Joshua 14:10
And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
Forty-five years had passed since the word spoken to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness, and Caleb was now eighty-five years old. Through all those forty-five years the Lord had kept him alive, preserving him through the wilderness wandering and through the years of warfare that followed. That long survival stands as evidence of God's preserving mercy and of His faithfulness to fulfill what He had promised.
Because he had been thus preserved, Caleb at eighty-five was able to come forward to claim his promised portion in Canaan. His faith remained courageous to the end, for relying not on himself but on God's strength he took the stronghold of the giants for his inheritance and drove out the Canaanites dwelling there.