Kenites
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Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary
Kenites

possession; purchase; lamentation

ATS Bible Dictionary
Kenites

A people who dwelt west of the Dead sea, and extended themselves far into Arabia Petraea. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a Kenite, and his family accompanied the Israelites, and settled with other Kenites in various parts of the Holy Land, Jude 1:16; 4:11; 1 Samuel 30:29; 1 Chronicles 2:55. Heber and the Rechabites were their descendants. The Kenites of whom we read appear to have known and served Jehovah, and the whole tribe were friendly to the Hebrews. Saul spared them, when sent to destroy the Amalekites among whom they dwelt, Numbers 24:20,21; 1 Samuel 15:6.

Easton's Bible Dictionary
Smiths, the name of a tribe inhabiting the desert lying between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai. Jethro was of this tribe (Judges 1:16). He is called a "Midianite" (Numbers 10:29), and hence it is concluded that the Midianites and the Kenites were the same tribe. They were wandering smiths, "the gipsies and travelling tinkers of the old Oriental world. They formed an important guild in an age when the art of metallurgy was confined to a few" (Sayce's Races, etc.). They showed kindness to Israel in their journey through the wilderness. They accompanied them in their march as far as Jericho (Judges 1:16), and then returned to their old haunts among the Amalekites, in the desert to the south of Judah. They sustained afterwards friendly relations with the Israelites when settled in Canaan (Judges 4:11, 17-21; 1 Samuel 27:10; 30:29). The Rechabites belonged to this tribe (1 Chronicles 2:55) and in the days of Jeremiah (35:7-10) are referred to as following their nomad habits. Saul bade them depart from the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:6) when, in obedience to the divine commission, he was about to "smite Amalek." And his reason is, "for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel when they came up out of Egypt." Thus "God is not unrighteous to forget the kindnesses shown to his people; but they shall be remembered another day, at the farthest in the great day, and recompensed in the resurrection of the just" (M. Henry's Commentary). They are mentioned for the last time in Scripture in 1 Samuel 27:10; comp. 30:20.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
KENITES

ke'-nits (ha-qeni, haqeni; in Numbers 24:22 and Judges 4:11, qayin; of hoi Kenaioi, hoi Kinaioi): A tribe of nomads named in association with various other peoples. They are first mentioned along with the Kadmonites and Kenizzites among the peoples whose land was promised to Abram (Genesis 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 Exodus 3:1; Exodus 18:1; but in Judges 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 (Judges 4:17). There were Kenites dwelling among the Amalekites in the time of Saul (1 Samuel 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 (1 Samuel 27:10). Among the ancestors of the tribe of Judah, the Chronicler includes the Kenite Hammath, the father of the Rechabites (1 Chronicles 2:55). These last continued to live in tents, practicing the ancient nomadic customs (Jeremiah 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

Strong's Hebrew
7017. Qeni -- members of the tribe of Kenites
... 7016, 7017. Qeni or Qini. 7018 . members of the tribe of Kenites. Transliteration:
Qeni or Qini Phonetic Spelling: (kay-nee') Short Definition: Kenite. ...
/hebrew/7017.htm - 6k

7014. Qayin -- a city in S. Judah
... 7013, 7014. Qayin. 7014a . a city in S. Judah. Transliteration: Qayin Phonetic
Spelling: (kah'-yin) Short Definition: Cain. Cain, Kenites ...
/hebrew/7014.htm - 5k

7014a. Qayin -- a city in S. Judah
... Word Origin from the same as qayin Definition a city in S. Judah NASB Word Usage
Kain (2), Kenites (1). 7014, 7014a. Qayin. 7014b . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7014a.htm - 5k

Library

The Training of a Statesman.
... The priest of the sub-tribe of the Kenites received him into his home and gave him
his daughter in marriage. Note the characteristic Oriental idea of marriage. ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study viii the training of.htm

The Coast of the Asphaltites, the Essenes. En-Gedi.
... If the Essenes were the same with the Kenites in seat and place, and the Kenites
dwelt beyond Arad southward, or indeed even with Arad, which is asserted in ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 6 the coast of.htm

