Kenites

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The Kenites ( Hebrew : הַקֵּינִ֔י) were a nomadic tribe, probably from the East Bank and the Negev , who are mentioned several times in the Bible . According to Num 24.21  EU , Cain was their progenitor.

Gen 15.19  EU counts the Kenites among the eleven pre-Israelite peoples whose land ("from the border brook of Egypt to the [...] Euphrates") ispromised tothe descendants of Abraham . On theother hand, they are missing fromthe very similar list of the seven peoples that the Israelitesare supposed to consecrate to annihilation after entering the promised land( Dtn 7.1  EU ).

Num 10.29–32  EU reports on Hobab , the son of Moses' father-in-law, the Midianite Reguel (= Jitro ). Here Moses asks his brother-in-law, because of his good knowledge of the area, to lead the Israelitesthrough the desert ontheir journey from Mount Sinai . Apparently, after initial hesitation, Hobab complied.

In Judge 1.16  EU it is now mentioned that Moses' father-in-law was a Kenite and that his sons, as allies of the tribe of Judah , were involved in the conquest of Israel after the death of Joshua . After that, however, the Kenites separated from them and moved to the area of ​​the Amalekites . Since Moses' father-in-law is otherwise referred to as a “priest in Midian” (under the name Reguel in Ex 2.18  EU , otherwise under the name Jitro), the Kenites are considered to be a subgroup or a clan of the Midianites .

Ri 4,11  EU reports of the Kenite Heber, "who had separated from Cain, from the sons of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses". According to Ri 4,17-24  EU, his wife Jaël killedthe general Sisera from Hazor by drivinga tent peg through his templewith a blacksmith 's hammer. The Deborahlied praises the deed of Jael ( Judges 5,24–27  EU ). The idea of ​​the Kenites as a clan of nomadic blacksmiths is based especially on this text.

According to 1 Sam 15.6  EU , King Saul sent the Kenites a warning before attacking the Amalekites and gave them the opportunity to leave the area in good time, "because you behaved kindly towards all Israelites when they came up from Egypt." Since Saul also spared king Agag , and did not doom all cattle, he lost the favor of the "kingmaker" Samuel , who then turned to the young David .

1 Chr 2,55  EU mentions Kenite clan associations that "came from Hammat, the father of Bet-Rechab ." They apparently lived among the descendants of Caleb in the tribe of Judah. Accordingly, the Rechabites who were traced backto Jonadab , the son of Rechab, were relatives of the Kenites. The prophet Jeremiah praisesthe Rechabiterin Jer 35,1–19  EU for their obedience to the commandments of their ancestor, who hadforbiddenthem to drink wine , as well as the sedentary way of life with agriculture and viticulture. (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”)

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