Nation
The Kenites
A people associated with the wilderness south of Canaan who maintained ties with Israel.
A people associated with the wilderness south of Canaan who maintained ties with Israel. Scripture first names the group at Genesis 15:19.
The people in Scripture
A people associated with the wilderness south of Canaan who maintained ties with Israel.
Biblical record
Their first recorded mention is Genesis 15:19. Later references on this page describe the group’s place, actions, or descendants as Scripture presents them.
People of Kenites
Heber the Kenite
Husband of Jael whose tent became the site of Sisera's death
Heber the Kenite was a descendant of Hobab, Moses' father-in-law, who established a separate nomadic camp and inadvertently facilitated the defeat of the Canaanite general Sisera.
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Jael
Heroine who killed the Canaanite general Sisera with a tent peg
A Kenite woman and wife of Heber who delivered Israel by slaying the Canaanite general Sisera in her tent.
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Rechab, Patriarch of the Rechabites
Patriarch whose descendants practiced strict asceticism and remained faithful to God
Rechab was a Kenite leader whose descendants, the Rechabites, became a symbol of unwavering obedience to God and ancestral tradition throughout the Divided Monarchy.
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