Yehoshua - Perek 14 – “Calev and Yehoshua”
Part 1: The Lottery (14:1-5)
Summary
Points to Ponder
Why do we need the fine details about Calev’s request?
The details in this section help up map out a timeline of events. Rashi points out that we know that the spies of Moshe were sent in the second year of Israel’s sojourn in the desert, which left thirty-eight years. If Calev was forty at that time, as he describes, and now he is eighty-five, then the balance of the thirty-eight years in the desert leave seven years for the conquest of Israel until now. The lifetime of Calev is provided as the proof to the conquest taking seven years.
Why Chevron?
Chevron receives particular emphasis and attention, as it is the place where four famous couples are buried, namely Adam and Chava, Avraham and Sara, Yitzchak and Rivka and Yaakov and Leah. This place carried personal significance for Calev who prayed there to be saved from the plot of the spies. Rashi quotes a midrash that the former name of the place, Kiryas Arba was on account of the four giants who were there, one of whom was particularly strong. Rashi himself suggests that the giant referred to is not a literal one, rather the giant is one in spiritual stature, namely Avraham Avinu. In his merit, Calev was successful in conquering this area.
Were Yehoshua and Calev on the same page in their response to the other ten spies?
Let us first think about this question just from an emotional perspective. There were twelve spies and of those twelve, ten of them defected and gave a bad report, while only two remained true. One was Yehoshua and the other was Calev. Yet their actions remained distinct from one another. Yehoshua never had any part in the plot at all. He never went with them and was completely on his own mission. In line with this, he had an extra yud added to his name, changing it from from Hoshe'a to Yehoshua in order that Hashem should help him to be saved from the plot of the spied. It was only he who received the name change from Moshe, implying that he really was on his own mission.
Calev seemed to be a little more involved with the plot. He walked the walk with the other spies. He explored the land with them and actually said the same things as they did in the beginning of their report upon returning to the nation. He described the big fruit and the great cities and the giants. Only at the end, Calev quieted down the people as if he was one of the negative spies. However, he then went on to say “No, no, we can make it. We can enter the land of Israel.”
One could imagine that Yehoshua might be justified in questioning Calev’s true allegiances. Did he just follow the side he sensed was the winning side or did he act based on values?
The Alshich understands that in this chapter Calev is making his final plea to Yehoshua. He inserts into Calev’s request the following: “I understand, Yehoshua, although I started off with them, I began saying the same things as they were saying, in my heart I did not believe it. In my heart, even though the fruit were big, that was a blessing, even though the people were giants, that was a blessing, even though they were burying people while we were there, that too was a blessing. All the things that I was saying and that they were saying, they were saying with a negative angle, but I was saying them from a positive perspective.”
This is a moment of dramatic resolution between brothers in arms. When Yehoshua blesses him, this is his final capstone moment of these two spies. At this moment, they finally come together and find resolution of that event which plagued them forty-five years back.
Was this “silence” a positive reality?
The chapter ends with the words "aretz shaktah," and the land was quiet from war. The issue is how this is to be interpreted. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Intuitively, this is a good thing, Israel has avoided war and peace ensues - so everything is good. The Radak points out something quite thought provoking – that this form of quiet was not a good quiet, as it was because they did not finish their job and therefore this was an uneasy quiet. War is sometimes necessary. It can be necessary to eradicate bad things in the world. Radak is explaining that this quiet was not a good quiet because Yehoshua did not finish his task, Israel did not finish their job fully, and this quiet is going to be the calm before the storms of the book of Shoftim. This promotes the question as to whether harmony and serenity is a goal, or if sacrifice is necessary to ensure sure that the peace is long lasting?
Summary
- The method used to divide the various portion of land was the goral - the lottery.
- The first division of land described in this chapter is that of the territories on the East side of the Yarden river.
- We hear about the request of Calev to get the area of Chevron.
