The Kenites or Kainites (in Hebrew, Kainim) were a tribe of the ancient Levant, possibly a branch of the Midianite nation. According to the Bible, they played an important role in the history of ancient Israel. Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than 7 million people, mainly in Israel, the West Bank, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... The Levant Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ... According to the Bible, Midian (מִדְיָן Strife; judgment, Standard Hebrew Midyan, Tiberian Hebrew Miḏyān) was a son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah (Genesis 25:1-6). ... 11th century Targum Tanakh [תנ״ך] (also Tanach or Tenach) is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ...

In the Bible

The Kenites are mentioned as inhabiting the promised land of Canaan as early as the time of Abraham (Genesis xv.19). At the Exodus the tribe inhabited the vicinity of Mount Sinai and Horeb. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses was a Kenite (Judges i.16); elsewhere, however, Jethro is said to have been "priest of Midian" (Exodus iii.1) and a Midianite (Numbers iv. 29), leading many scholars to believe that the terms are intended (at least in parts of the Bible) to be used interchangably, or that the Kenites formed a part of the Midianite tribal grouping. The Kenites journeyed with the Israelites to Canaan (Judges i. 16); and their encampment, apart from the latter's, was noticed by Balaam (Num. xxiv.21-22). According to the Bible, the Land of Israel (Hebrew: Eretz Yisrael) was promised to the descendants of Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by God, making it the Promised land. ... For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Genesis (Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah (five books of Moses) and hence the first book of the Tanakh, part of the Hebrew Bible; it is also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Horeb, Chorevin Hebrew, is a range of mountains in Egypts Sinai Peninsula of which Mount Sinai is the most prominent. ... Cover of JeThRo video Go You Ahead Hmmm. ... Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה, Standard Hebrew Móše, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh, Arabic موسى Musa, Ethiopic ሙሴ Musse), son of Amram and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. ... Book of Judges (Hebrew: ספר שופטים) is a book of the Bible originally written in Hebrew. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... The Book of Numbers is the fourth of the books of the Pentateuch, called in the Hebrew ba-midbar במדבר, i. ... An Israelite is a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, descended from the twelve sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob who was renamed Israel by God in the book of Genesis, 32:28 The Israelites were a group of Hebrews, as described in the Bible. ... Balaam (Hebrew בִּלְעָם, Standard Hebrew Bilʻam, Tiberian Hebrew Bilʻām; could mean glutton or foreigner, but this etymology is uncertain), is a prophet in the Bible, his story occurring in the Book of Numbers. ...

At a later period some of the Kenites separated from their brethren in the south, and went to northern Canaan (Judges iv. 11), where they existed in the time of King Saul. The kindness which they had shown to Israel in the wilderness was gratefully remembered. "Ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt," said Saul to them (I Samuel xv.6); and so not only were they spared by him, but David allowed them to share in the spoil that he took from the Amalekites (I Sam. xxx.29). Saul (שאול המלך) (or Shaul) (שָׁאוּל Borrowed, Standard Hebrew Å aʾul, Tiberian Hebrew Šāʾûl) was the first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel described in the Hebrew Bible. ... The Books of Samuel, also referred to as [The Book of] Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל), are (two) books in the Hebrew Bible (Judaisms Tanakh and originally written in Hebrew) and the Old Testament of Christianity. ... This page is about the Biblical king David. ... According to the Book of Genesis and 1 Chronicles, Amalek (עֲמָלֵק; Standard Hebrew ʿAmaleq, Tiberian Hebrew ʿĂmālēq) was the son of Eliphaz and the grandson of Esau (Gen. ...

Other well-known Kenites were Heber, the husband of Jael, and Rechab, the ancestor of the Rechabites. See entry for Eber, (great-grandson of Noahs son Shem and the father of Peleg and Joktan, sometimes also known as Heber in English. ... Jael [Category: Jael facts and bio] Jael (Hebrew (Hebrew: The ancient Canaanitic language of the Hebrews that has been revived as the official language of Israel) Yael), is mentioned in the Book of Judges (Book of Judges: A book of the Old Testament that tells the history of Israel... Rechab is the name of three men in the Bible: One of the two captains of bands whom Sauls son Ish-bosheth took into his service, and who conspired to kill him. ... Rechabites - the descendants of Rechab through Jonadab or Jehonadab. ...

