Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
I brought him word again as it was in mine heart - i:e., I gave a true, unvarnished, and unbiassed report. This incident is recorded here because it occurred while the preparations were being made for casting the lots, which it appears were begun in Gilgal. The claim of Caleb to the mountains of Hobron as his personal and family possession was founded on a solemn promise of Moses 45 years before (see the note at Numbers 13:22; Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 1:36), to give him that land on account of his fidelity. Being one of the nominees appointed to preside over the division of the country, he might have been charged with using his powers as a commissioner to his own advantage had he urged his request in private; and therefore he took some of his brethren along with him as witnesses of the justice and propriety of his conduct.