- The tribe of Yehuda and Calev ben Yefune approach Yehoshua and tell him of the promise Calev received from Moshe when he was forty years old, that he would receive land for speaking positively of the land of Israel when ten spies spoke badly of the land.
- Calev tells Yehoshua that although he is now eighty-five years old, he is as strong as he was then, and is able to make a successful conquest. Yehoshua blesses him, and Calev attacks and successfully captures Chevron, which used to be called Kiryas Arba.
- The chapter closes by informing us that from this point onwards the land was silent from war.
Points to Ponder
Why do we need the fine details about Calev’s request?
The details in this section help up map out a timeline of events. Rashi points out that we know that the spies of Moshe were sent in the second year of Israel’s sojourn in the desert, which left thirty-eight years. If Calev was forty at that time, as he describes, and now he is eighty-five, then the balance of the thirty-eight years in the desert leave seven years for the conquest of Israel until now. The lifetime of Calev is provided as the proof to the conquest taking seven years.
Why Chevron?
Chevron receives particular emphasis and attention, as it is the place where four famous couples are buried, namely Adam and Chava, Avraham and Sara, Yitzchak and Rivka and Yaakov and Leah. This place carried personal significance for Calev who prayed there to be saved from the plot of the spies. Rashi quotes a midrash that the former name of the place, Kiryas Arba was on account of the four giants who were there, one of whom was particularly strong. Rashi himself suggests that the giant referred to is not a literal one, rather the giant is one in spiritual stature, namely Avraham Avinu. In his merit, Calev was successful in conquering this area.
Were Yehoshua and Calev on the same page in their response to the other ten spies?
Let us first think about this question just from an emotional perspective. There were twelve spies and of those twelve, ten of them defected and gave a bad report, while only two remained true. One was Yehoshua and the other was Calev. Yet their actions remained distinct from one another. Yehoshua never had any part in the plot at all. He never went with them and was completely on his own mission. In line with this, he had an extra yud added to his name, changing it from from Hoshe'a to Yehoshua in order that Hashem should help him to be saved from the plot of the spied. It was only he who received the name change from Moshe, implying that he really was on his own mission.
Calev seemed to be a little more involved with the plot. He walked the walk with the other spies. He explored the land with them and actually said the same things as they did in the beginning of their report upon returning to the nation. He described the big fruit and the great cities and the giants. Only at the end, Calev quieted down the people as if he was one of the negative spies. However, he then went on to say “No, no, we can make it. We can enter the land of Israel.”
One could imagine that Yehoshua might be justified in questioning Calev’s true allegiances. Did he just follow the side he sensed was the winning side or did he act based on values?
The Alshich understands that in this chapter Calev is making his final plea to Yehoshua. He inserts into Calev’s request the following: “I understand, Yehoshua, although I started off with them, I began saying the same things as they were saying, in my heart I did not believe it. In my heart, even though the fruit were big, that was a blessing, even though the people were giants, that was a blessing, even though they were burying people while we were there, that too was a blessing. All the things that I was saying and that they were saying, they were saying with a negative angle, but I was saying them from a positive perspective.”
This is a moment of dramatic resolution between brothers in arms. When Yehoshua blesses him, this is his final capstone moment of these two spies. At this moment, they finally come together and find resolution of that event which plagued them forty-five years back.
Was this “silence” a positive reality?
The chapter ends with the words "aretz shaktah," and the land was quiet from war. The issue is how this is to be interpreted. Is this a good thing or bad thing? Intuitively, this is a good thing, Israel has avoided war and peace ensues - so everything is good. The Radak points out something quite thought provoking – that this form of quiet was not a good quiet, as it was because they did not finish their job and therefore this was an uneasy quiet. War is sometimes necessary. It can be necessary to eradicate bad things in the world. Radak is explaining that this quiet was not a good quiet because Yehoshua did not finish his task, Israel did not finish their job fully, and this quiet is going to be the calm before the storms of the book of Shoftim. This promotes the question as to whether harmony and serenity is a goal, or if sacrifice is necessary to ensure sure that the peace is long lasting?