It’s funny where Bible study can take us.
It’s been about a month since I read the book of Ruth for the first time, so I sat down to look at my highlights again and write a First Reading to share with you here. I didn’t get very far before my brain decided to take me on a side trip that led straight back to “the begats.”
The word “Ephrathite” jumped out at me from chapter 1, verse 2. A month ago, it seems, I hadn’t noticed that word. I hadn’t highlighted it. I hadn’t made any kind of note at all. I furrowed my eyebrows, and said, “What on earth is an Ephrathite?”
My first question was, “Is that what we call people from the tribe of Ephraim?”
“No, Amy,” I responded to myself. “Those are Ephraimites. You should know that already.”
My second question was, “I thought all of the people in Ruth were from Judah, so why are we calling them something else?”
“I don’t know, Amy,” I responded to myself again. “Let’s Google it shall we?“
Google it, we did.
Down the rabbit hole of nerd-tastic Bible study I went, and before long, I was combing through the opening chapters of 1 Chronicles again. I told you those “begats” would come in handy! I just never figured they would come in handy so soon! /grin
I am something of a visual-tactile learner, so I tried to draw up a family tree for the tribe of Judah. I did my best to make something orderly that I could follow with my eyes on notebook paper. As you can see in the photo below, however, it got really complex and gigantic and messy with a swiftness. It’s certainly not a functional tree, but the important thing is that it helped me figure out what an Ephrathite is.
Ephrathites were descendants of Ephrath, who lived in or around the city of Bethlehem, which was also called Ephrath.
Confusing, right?
A Tale of Two Calebs from the Tribe of Judah
Ephrath (or sometimes Ephrathah) was the name of a woman.
Ephrath was the second wife of Caleb, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah. Ephrath’s husband Caleb is actually something of a mystery in Scripture, and after this first little go at researching it, I can understand why. I’ll lay out what I found, and if you are a scholar or pastor who believes I’ve gotten any part of this wrong, I humbly invite you to correct me in the comments.
But this was fun. Okay, so here’s the deal:
Caleb #1: Caleb the Spy
Ephrath’s husband, according to the Talmud and rabbinical tradition, was Caleb the spy, from Numbers 13. This Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite of Edom. This Caleb represented the tribe of Judah in the group of 12 who were sent to catch a glimpse of the Promised Land in Numbers 13. Those who remember the story will know that Caleb and Joshua were the only two scouts who kept their confidence and faith in God’s promise after seeing the giants and fortified city-states of Canaan.
As an interesting side note, the name Caleb means “dog,” which is an epithet used to describe non-Israelites/Gentiles throughout Scripture. It certainly lends credence to the argument that Caleb son of Hezron and Caleb son of Jephunneh are both of Gentile birth. Whether or not it convinces me that they were the same man…is another thing.
This famous Israelite, Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, was born in a line of Edomites, but was also clearly an adopted member of Judah and much beloved. He became a hero of Judah and the inheritor of the land around the great city of Hebron. He was personally acquainted with Joshua and contemporary to the time of Joshua’s conquest.
This same Caleb–Caleb the spy, son of Jephunneh–was the father of Acsah and uncle to Othniel, son of Kenaz (Judges 1:12-14), and neither Othniel nor Kenaz (Caleb the spy’s younger brother) are listed in the 1 Chronicles, chapter 2 account of Caleb son of Hezron. I am inclined to think we’re talking about two different men for that reason more than any other. Caleb the spy’s father was called Jephunneh. Caleb the spy’s younger brother was Kenaz, which is an Edomite name. Caleb the spy’s daughter married Kenaz’s son, Othniel, who was the first judge listed in the book of Judges. None of that is listed in 1 Chronicles, chapter 2:18-20, in the family tree for Caleb, son of Hezron.*
It’s worthy of further study.
