Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joshua
Chapter 14: Give Me This Mountain
As the inheritance is divided in Canaan, one old warrior steps forward with a claim rooted in a forty-five-year-old promise. Caleb, now eighty-five, reminds Joshua that when the other spies made the people's hearts melt, he 'wholly followed the LORD.' God kept him alive and strong, and now he asks for the hardest prize of all, the mountain of Hebron, where the giant Anakim still dwelt: 'Now therefore give me this mountain.' Here is the reward of whole-hearted faith, a man who followed God fully, believed His promise through decades of waiting, and at eighty-five still asked for giants to conquer.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Joshua chapter 14. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here the western inheritance is divided by lot, and Caleb, who wholly followed the LORD, claims the mountain of Hebron at eighty-five. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version. For the history and geography of Hebron, see also our study Hebron and the Cave of Machpelah.
Setting the Stage
By Lot
The inheritance apportioned as the LORD commanded Moses.
Wholly Followed
The faithful spy who believed when others feared.
Strong at Eighty-Five
Kept alive and strong for the promise, forty-five years.
Give Me This Mountain
He asks for Hebron, where the giants still dwelt.
By Lot Was Their Inheritance (Joshua 14:1-5)
The land in Canaan is divided among the tribes by lot, as the LORD commanded through Moses, the Levites receiving cities but no territory of their own.
As the LORD Commanded Moses
"And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance. As the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land."
Word Study
"lot," Hebrew goral (גּוֹרָל). The goral was the lot, a stone or object cast to determine a decision; "by lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses." The land was divided not by human preference, political power, or the strength of each tribe, but by lot, and this was by God's own command. Why? Because the casting of the lot was understood to be under God's control: "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). To divide by lot was to confess that the apportioning of the inheritance was God's decision, not man's. No tribe could boast that it had seized the best land; each received the portion God assigned. This guarded against strife and pride, and it taught Israel to receive its inheritance as a gift from the hand of God. The principle runs through Scripture: our place, our portion, our gifts are apportioned by God. "now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him" (1 Corinthians 12:18); "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us" (Romans 12:6). We do not choose our lot; God assigns it, and it is good because He gives it. So goral teaches contentment and trust in God's sovereign apportioning. Whatever portion falls to us, in place, in gifts, in circumstances, it is not chance but the disposing of the LORD, and we can receive it from His hand with gratitude, saying with the psalmist, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage" (Psalm 16:6).
Explanation
The division of Canaan is done with careful order and shared authority: "Eleazar the priest, and Joshua... and the heads of the fathers of the tribes" oversee it together — spiritual, civil, and family leadership side by side. And it is done "by lot," so that no tribe could accuse another of favoritism; the outcome lay in God's hand, not human preference. The refrain that governs it all is "as the LORD commanded Moses." The inheritance is not seized or bargained for but received, in order, exactly as God appointed.
Gospel Focus
The division of Canaan proceeds in careful order, overseen by "Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers," and carried out "by lot... as the LORD commanded." Three times in these few verses the writer stresses that it was done "as the LORD commanded Moses", the whole process bound to God's word and God's will. The land was Israel's to receive, but on God's terms, in God's way, by God's apportioning. And again the Levites' distinct portion is noted: "unto the Levites he gave none inheritance... save cities to dwell in," for their inheritance was the LORD (13:33). For the Apostolic reader this quiet, orderly section teaches an important truth about the inheritance. God is the one who apportions; the tribes did not grab or bargain for their land, but received what fell to them by the lot, under God's hand. So it is with all that God gives His people, our place in His body, our gifts, our callings, our circumstances. We are tempted to envy another's portion or to grasp for what was not given us; but the lot is the LORD's disposing. To receive our inheritance by lot is to receive it in humility and trust, confessing that God knows best what portion to assign each of His children. The inheritance was divided "as the LORD commanded"; and the peace of God's people lies in receiving from His hand, without envy or striving, the good portion He has appointed.
Because He Wholly Followed the LORD (Joshua 14:6-15)
Caleb, who wholly followed the LORD when the other spies made the people fear, claims the promise made forty-five years before, and at eighty-five asks for the mountain of the giants: "Give me this mountain."
Now Therefore Give Me This Mountain
"Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea. Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war."
Word Study
"wholly followed," Hebrew male acharei (מִלֵּא אַחֲרֵי). The phrase is vivid: the verb male means to fill, to be full, to fulfill; "wholly followed the LORD" is literally "filled up after the LORD," that is, followed Him fully, completely, with a whole and undivided heart. It is the defining description of Caleb, and it is repeated three times in this chapter (14:8, 9, 14), as if to underline it: "he wholly followed the LORD my God." Forty-five years earlier, when ten of the twelve spies "made the heart of the people melt" with their fearful report, Caleb (with Joshua) had believed God's promise and urged Israel to go up, "we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30). While the majority followed their fears, Caleb followed the LORD, fully. And that whole-hearted faith marked his entire life; forty-five years of waiting, of wilderness wandering caused by others' unbelief, did not dim it. This is the heart God commends: not partial, hedged, half-hearted devotion, but a whole-hearted following that fills up all of life. Jesus named the first commandment, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart... all thy soul... all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37); and the double-minded man is "unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). God is not honored by divided hearts. So male acharei holds up Caleb as the model of whole-hearted faith: to follow the LORD fully, to believe His promise against the crowd, and to keep following Him fully to the end of a long life. The one who "wholly follows the LORD" receives, at the last, the inheritance God promised.
