יהושע, פרק ט״ו, פסוק י״ז

Rising to a public challenge, a bold warrior captures the city and claims the promised reward of marrying the leader's daughter [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The identity of this conqueror, Othniel the son of Kenaz, creates an interesting family puzzle. He is introduced as Caleb's brother, yet Caleb is famously known throughout the biblical narrative as the son of Jephunneh. This raises a natural question about how two brothers could have fathers with completely different names.

One approach suggests they were half-brothers sharing only the same mother. In this scenario, Caleb's father was Jephunneh, while Othniel's father was Kenaz. Whenever Caleb is referred to elsewhere as a Kenizzite, it is an unusual reference to his mother's other husband [רש״י, רד״ק]. However, this explanation faces strong pushback. Tracing a person's lineage to their mother's husband goes against standard biblical practice, where family trees are established strictly through the father's line [רד״ק].

Because of this difficulty, another perspective argues that they were full brothers sharing both parents, and their father simply went by two different names, Jephunneh and Kenaz [רד״ק]. A third, more preferred understanding resolves the issue by looking at their broader family tree. Kenaz was not their immediate father but rather an early patriarch of their lineage. Therefore, being called the son of Kenaz or the Kenizzite simply identifies them both as members of the same extended family [רד״ק].