Bible Strands
Joshua 15:14
And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Caleb’s military action immediately after Joshua allocates Hebron to him. This occurs during the initial distribution of Judah’s territorial inheritance.
The words — The verb וַיֵּרֶשׁ (va.yēreš) literally means "he dispossessed" or "drove out," denoting forceful removal. The phrase בְּנֵי הָעֲנָק (bənê hāʿănāq) identifies the displaced group as "the sons of Anak."
The thread — The text recalls the Anakite presence noted in Numbers 13:22 and tracks its removal in Judges 1:10 and Judges 1:20. These references collectively document the progressive fulfillment of the conquest mandate.
Why it lands — The text states that Caleb forcibly expelled the three sons of Anak from the newly granted territory. It requires the reader to acknowledge that territorial inheritance demanded immediate enforcement rather than passive occupation.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
Cross-references
- Judges 1:10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
- Judges 1:20 Just as Moses had promised, Judah gave Hebron to Caleb, who drove out the descendants of the three sons of Anak.
- Numbers 13:22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.
- Joshua 11:21 At that time Joshua proceeded to eliminate the Anakim from the hill country of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction, along with their cities.
- Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak that come from the Nephilim! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we must have seemed the same to them!”
- Joshua 10:36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it.