group · also Kenite
Kenites
קֵינִי
The Kenites were a nomadic tribe who lived in the region of Canaan and were generally friendly to the Israelites, often providing them with assistance and support.
- verses
- 10
- first named
- Genesis 15:19
- last named
- 1 Chronicles 2:55
Description
Kenites in the text
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.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Associated with
Descendant of
Descends from
Stands in the same events as
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this group reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Kenites is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
10 verses across 5 of 66 books; 61 write the name nowhere. Named in Genesis (1), Numbers (1), Judges (4), 1 Samuel (3) and 1 Chronicles (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 10, across 5 books. The name is written 13 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Sources