Critical view

According to the critical interpretation of the Biblical data, the Kenites were a clan settled on the southern border of Judah, originally more advanced in arts than the Hebrews, and from whom the latter learned much. In the time of David the Kenites were finally incorporated into the tribe of Judah (I Sam. xxx. 29; comp. ib. xxvii. 10). Their eponymous ancestor may have been Cain (Kain), to whose descendants the Jahwist in Gen. iv. attributes the invention of the art of working bronze and iron, the use of instruments of music, etc. Sayce has inferred (in James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, s.v.) that the Kenites were a tribe of smiths—a view to which J's statements would lend support. Biblical studies is the academic study of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures. ... A clan is a group of people united by kinship and descent, which is defined by perceived descent from a common ancestor. ... The Tribe of Judah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה, Praise; Standard Hebrew YÉ™huda, Tiberian Hebrew YÉ™hûḏāh) is one of the Hebrew tribes, founded by Judah, son of Jacob. ... In stories common to the Abrahamic religions, Cain or Káyin (קַיִן / קָיִן spear Standard Hebrew Qáyin, Tiberian Hebrew Qáyin / Qāyin; Arabic قايين QāyÄ«n in the Arabic Bible; قابيل QābÄ«l in Islam) is the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first man born in creation... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Jehovist. ... Assorted ancient bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ... Music is an art, entertainment, or other human activity which involves organized and audible sound, though definitions vary. ... James Hastings (c. ... A smith or metalsmith is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects. ...

Jethro, priest of Midian, and father-in-law of Moses, is said (Judges i. 16) to have been a Kenite. This indicates that the Kenites originally formed part of the Midianite tribe or tribes. The bible may even describe an initiation of Moses and Aaron by Jethro into the worship of YHWH (Ex. xviii. 12 et seq.) Several modern scholars believe, in consequence of this statement, that Yhwh was a Kenite deity, and that from the Kenites through the agency of Moses his worship passed to the Israelites. This view, first proposed by F. W. Ghillany, afterward independently by Cornelis Petrus Tiele, and more fully by Stade, has been more completely worked out by Karl Budde; and is accepted by H. Guthe, Gerrit Wildeboer, H. P. Smith, and Barton. Cover of JeThRo video Go You Ahead Hmmm. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Aaron (אַהֲרֹן, a word meaning bearer of martyrs in Hebrew (perhaps also, or instead, related to the Egyptian Aha Rw, Warrior Lion), Standard Hebrew Aharon, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAhărōn), was one of two brothers who play a unique part in the history of the Hebrew people. ... The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to 300 CE), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts. ... Cornelis Petrus Tiele, (16 December 1830-1902) was a Dutch theologian and scholar. ... View of the old hanse-harbor of Stade in 1987. ... Barton may refer to several places or people: Places Australia: Barton, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory England: Barton, Cambridgeshire Barton, Cheshire Barton, Chugshire Barton, Cumbria Barton, Devon Barton, Gloucestershire Barton, West Lancashire Barton, Preston, Lancashire Barton, North Yorkshire Barton, Oxfordshire Barton, Warwickshire Barton, Greater Manchester Barton Hartshorn, Buckinghamshire, Barton-upon-Humber...

It has been suggested that inasmuch as the Bible describes Jethro assisting Moses in the organization of a court system, at least some of ancient Israelite jurisprudence may have derived from Kenite sources. Still other scholars have speculated that the genealogy of Cain in the Book of Genesis may contain oral Kenite traditions. A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Genealogy is the study and tracing of family pedigrees. ...

Exegesis

Arnold Murray teaches that the Kenites are the descendants of Cain, and that Cain is the offspring of Satan and Eve. This is called the "serpent seed" doctrine. However, in the Bible itself the Kenites are portrayed as friendly to Israel and probably monotheistic. Arnold Murray is a fundamentalist Christian Bible-teacher, famous for his televangelism. ... In stories common to the Abrahamic religions, Cain or Káyin (קַיִן / קָיִן spear Standard Hebrew Qáyin, Tiberian Hebrew Qáyin / Qāyin; Arabic قايين Qāyīn in the Arabic Bible; قابيل Qābīl in Islam) is the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first man born in creation... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Extensible VAX Editor EVE stands for Extensible VAX Editor, a flexible text editor that is part of the VMS operating system. ... Serpent seed is a term for the belief that Satan had sexual intercourse with Eve, and that Cain was the offspring of the union. ...

External links

• Judah on jewishencyclopedia.com
• Kenites on jewishencyclopedia.com
• http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=152&letter=R&search=Kenites Rechabites on jewishencyclopedia.com]
• Kenites on Columbia Encyclopedia
• The serpent seed and the Kenites
• What race are the Kennites?

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...