2 others in the registry answer to the name Kenaz. Every Kenaz in the Bible
person · also Kenizzite
Kenaz
קְנַז
Kenaz was the father of Othniel, a judge of Israel who delivered the Israelites from the oppression of Cushan-rishathaim.
- verses
- 8
- first named
- Numbers 32:12
- last named
- 1 Chronicles 4:13
- period
- Egypt and Wilderness
- role
- Man
Description
Who was Kenaz?
Kenaz is mentioned in several passages as the father of Othniel, a prominent figure in the early history of Israel. Othniel was a brave warrior and a judge who delivered the Israelites from the oppression of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia (Jdg.3.9-11).
Kenaz is first mentioned in the context of Caleb's conquest of Hebron. Caleb offered his daughter Achsah in marriage to whoever would attack and capture the city of Debir. Othniel, the son of Kenaz and Caleb's younger brother, successfully accomplished this task and married Achsah (Jos.15.17; Jdg.1.13).
Othniel's father Kenaz is also mentioned in the genealogy of the tribe of Judah (1Ch.4.13). This genealogical record confirms Kenaz's relationship to Caleb and his place within the tribe of Judah.
Furthermore, Kenaz is mentioned in the context of Caleb's faithfulness to God. Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies who brought back a positive report about the Promised Land and encouraged the Israelites to trust in God (Num.32.12; Jos.14.6, 14). Caleb is referred to as "the Kenizzite," indicating his connection to the Kenizzite clan, likely through his father Jephunneh.
The story of Kenaz and his son Othniel highlights the importance of faith, courage, and obedience to God in the early history of Israel. Othniel's role as a judge and deliverer of Israel also demonstrates God's faithfulness in raising up leaders to guide and protect His people.
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.
Child of
- Jephunnehregistry, no verse
Father of
- OthnielregistryJoshua 15:17Judges 1:13Judges 3:9 +2
- Seraiahregistry1 Chronicles 4:13
Sibling of
Places
Where this happens
A person is placed by the events they take part in, and an event has to clear three things to place them: it must say where it happened, that place must be one the gazetteer can put a coordinate on, and the verse must report it rather than foretell, command or ask it. Nothing anchored here clears all three. Where the text names a setting no gazetteer surveys — a vineyard, a palace, a plot of ground — it is left off rather than guessed at; where a place is named only in a prophecy, the map does not draw what was said to be coming as though it had happened; and a place reached only through a relation is not inherited, because standing beside somebody is not being somewhere.
No verse Atlas has read as a report puts this person anywhere.
Not read yet
The pattern
Where Kenaz 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.
8 verses across 4 of 66 books; 62 write the name nowhere. Named in Numbers (1), Joshua (3), Judges (3) and 1 Chronicles (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 8, across 4 books.
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