Kenites קֵינִי
A nomadic tribe friendly to the Israelites
Biography
The Kenites were a nomadic tribe mentioned throughout the Old Testament. They lived in the region of Canaan and were generally friendly to the Israelites, often providing them with assistance and support.
The Kenites are first mentioned in Gen.15.19 as one of the tribes inhabiting the land that God promised to give to Abraham's descendants. In Num.24.21, the Kenites are described as having a strong and secure dwelling place, possibly indicating their skill in metalworking and their strategic location.
During the Israelites' conquest of Canaan, the Kenites, particularly Hobab (also known as Jethro), Moses' father-in-law, joined the tribe of Judah and settled in the Negev region (Jdg.1.16). The Kenites maintained a close relationship with the Israelites, as evidenced by the story of Jael, a Kenite woman who killed Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, aiding the Israelite victory (Jdg.4.11, 17-22; 5.24).
The Kenites' loyalty to the Israelites is further demonstrated when Saul, during his campaign against the Amalekites, warned the Kenites to separate themselves from the Amalekites to avoid being destroyed along with them (1Sa.15.6). The Kenites heeded this warning and remained on friendly terms with the Israelites.
Later, during David's time as a fugitive from Saul, he sent gifts to the Kenites, among other friendly tribes, acknowledging their support (1Sa.27.10; 30.29).
In 1Ch.2.55, the Kenites are mentioned as scribes living in Jabez, suggesting that some Kenites may have taken on administrative roles within Israelite society.
Throughout the biblical narrative, the Kenites are portrayed as a friendly and supportive tribe to the Israelites, playing a role in their early history and settlement in the Promised Land.
In Scripture
5 biblical books ; 1 with study contentGenesis 1 verse
- Genesis 15:19
"the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,"
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Numbers 1 verse
- Numbers 24:21
"He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, “Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock."
Judges 4 verses
- Judges 1:16
"The children of the Kenite, Moses’ brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and lived with the people."
- Judges 4:11
"Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh."
- Judges 4:17
"However Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite."
- Judges 5:24
"“Jael shall be blessed above women, the wife of Heber the Kenite; blessed shall she be above women in the tent."
1 Samuel 3 verses
- 1 Samuel 15:6
"Saul said to the Kenites, “Go, depart, go down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites."
- 1 Samuel 27:10
"Achish said, “Against whom have you made a raid today?” David said, “Against the South of Judah, against the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.”"
- 1 Samuel 30:29
"to those who were in Racal, to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,"
1 Chronicles 1 verse
- 1 Chronicles 2:55
"The families of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab."
Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Strong's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Hebrew | קֵינִי | H7017 |
| Group | Hebrew | קַ֫יִן | H7014G |
Kenites
ther peoples. They are first mentioned along with the Kadmonites and Kenizzites among the peoples whose land was promised to Abram (Ge 15:19). Balaam, seeing them from the heights of Moab; puns upon their name, which resembles the Hebrew ken, "a nest," prophesying their destruction although their nest was "set in the rock"--possibly a reference to Sela, the city. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, is called "the priest of Midian" in Ex 3:1; 18:1; but in Jud 1:16 he is described as a Kenite, showing a close relation between the Kenites and Midian. At the time of Sisera's overthrow, Heber, a Kenite, at "peace" with Jabin, king of Hazor, pitched his tent far North of his ancestral seats (Jud 4:17). There were Kenites dwelling among the Amalekites in the time of Saul (1Sa 15:6). They were spared because they had "showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt." David, in his answer to Achish, links the Kenites with the inhabitants of the South of Judah (1Sa 27:10). Among the ancestors of the tribe of Judah, the Chronicler includes the Kenite Hammath, the father of the Rechabites (1Ch 2:55). These last continued to live in tents, practicing the ancient nomadic customs (Jer 35:6).ichly varied landscape, With smiling cornfields, and hills clothed with oak and terebinth.
The word qeni in Aramaic means "smith." Professor Sayce thinks they may really have been a tribe of smiths, resembling "the gipsies of modern Europe, as well as the traveling tinkers or blacksmiths of the Middle Ages" (HDB, under the word). This would account for their relations with the different peoples, among whom they would reside in pursuit of their calling.
In Josephus they appear as Kenetides, and in Ant, IV, vii, 3 he calls them "the race of the Shechemites."
W. Ewing
ken'-i-zit.
See KENEZITE.
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