Caleb

Lore & Background

Caleb, son of Jephunneh, was a member of the tribe of Judah. He was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses into Canaan. Caleb and Joshua said the people should trust God and go into the land; the other ten spies argued that conquering the land was impossible. Caleb is described as a Kenizzite. After the conquest, Caleb asked Joshua to give him a mountain in property within the land of Judah, and Joshua gave him Hebron. Caleb promised his daughter Achsah in marriage to whoever would conquer the land of Debir from the giants; this was accomplished by Othniel Ben Kenaz, Caleb's nephew.

In Their Own Story

In search of the gargoyle Cheogh, one of Tchernobog's minions, Caleb moves to the rail yard and station, where he boards the northbound 'Phantom Express'. He fights off the undead which swarm the train, finally stopping the train by blowing up the locomotive. Emerging from the wreckage, cutting through swarms of Cabal loyalists and other creatures, Caleb enters the 'Great Temple'. A teleporter in the temple leads Caleb to Cheogh's altar, where he finds Ophelia crucified, and he fights and slays Cheogh. Caleb finishes by lighting up Ophelia's funeral pyre to cremate her body. Caleb heads to the Arctic north on a large icebound wooden sailing ship. He disembarks at a lumber mill the Cabal has transformed into a crude human remains processing area. He makes his way into a mine in search of the mother spider Shial's lair. Navigating the Cabal infested tunnels, Caleb finds a dark stony cavern where he defeats Shial, crushing her with a stomp of his boot. He then rips out and consumes the heart of the webbed corpse of Gabriel, another of the betrayed Chosen, thus gaining the power of his fallen comrade. Cerberus is promoted to Tchernobog's second in command. Caleb moves across an industrial facility, entering a nearby dam control installation located near Cerberus' cavern, then blows up the dam with explosives. The resulting flood makes Cerberus' hideout accessible. Caleb kills Cerberus, and upon finding no trace of Ishmael, fills Cerberus' stomach with bundles of TNT, and blows up the corpse. Caleb heads for the 'Hall of the Epiphany' where Tchernobog is waiting. There, before facing him, Caleb learns why 'The Chosen' were cast down: Tchernobog knew Caleb would return to him, killing anyone he ran into to take his revenge and thus gaining immense power, something Tchernobog wants for himself. Caleb battles and destroys the demon. One of Tchernobog's followers approaches Caleb and declares him their new leader. Caleb shoots him and leaves the Hall of Epiphany.

Reader's Guide

Caleb is referenced indirectly in the Quran, although his name is not mentioned (Al-Ma'idah: 20–26).

Did You Know?

• Caleb is related to the Hebrew word for 'dog' (כֶּלֶב, keleḇ), with The Jewish Encyclopedia reporting that the animal is thought to be 'the totem of a clan'.
• Caleb's relationship to Caleb, son of Hezron, an earlier descendant of Judah, is unclear.
• 1 Samuel 25:3 states that Nabal, the husband of Abigail before David, was 'a Calebite'; it is not stated whether this refers to one of the Calebs mentioned in the Bible or another person bearing the same name.