Numbers 32:12

12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the 1Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for 2they have wholly followed the LORD.'

Numbers 32:12 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 32:12

Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the
son of Nun
See ( Numbers 14:30 ) , whether Caleb or Jephunneh is called the Kenezite is not so easy to determine; the latter rather seems to be most correct, for that Caleb should be called so from Kenaz the father of Othniel, who is said to be Caleb's brother seems not to be agreeable; since it is not likely that they were his own brothers, or Caleb would not have given his daughter to him; besides Jephunneh and not Kenaz is always said to be the father of Caleb, unless his father can be thought to have two names; it is most likely that Jephunneh, and so Caleb, might be called the Kenezite, from an ancestor of theirs of that name: Jarchi says, Caleb was the son-in-law of Kenaz, and Caleb's mother bore unto him Othniel:

for they have wholly followed the Lord;
here what was said of Caleb, ( Numbers 14:24 ) is said both of him and Joshua; (See Gill on Numbers 14:24).

Numbers 32:12 In-Context

10 And the LORD's anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying,
11 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,
12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.'
13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.
14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel!

Cross References 2

  • 1. Joshua 14:6; Joshua 15:17
  • 2. Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:8, 9
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.