Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KENITES

(Heb. qênî)

A nomadic group who lived in the southern desert region of Canaan. They were owners of the land given to Abram as a result of the covenant ceremony (Gen. 15:19). The name “Kenite” may have originated from association with Cain, “smith” (Gen. 4), who built cities and established metal furnaces. The southern location of the Kenites and the presence of copper mining and smelting in that region lends credence to this assertion. The Kenites play a continuing role in the Bible as southern allies of Israel beginning in the Mosaic period and extending through the time of the judges into the Monarchy.

Moses’ father-in-law (Hobab, Judg. 4:11; Jethro, Exod. 3:1; Reuel, Exod. 2:18; Num. 10:29) was a Kenite, and scholars have proposed that Moses may have learned Yahwistic worship from him (cf. Exod. 18). In addition, Jael, the wife of Heber, a descendant of Moses’ father-in-law, is praised for killing Sisera (Judg. 5:24, Song of Deborah).

The Kenites settled in the south of Judah in Arad of the Negeb (Judg. 1:16) and continued their good relations with Israel. During the reign of Saul, in the Amalakite wars, the Kenites were asked to leave Amalakite cities to avoid harm (1 Sam. 15:6). Later, David carried to Arad the spoils of his raids from his camp at Ziklag (1 Sam. 27:10; 30:29). In postexilic times, in the genealogy of Judah the Chronicler lists the Rechabites, Yahwistic nomads cited as allies of Jeremiah (Jer. 35), as Kenites.

Jeff H. McCrory, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

KENITES

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)