כָּלִבּוֹ
a Calebite or descendant of Caleb
Definition
כָּלִבּוֹ (Kâlibbôw) refers specifically to a member of the Calebite clan, a group descended from Caleb, the faithful spy from the tribe of Judah (Numbers 13:6, 14:24). The term is a gentilic, identifying someone by their lineage from this important biblical figure. It appears only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 25:3, describing Nabal as a Calebite, which connects him to a heritage of faithfulness and inheritance in Judah. While the form is likely a textual variant of the more standard 'כָּלֵבִי' (Calebite), its meaning remains consistent: an ethnic and tribal identifier.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only a single time in the entire Old Testament. It is found in 1 Samuel 25:3, where it describes Nabal's lineage: 'the man's name was Nabal... He was of the house of Caleb (כָּלִבּוֹ).' Its usage is purely genealogical and descriptive, placing a character within the social and tribal framework of ancient Israel. No other patterns of usage exist due to its solitary occurrence.
Etymology
The word is a patronymic noun, derived from the personal name כָּלֵב (Kaleb, H3612), meaning 'dog' or possibly 'faithful'. The form כָּלִבּוֹ is considered by scholars to be a probable scribal variation or phonetic spelling of the expected gentilic form כָּלֵבִי (Kalêbî), which means 'belonging to Caleb'. It follows a common Hebrew pattern for forming family or clan names from an ancestor's name.
Semantic Range
Identifying someone as a Calebite connects them directly to the legacy of Caleb son of Jephunneh, who, alongside Joshua, showed wholehearted faith in God's promise during the spying of Canaan (Numbers 14:24). This lineage implies an inheritance in the Promised Land, as Caleb's descendants received Hebron (Joshua 14:13-14). In 1 Samuel 25, labeling Nabal a Calebite creates a stark contrast between his foolish, inhospitable actions and the faithful, courageous character of his famed ancestor, highlighting themes of covenant faithfulness versus personal failure.
In ancient Israelite society, tribal and clan identity was paramount for determining land rights, social standing, and legal obligations. Being identified as a Calebite meant belonging to a specific sub-clan within the tribe of Judah, with claims to territory in the hill country around Hebron. This designation carried the weight of a storied family history and the expectations associated with the name of Caleb, a hero of the conquest generation.
כָּלֵבִי (Kalêbî, H3614a) — The standard, more common form meaning 'Calebite' or 'of Caleb'.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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