1These are the inheritances which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed to them, 2by the lot of their inheritance, as Yahweh commanded by Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe. 3For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. They gave no portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. 5The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
6Then the children of Judah came near to Joshua in Gilgal. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the thing that Yahweh spoke to Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh Barnea. 7I was forty years old when Moses the servant of Yahweh sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8Nevertheless, my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed Yahweh my God. 9Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where you walked shall be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have wholly followed Yahweh my God.’
10“Now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. Now, behold, I am eighty-five years old, today. 11As yet I am as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now for war, to go out and to come in. 12Now therefore give me this hill country, of which Yahweh spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and great and fortified cities. It may be that Yahweh will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as Yahweh said.”
13Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed Yahweh, the God of Israel wholeheartedly. 15Now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath Arba, after the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.
In verse 1 we are immediately introduced to an interesting self-description of the half-brother of James. Jude first describes himself as a “bondservant” or “slave.” The word “slave” or “servant” (Greek word, “doulos”) is used literally and figuratively in Scripture. Literally, “slave” refers to a person of servile condition. Metaphorically, “slave” describes a person who has surrendered himself to another’s will. Why use this title if he is James’ brother and the half-brother of Jesus Christ? For one, there is no spiritual benefit for being physically related to Jesus’ family. Some may contend Jude used this title as “self-punishment” for his earlier rejection of Jesus as the Messiah (cf. Acts 1:12-14). With the subsequent revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, Jude describes himself as a “slave” or “servant” of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, if one considers what it means to be a “slave” to God from a Hebrew mindset, then Jude was not describing himself as one filled with remorse. Great men of the Hebrew Scriptures are described as God’s “servants”: Moses (Deut 34:5; Joshua 14:7), Elijah (2 Kings 10:10), David (Psalms 89:3 cf. 2 Samuel 7:5-8), and the prophets (Jer 44:4; Amos 3:7). This concept extends beyond Israel’s leaders to the nation itself. Isaiah 41:8-9 and 44:1-5 record that Israel, the nation, received the privilege from God to be His “servant,” called to testify to God’s greatness before all the nations of the earth. Lastly, in Isaiah 42:1-4, even the Messiah is described as the “Servant of the Lord” (cf. Matthew 12:17-21). Therefore, being God’s “servant” is an honor and a responsibility (cf. Mark 8:34). For the Christian, slavery is best expressed by means of inward conformity and outward obedience to God as beautifully expressed in the phrase, “Not I, but Christ.”