{Caleb} the meaning

{Caleb}: \c(a)-leb\ as a boy's name is pronounced KAY-leb. It is of Hebrew origin, כָּלֵב‎, Kalev, and comes from the root word כֶּלֶב kéleḇ meaning "dog". Therefore, the literal Hebrew-to-English translation of "Caleb" means "dog". Not very impressive I know, but this is how we picked our first-born's name:

Before marriage, Mr. Big {my hubby} and I were talking about how many kids we wanted and our dreams. We decided 3 years ago that our boy's name would be "Caleb" and our girl's name would be "Isabella". At the time, we just liked the way they sounded. When I found out I was pregnant, my bible study was studying Genesis and I loved how Abraham's descendants named a child based on an important meaning. So, I researched the name Caleb and found the literal translation to be "dog", but it was the meaning of Caleb from the Bible {Joshua's BFF} that left me breathless.

The Western meaning of "Caleb" {derived from the Bible} means: "faith, devotion, whole hearted". Caleb was a friend of Moses & Joshua and was noted for his fearlessness against overwhelming odds, and his devotion and faithfulness to God. In short, Caleb is one of VERY few faithful persons who walk with God, abide in God. Truly.


Let me share one of my favorite passages about Caleb: {Numbers 13} Moses sent out 12 spies to check out the land & people that they would have to fight to get to the Promised Land. The 12 spies searched for 40 days, and upon returning they report to Moses that the odds don't look good. I want to note that it was Caleb that first spoke up, not Joshua, to urge the people to trust God and press on:


 " ³⁰But^(Y) Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it." ^31(Z) Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are." ³²So^(AA) they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and^(AB) all the people that we saw in it are of great height. ³³And there we saw the^(AC) Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the^(AD) Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." "{Numbers 13:30-33}

Only a man of great faith, who trusted God would be so fearless and courageous. Caleb walked with God, was devoted to God, he knew God's heart....that's were his faith & trust was found.

Dear God, I beg you to make my Caleb like Caleb from Numbers. Open Caleb's heart from a very early child-age---save him, give him salvation at the earliest moment possible. Give Caleb a heart full of Your Spirit, a man after Your heart. Give Caleb a heart fully devoted to You and You alone, full of faith, trust, & love because He knows You intimately, because he walks & abides in You daily. Lord, I thank you for Caleb, and I give Caleb to you. Father him, Lord. And help Mr. Big & I parent Caleb. We love you Lord God with all our heart. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!

^"20Then the LORD said, "I have pardoned,^(AB) according to your word. ²¹But truly, as I live, and as all^(AC) the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, ^22(AD) none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these^(AE) ten times and have not obeyed my voice, ^23(AF) shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. ²⁴But my servant^(AG) Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has^(AH) followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it."" 

{Numbers 14:20-24}