Numbers 14:24

Summary

YHWH singles out Caleb from among the generation condemned to die in the wilderness, stating that a "different spirit" was in him and that he "filled" (i.e., fully followed) after YHWH. Because of this, YHWH promises to bring Caleb into the land he had already scouted, and his descendants will possess it.

Key words

• eqev ("consequence", H6118) — introduces the causal clause; explains why Caleb receives special treatment, functioning like "because" or "on account of."
• ruach acheret ("another spirit", H7307/H0312) — feminine noun + feminine adjective; describes an inner disposition or attitude distinguishing Caleb from the other spies.
• vayimale acharai ("and he filled after me", H4390 piel) — the piel (intensive) verb with narrative vav creates an idiom meaning full or complete adherence; literally "he filled [the space] after me," conveying total, unwavering following.
• vahavi'otiv ("and I will bring him", H0935 hiphil sequential perfect) — the hiphil (causative) stem shows YHWH as the causing agent of Caleb's entry into the land; the sequential perfect continues the promise begun in the previous clause.
• yorishennah ("it will take possession of it", H3423 hiphil imperfect) — causative stem with feminine suffix (-nah, referring back to ha'aretz, "the land"); imperfect aspect marks this as a future, ongoing outcome for Caleb's zar'o ("his seed/offspring", H2233).

What the text says

The Hebrew sentence opens with a construct phrase, avdi Khalev ("my servant, Caleb"), immediately marking Caleb as distinct through direct divine possession ("my servant"). The causal particle eqev then introduces the reason for this distinction: the presence of ruach acheret ("another/different spirit") "with him" (immo). The following clause, vayimale acharai, uses an idiomatic piel construction — "he filled after me" — which does not describe emotion directly but rather total, unbroken pursuit or loyalty, an idiom not easily rendered word-for-word in translation.

The second half of the verse shifts to YHWH's first-person promise, marked by the hiphil causative verbs vahavi'otiv ("I will bring him") and yorishennah ("it will possess it"). The causative forms grammatically place YHWH as the direct agent of Caleb's entry into the land, while the possession of the land is transferred grammatically to zar'o ("his seed"), extending the promise beyond Caleb himself.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew, LXX, and Vulgate all preserve the core promise, but the LXX adds a clause absent from the Hebrew text given here and from the Vulgate: "but Amalek and the Canaanite dwell in the valley" (ὁ δὲ Ἀμαλὴκ καὶ ὁ Χαναναῖος κατοικοῦσιν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι), which has no counterpart in the Hebrew or Latin texts provided. Additionally, where the Hebrew literally says "he filled after me" (vayimale acharai), the LXX renders this as "he followed me" (ἐπηκολούθησέν μοι), and the Vulgate combines the spirit and following into one clause: "qui plenus alio spiritu secutus est me" ("who, full of another spirit, followed me"), merging two distinct Hebrew clauses into one.