forty and five years
Joshua 14:10
14:10 forty and five years. This verse tells us that Caleb was forty years old when he served as one of the two spies (Joshua himself being the other) who had tried unsuccessfully to persuade the fearful Israelites that they could conquer the land. It also indicates that the Canaanite conquest had occupied five years up to that time following the forty years in the wilderness. Because of Caleb’s unique contribution, he was given first choice in the land subdivision; he then chose that which was probably the most difficult of all to conquer.
14:13 Caleb. Caleb had been the representative of the tribe of Judah selected as one of the twelve spies when they were first approaching the land of Canaan (Numbers 13:6). Joshua was the spy representing the tribe of Ephraim (Numbers 13:8). Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who wanted to take the land, in spite of the giants there. Consequently, they were the only ones over twenty years old at that time who had been allowed to live long enough to enter the promised land. Caleb was still courageous and confident in the Lord, willing to fight the giants still remaining in the land (Joshua 14:12).
14:14 the inheritance of Caleb. Hebron had been the burial place of Abraham and Jacob (Genesis 23:19; 25:9; 50:13). Caleb volunteered for the hardest assignment of all in the conquest of the land, and he was the only one to complete his job (note Joshua 15:14).
14:14 wholly followed the LORD. Six times the Bible says that Caleb “wholly followed the LORD” (Numbers 14:24; 32:12; Deuteronomy 1:36; Joshua 14:8,9,14).