The Blessing of God on Filial Piety.
... The Rechabites are said to have been a branch of the Kenites, and to have descended
from Hobab, the son of Jethro, Moses' father in law. *. ...
/.../lee/sermons on various important subjects/sermon xxiii the blessing of.htm

The Marvels of Holy Scripture, --Moral and Physical. --Jael's Deed ...
... I find that when the people of God were on their way out of Egypt into Canaan, they
were indebted to one family (the Kenites) for kindness and help [591] . ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon vii the marvels of.htm

The Patriarchs.
... Sea of Edom, or the Red Sea. They were also named Kenites from his son
Kenaz. Their country, afterwards called Idumea, was full ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson ii the patriarchs.htm

Of the Cities of Refuge.
... of the Messias, three other cities are to be added to those six which are mentioned
in the Holy Scripture,"and they to be among the Kenites, the Kenizzites ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 50 of the cities.htm

Women who Saved a Nation
... Now Heber the Kenite had left the Kenites, the children of Jethro the father-in-
law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak which is near ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/sherman/the childrens bible/women who saved a nation.htm

Making the Best of Trouble
... answered, "Against the South Country of Judah, or against the South Country of the
Jerahmeelites, or against the South Country of the Kenites." And Achish ...
/.../sherman/the childrens bible/making the best of trouble.htm

Of the Meaning of the Sacrifice Abraham was Commanded to Offer ...
... the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land,
from the river of Egypt unto the great river Euphrates: the Kenites, and the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 24 of the meaning of.htm

The Foundations of Good Citizenship.
... people. The scene in each case was Mount Sinai, which the ancient Hebrews
as well as the Kenites regarded as Jehovah's abode. In ...
/.../kent/the making of a nation/study x the foundations of.htm

Thesaurus
Kenites (8 Occurrences)
... He is called a "Midianite" (Numbers 10:29), and hence it is concluded that
the Midianites and the Kenites were the same tribe. ...KENITES. ...
/k/kenites.htm - 13k

Ken'ites (6 Occurrences)
Ken'ites. Kenites, Ken'ites. Kenizzite . Multi-Version Concordance Ken'ites
(6 Occurrences). Genesis 15:19 the Kenite, and the Kenizzite ...
/k/ken'ites.htm - 8k

Kenite (9 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Kenite (9 Occurrences). Genesis 15:19 the Kenites, the
Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, (Root in WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV). ...
/k/kenite.htm - 9k

Rechabites (4 Occurrences)
... or Jehonadab. They belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the children of
Israel into Palestine, and dwelt among them. Moses married ...
/r/rechabites.htm - 13k

Cain (18 Occurrences)
... (see ABEL.). (2.) A town of the Kenites, a branch of ... (2) In Joshua 15:57, the Revised
Version (British and American) KAIN, which see. See also KENITES. FK Farr. ...
/c/cain.htm - 23k

Kadmonite (1 Occurrence)
... signifies "the Easterner," or, less probably, "one of the ancient race"): The
Kadmonites are mentioned in Genesis 15:19 along with the Kenites and Kenizzites ...
/k/kadmonite.htm - 8k

Jerah'meelites (2 Occurrences)
... ye made a raid to-day?' And David said: 'Against the South of Judah, and against
the South of the Jerahmeelites, and against the South of the Kenites.' (See RSV ...
/j/jerah'meelites.htm - 7k

Jerahmeelites (2 Occurrences)
... 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." (WEB KJV ...
/j/jerahmeelites.htm - 9k

Withdraw (52 Occurrences)
... 1 Samuel 15:6 And Saul said to the Kenites, Go, depart, withdraw yourselves from
among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to ...
/w/withdraw.htm - 22k

Midian (60 Occurrences)
... victory-"the day of Midian"-are heard in later literature (Psalm 83:9 Isaiah 9:4;
Isaiah 10:26 Habakkuk 3:7). 2. The Kenite Branch: The Kenites appear to have ...
/m/midian.htm - 32k

Resources
Who were the Kenites? | GotQuestions.org

Who were the Perizzites in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Jael in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Kenites (8 Occurrences)

Genesis 15:19
the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
(WEB KJV DBY WBS NIV)

Numbers 24:21
And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
(KJV BBE DBY WBS NIV)

Numbers 24:22
But still the Kenites will be wasted, till Asshur takes you away prisoner.
(BBE NIV)

