyal to the ETERNAL, the God of Israel.—
פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15
Hebrew:
וְשֵׁ֨ם חֶבְר֤וֹן לְפָנִים֙ קִרְיַ֣ת אַרְבַּ֔ע הָאָדָ֧ם הַגָּד֛וֹל בָּעֲנָקִ֖ים ה֑וּא וְהָאָ֥רֶץ שָֽׁקְטָ֖ה מִמִּלְחָמָֽה׃ {פ}
English:
The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba: [Arba] was the great man among the Anakites.And the land had rest from war.