Explanation
Caleb comes to collect on a forty-five-year-old promise. At eighty-five, he insists he is as strong for war as the day the spies returned — and then he asks not for an easy lowland but for "this mountain," the hill country of Hebron where the giant Anakim still held their fortified cities. Faith does not angle for the softest portion; it asks for the hard place, trusting God for it: "if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out." The man who "wholly followed the LORD" as a young spy is still wholly following Him as an old warrior.
Gospel Focus
Caleb's request is one of the great pictures of persevering faith in the Bible. Forty-five years earlier, he and Joshua alone among the twelve spies had believed God; the other ten spread fear, and a whole generation died in the wilderness for unbelief. Through all those years, Caleb held onto a promise: "Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance... because thou hast wholly followed the LORD." Now, at eighty-five, he comes to claim it, and his testimony is remarkable on three counts. First, his faith never wavered: he "wholly followed the LORD," and still does. Second, his vigor is undiminished: "As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me"; God had kept him alive and strong for the promise. Third, and most striking, he asks not for an easy retirement but for the hardest prize: "Now therefore give me this mountain," Hebron, where "the Anakims were there," the very giants that had terrified the ten spies and the whole nation. At eighty-five, Caleb asks for giants to fight, saying, "if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out." His confidence is not in his own strength but in the LORD's presence. And Joshua "blessed him, and gave unto Caleb... Hebron for an inheritance." For the Apostolic reader Caleb is a model of faith that finishes. The world expects faith to fade with age and comfort to replace conquest; Caleb, whole-hearted to the end, still wanted mountains to take for God. His secret was that he "wholly followed the LORD", not partly, not for a season, but fully, all his life. Such faith holds God's promises through decades of waiting, stays strong in the Lord, and never stops asking for new ground to take. So we are called: to follow the LORD wholly, to believe His promise against the fearful crowd, to keep our spiritual vigor into old age, and to say, even late in life, "give me this mountain", give me giants to conquer for the glory of God.
Chapter 14 in Review
Joshua 14 begins the division of the land in Canaan, done "by lot... as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses," under Eleazar, Joshua, and the tribal heads, with the Levites again given "none inheritance... save cities to dwell in." Then Caleb steps forward. At eighty-five, he recalls that forty-five years earlier, when the other spies "made the heart of the people melt," he "wholly followed the LORD," and Moses swore the land his feet had trodden would be his inheritance. Kept "alive... and strong" all those years, Caleb asks for the hardest portion, "give me this mountain," Hebron, where the giant Anakim dwelt. Joshua "blessed him, and gave unto Caleb... Hebron for an inheritance... because that he wholly followed the LORD."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter joins two lessons. First, the inheritance is God's to apportion. The land was divided by lot, "the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD," so that each tribe received its portion from God's hand, not by grasping or striving. So it is with our place, our gifts, our callings; we receive them in humble trust from the God who assigns each of His children a good portion. Second, and above all, Caleb is the great model of whole-hearted, persevering faith. Three times the chapter says he "wholly followed the LORD", filled up after Him, fully, with an undivided heart. That faith believed God's promise against the fearful majority, held it through forty-five years of waiting, kept its vigor into old age, and at eighty-five still asked for giants to conquer, "give me this mountain." His confidence was not in himself but in the LORD's presence: "if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able." God is not honored by half-hearted, hedged devotion, but by hearts that follow Him wholly to the end. So we take Caleb for our example: to follow the LORD fully, to believe His promise when others fear, to stay strong in Him through the long years, and never to stop asking for new mountains to take for His glory. The one who wholly follows the LORD receives, at the last, the inheritance He has promised.
- The inheritance was divided by lot, for "the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD" (14:2; Proverbs 16:33).
- We receive our portion, place, and gifts from God's hand, without envy or grasping (14:1-5).
- Caleb "wholly followed the LORD", whole-hearted faith, repeated three times (14:8, 9, 14).
- His faith believed God against the fearful majority and held for forty-five years (14:7-10).
- God kept him strong; at eighty-five he asked for the mountain of the giants (14:10-12).
- "Give me this mountain": faith that never stops taking new ground for God (14:12).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you receive your portion from God's hand, or envy and grasp for another's?
- Are you following the LORD wholly, or with a divided, half-hearted devotion?
- Has your faith held God's promises through long years of waiting?
- What "mountain" is God calling you to ask for and take, even now?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The division by lot; God's sovereign apportioning: Joshua 14:1-5; Numbers 26:52-56; 33:54; Proverbs 16:33; 1 Corinthians 12:18; Romans 12:6; Psalm 16:5-6. Caleb's faith at Kadeshbarnea; wholly following the LORD: Joshua 14:6-9; Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9, 24; Deuteronomy 1:36; Matthew 22:37; James 1:8. God keeps Caleb alive and strong; the request for Hebron: Joshua 14:10-15; Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 34:7; Psalm 92:14; Joshua 15:13-14; Judges 1:20. Hebron's history: Joshua 14:15; Genesis 23:2; and our study on Hebron and the Cave of Machpelah. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The inheritance divided by lot; God's sovereign apportioning: Joshua 14:1-5; Proverbs 16:33; 1 Corinthians 12:18.
- Caleb "wholly followed the LORD" when others feared: Joshua 14:6-9; Numbers 13:30; 14:24.
- Kept strong for the promise; "give me this mountain": Joshua 14:10-13; Deuteronomy 34:7; Psalm 92:14.
- Hebron given to Caleb; its history: Joshua 14:13-15; Genesis 23:2; Judges 1:20.