Judges 4:11
Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS NAS NIV)

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.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS NIV)

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."
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 30:29
and to those who were in Racal, and to those who were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites, and to those who were in the cities of the Kenites,
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

1 Chronicles 2:55
The families of scribes who lived at Jabez: the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, the Sucathites. These are the Kenites who came of Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Kenites

Kenites: A Canaanite Tribe Whose Country Was Given to Abraham

Kenites: Jael, One of The, Betrays and Kills Sisera

Kenites: Join the Israelites and Live at Jericho

Kenites: The Descendants of Jethro, a Midianite, the Father-In-Law of Moses: Later in the Wilderness of Judah

The Kenites: Connected With the Midianites

The Kenites: David: Pretended That he Invaded

The Kenites: David: Sent Part of the Spoil of War To

The Kenites: Dwelt in Strongholds

The Kenites: had Many Cities

The Kenites: Moses: Intermarried With

The Kenites: Moses: Invited, to Accompany Israel

The Kenites: Not Destroyed With the Amalekites

The Kenites: Originally a People of Canaan

The Kenites: Part of, Dwelt With Israel

The Kenites: Part of, Dwelt With the Amalekites

The Kenites: Ruin of, Predicted

The Kenites: Showed Kindness to Israel in the Desert

The Kenites: Sisera Slain by Jael One of

The Kenites: The Rechabites Descended From

Related Terms

Ken'ites (6 Occurrences)

Kenite (9 Occurrences)

Rechabites (4 Occurrences)

Cain (18 Occurrences)

Kadmonite (1 Occurrence)

Jerah'meelites (2 Occurrences)

Jerahmeelites (2 Occurrences)

Withdraw (52 Occurrences)

Midian (60 Occurrences)

Midianites (30 Occurrences)

Amal'ekites (24 Occurrences)

Heber (13 Occurrences)

Amalekites (36 Occurrences)

Rechab (13 Occurrences)

Amalek (35 Occurrences)

Shewed (105 Occurrences)

Overtake (113 Occurrences)

Negeb (37 Occurrences)

Negev (39 Occurrences)

Showed (164 Occurrences)

Zaanannim (2 Occurrences)

Zaanaim (1 Occurrence)

Kadmonites (1 Occurrence)

Kenizzite (4 Occurrences)

Kenizzites (1 Occurrence)

Kinah (1 Occurrence)

Ken'ite (5 Occurrences)

Kain (2 Occurrences)

Oak-tree (11 Occurrences)

Jabez (3 Occurrences)

Jerahmeel (9 Occurrences)

Jerahmeelite (1 Occurrence)

Jethro (10 Occurrences)

Living-place (83 Occurrences)

Gentiles (150 Occurrences)

Tirathites (1 Occurrence)

Ti'rathites (1 Occurrence)

Tireathites (1 Occurrence)

Recab (12 Occurrences)

Raid (15 Occurrences)

Racal (1 Occurrence)

Raiding (11 Occurrences)

Rachal (1 Occurrence)

Elon-bezaanannim (1 Occurrence)

Puttest (18 Occurrences)

Proselyte (2 Occurrences)

Brother-in-law (5 Occurrences)

A'chish (17 Occurrences)

Alliance (12 Occurrences)

Su'cathites (1 Occurrence)

Shim'e-athites (1 Occurrence)

Shimeathites (1 Occurrence)

Sucathites (1 Occurrence)

Severed (5 Occurrences)

Suchathites (1 Occurrence)

Separating (24 Occurrences)

Uttered (60 Occurrences)

Achish (20 Occurrences)

Hobab (3 Occurrences)

Kedesh (12 Occurrences)

Secure (78 Occurrences)

Kingdom (409 Occurrences)

South (170 Occurrences)

Kindness (295 Occurrences)

Firm (111 Occurrences)

Pitched (101 Occurrences)

Carmel (33 Occurrences)

Story (92 Occurrences)

Hammath (2 Occurrences)

Judah (802 Occurrences)

Separated (97 Occurrences)

Safe (388 Occurrences)

Territory (140 Occurrences)

Prisoner (87 Occurrences)

Hemath (3 Occurrences)

Government (20 Occurrences)

Oak (22 Occurrences)

Ken'ite
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