Rechabiter
The Rechabites were probably originally a non-Israelite tribe who had maintained their nomadic way of life among the settled population in the Kingdom of Judah until the time of Nebuchadnezzar II . According to Jer 35,6 EU their ancestor was Jonadab , the son of Rechab .
Since 1 Chr 2,55 EU mentions several Kenite clan associations who lived among the descendants of Caleb in the tribe of Judah , but did not descend from Caleb or Judah, but "from Hammat, the father of the house of Rechab", apparently it was the Rechabites Relatives of the Kenites . (Compare: Jabal , the ancestor of all “who live in tents and with cattle”, and his half-brother Tubal-Cain , who “forged the tools of all ore and iron craftsmen”)
At the time of Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns against the Kingdom of Judah, the Rechabites had sought refuge in Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah praises in Jer 35.1 to 19 EU , the Community of the Rechabites for their obedience to the commandments of their ancestors, of them the enjoyment of wine was forbidden, as the sedentary lifestyle with agriculture and viticulture. Instead, they were to live in tents in the land where they were staying as strangers (v. 7). For this they received the promise from the prophet: "Thus says the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel: Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall never lack a descendant who is in my service."
Eusebius of Caesarea , the Community who called Nazarite also Rechabites .
In 1839 Joseph Wolff discovered a tribe in Yemen near Sanaa that referred to the descendants of Jonadab; At the end of the 19th century, a Bedouin tribe with similar claims was found at the Dead Sea .
Remarks
Web links
- Georg Fischer: Rechab / Rechabiter. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.