Jephunneh

Biblical Record

Jephunneh is known as the father of Caleb. Scripture records nothing about Jephunneh's own deeds or life. His name almost always appears in the form "Caleb the son of Jephunneh," that is, only within a phrase identifying his son.

• In Numbers 13:6, "Caleb the son of Jephunneh" is first introduced as the spy from the tribe of Judah. This occurs within the account of the twelve spies. The same expression appears in Numbers 14:6, 14:30, 14:38, 26:65, 32:12, and 34:19.
• In Deuteronomy 1:36, Moses refers to Caleb by this name as he recalls the wilderness generation.
• In Joshua 14:6, 14:13–14, 15:13, and 21:12, the name appears in the passages describing how Caleb receives Hebron as his inheritance.
• In 1 Chronicles 4:15 and 6:56, the name also appears as that of Caleb's father.

Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:6 and 14:14 call Jephunneh "the Kenezite." The underlying Hebrew word is the same as the one rendered "the Kenizzites" in Genesis 15:19.

In 1 Chronicles 7:38, a Jephunneh, son of Jether, of the tribe of Asher is mentioned. He is regarded as a different person who merely shares the name of Caleb's father.

Significance within Scripture

The name Jephunneh serves to identify Caleb. In particular, it recurs as the name that distinguishes Caleb, who gave a report of faith at Kadesh-barnea, from the other spies. The meaning of the name is uncertain; it is sometimes interpreted as meaning something like "(God) looks upon." The New Testament does not mention Jephunneh.

Interpretations and Debates

• The designation "Kenezite": Interpretations of this term differ. One view holds that Jephunneh's family was originally of the Kenizzites, a people outside Israel, and was later incorporated into the tribe of Judah. Some scholars also connect the term with Kenaz in the Edomite genealogy (Genesis 36:11). Others, by contrast, regard Kenaz as the name of an ancestor or clan within the tribe of Judah.
• Relationship to Othniel: Othniel is called "the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb" (Joshua 15:17; Judges 1:13). This phrase can be read as making Othniel either Caleb's younger brother or his nephew. Depending on the interpretation, the relationship between Jephunneh and Kenaz is also understood differently.
• The Caleb of 1 Chronicles 2: 1 Chronicles 2 mentions a Caleb the son of Hezron. Opinions are divided as to whether this Caleb is the same person as Caleb the son of Jephunneh or a different individual.

The text says nothing about Jephunneh's faith or the upbringing he gave his household. Accounts that attribute Caleb's faith to his father's influence are therefore matters of interpretation or application rather than part of the biblical record.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, Jephunneh is rarely the subject of a sermon in his own right. His name is usually introduced through the biblical phrase "Caleb the son of Jephunneh" in sermons or Sunday school lessons focused on Caleb.