Caleb #2: Caleb, Great-Grandfather of Bezalel the Architect
For now, however, and happily for my sanity, there is another Caleb who fits. This Caleb was a Judahite ancestor of Bezalel the architect who led the construction of the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant in Exodus, starting with chapter 31. In 1 Chronicles 2:18-20, Bezalel is called the son of Uri, son of Hur.
Hur was the son of Caleb, son of Hezron…and Hur’s mother was Ephrath. So, the biblical record fits better, and it is also more likely to be Caleb, great-grandfather to Bezalel, because the generational timeline fits.
The city of Ephrath held that name long before the conquest of Joshua. It is mentioned in Genesis 35 that Rachel, wife of Jacob/Israel, was buried on the road to Ephrath, so we know that it was called Ephrath long before it was called Bethlehem.
I think it likely that Ephrathah, the woman, was named for Ephrath, the town she was born in, and her husband Caleb, son of Hezron, is only 3 generations removed from Judah, son of Jacob/Israel. It makes much, much more sense to think that her Caleb was the great-grandfather of Exodus’ great architect Bezalel than to think that her husband was a man who lived in the time of Judges. Don’t you think?
Jacob/Israel begat Judah
Judah begat Perez
Perez begat Hezron
Hezron begat Caleb
Caleb begat Hur (with 2nd wife, Ephrath/ah)
Hur begat Uri
Uri begat BezalelMake sense? It does to me.
Anyway…
My mind boggles at the idea of a line of Israelite men referring to themselves with a matriarchal ethnic identifier, but there it is. Ephrathites. The people who were descended from Ephrathah, wife to Caleb and mother of Hur. The people who lived in and around the city of Ephrath, later called Bethlehem.
The important thing I learned today is that when we see the name Ephrath referring to a place, it means the city of Bethlehem in Judah. When we see people referred to as Ephrathites, it means that they were Judahites from in or near the city of Bethlehem.
Edit July 2019 – In the comments below, it was recommended that I read a 2-part article by Deborah Hurn because it deals with the Kenezites and Kenites from Scripture in a way that overlaps with this blog post’s subject matter and questions. It is marvelous research, and I’m so grateful to the commenter for suggesting it. You can visit Ms. Hurn’s article for yourself at the following links:
“Kenezites and Kenites, Part 1,” by Deborah Hurn, The Testimony, September 2005.
“Kenezites and Kenites, Part 2,” by Deborah Hurn, The Testimony, October 2005.
*Note about Caleb, son of Hezron from 1 Chronicles 2:49
There is a another section at the end of the 1 Chronicles, chapter 2 about Caleb and Hur, but it is written in a different style.It does not mention Kenaz or Othniel or Jephunneh or Kenizzites or Edom, but it has a short clause added onto the very end of v.49: “Caleb also had a daughter Acsah.”
There is also a bit about a concubine of Caleb’s named Ephah (v.46) which is not used anywhere else that Ephthah is mentioned, and none of the children listed for Ephah are named Hur.
It seems like an afterthought, an edit made in the confusion of post-exilic record-keeping, which we know was an issue. Obviously, this is highly speculative on my part, but so it is for everyone who has studied it. I honestly can’t wait to dig into this later.
None of these mentions are attached to the original line of Hezron or Judah, so I find it very confusing and random. It’s definitely something for further study, and it explains why there is a “mystery” around the two Calebs (although, I think the solution is rather obvious). Such is the way of ancient records, I suppose. There are all kinds of contradictions in these lists, and I haven’t yet had a chance to really study them fully.
For now, however, I’m going with what I’ve put forward for you here. It makes much more sense to say that they are two men with the same name who lived in the tribe of Judah during different generations. Ephrath’s Caleb cannot be the great-grandfather of Bezalel AND a man who was still a leader of Judah some 60+ years after Bezalel built the Ark and Tabernacle. Unless I’ve just got my math way off on this, I don’t see how they could possibly be the same man…though I do understand how the need to fill in those gaps post-Babylonian Exile could end up with mistakes in lists of genealogy full of men with the same name. Anyone who has ever studied genealogy is familiar with that issue.