Who were the Kenizzites in the Bible?

Caleb's fragmentary genealogy, which we have cited above, is very instructive in this regard. We know from a number of Scripture passages (Num. 13:6; Num. 14:30, 38; Num. 32:12; Num. 34:19; Deut. 1:36: Joshua 14:13) what favour Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, won from God by his perseverance, moral courage, faithfulness, and zeal to conquer a portion in the land of Canaan. The Lord's approval was upon him, whereas Caleb, the son of Hezron and of Judah, despite his numerous descendants, is not mentioned as the object of God's special favor. But if the fragmentary genealogies of Caleb the son of Judah are proof of the existing disorder, God puts these together fragments for a special purpose, and we find a deeper thought in them. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, is the one whom God has particularly in view, as the Word teaches us; he is the one whom He introduces in so extraordinary a way into the genealogy of the son of Hezron (1 Chron. 2:49). It is in view of him that this genealogy is inscribed next to that of David, as forming part of the tribe of Judah, from whence the royal race comes. But what connection does Caleb the son of Jephunneh, whose daughter was Achsah, have with Caleb the son of Hezron? Here we find a most interesting fact which has perhaps not been given sufficient attention. Caleb the son of Jephunneh was not originally of the people of Judah. In Numbers 32:12 and Joshua 14:6, 14 he is called Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. Likewise, Caleb's younger brother Othniel, to whom Caleb gave his daughter Achsah as wife, is called “the son of Kenaz” (Joshua 15:17; Judges 1:13; Judges 3:9, 11). Now in Genesis 36:11 we learn that Kenaz is an Edomite name. Hence the conclusion that at some point of time the family of Kenaz, and therefore the family of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, was incorporated into the tribes of Israel just as so many other foreigners, such as Jethro, Rahab, and Ruth, who in virtue of their faith became members of the people of God. This explains a characteristic phrase in Joshua 15:13: “And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah according to the commandment of Jehovah to Joshua … that is, Hebron.” And in Joshua 14:14: “Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed Jehovah the God of Israel.”

Thus Caleb, who by his origin really had no right of citizenship in Israel, received this right amidst Judah by virtue of his faith and was incorporated into the family of Caleb the son of Hezron, as it appears in 1 Chronicles 2:49 and in the passages already cited in Joshua. The fragments preserved of the genealogy of Caleb the son of Hezron confirm the place that God assigned to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and this substitution is one of the important points the Spirit of God calls our attention to here.

Caleb's fragmentary genealogy, which we have cited above, is very instructive in this regard. We know from a number of Scripture passages (Num. 13: 6; Num. 14: 30, 38; Num. 32: 12; Num. 34: 19; Deut. 1: 36: Josh. 14: 13) what favour Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, won from God by his perseverance, moral courage, faithfulness, and zeal to conquer a portion in the land of Canaan. The Lord's approval was upon him, whereas Caleb, the son of Hezron and of Judah, despite his numerous descendants, is not mentioned as the object of God's special favor. But if the fragmentary genealogies of Caleb the son of Judah are proof of the existing disorder, God puts these together fragments for a special purpose, and we find a deeper thought in them. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, is the one whom God has particularly in view, as the Word teaches us; he is the one whom He introduces in so extraordinary a way into the genealogy of the son of Hezron (1 Chron. 2: 49). It is in view of him that this genealogy is inscribed next to that of David, as forming part of the tribe of Judah, from whence the royal race comes. But what connection does Caleb the son of Jephunneh, whose daughter was Achsah, have with Caleb the son of Hezron? Here we find a most interesting fact which has perhaps not been given sufficient attention. Caleb the son of Jephunneh was not originally of the people of Judah. In Numbers 32: 12 and Joshua 14: 6, 14 he is called Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. Likewise, Caleb's younger brother Othniel, to whom Caleb gave his daughter Achsah as wife, is called "the son of Kenaz" (Joshua 15: 17; Judges 1: 13; Judges 3: 9, 11). Now in Genesis 36: 11 we learn that Kenaz is an Edomite name. Hence the conclusion that at some point of time the family of Kenaz, and therefore the family of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, was incorporated into the tribes of Israel just as so many other foreigners, such as Jethro, Rahab, and Ruth, who in virtue of their faith became members of the people of God. This explains a characteristic phrase in Joshua 15: 13: "And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah according to the commandment of Jehovah to Joshua...that is, Hebron." And in Joshua 14: 14: "Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed Jehovah the God of Israel."

One of the ancient peoples who possessed the land promised to Abraham. Gen. 15:19. Probably the same as bene-Kedem, 'children of the east.' Judges 6:3.

Kadesh -- Set apart; Devoted to licentious idolatry. Kadmonites -- Ancients. Kedar -- Dark-skinned. Kedemah -- Eastward. Kemuel -- Congregation of God. Kenaz -- Hunter. Kenites -- Acquiring. Kenizzites -- Hunter. Keturah -- Incense; Fragrance. Kirjath-arba -- City of four. Kittim -- Subduers. Kohath -- Congregation, Waiting. Korah -- Ice.

But centuries before British-Israel theory was ever thought of, this prophecy received a partial and striking fulfilment. Canaan was the land that was bitterly opposed to God’s people. Joshua led the armies of Israel into Canaan, conquered these Canaanitish nations, dispossessed them of their territory, and established the Israelites in the land of God’s promise. Surely this was in measure a fulfilment of the prophecy, “Thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies.” We have a list of their enemies in Genesis 15:19—Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaims, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, Jebusites. The children of Israel, when they got possession of the land God had promised to Abraham, would not be slow to see how wonderfully God had fulfilled His promise in this particular.

Secondly, the full extent of the land pledged to the seed of Abram, is given — "from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates. The land we call Palestine is bounded on the East by the small river, the river Jordan, and is only a very small part of the land they are ultimately to possess. Ten peoples are mentioned in the closing verses as then dwelling therein. All are to be dispossessed and in the millennial age the true Israel will possess their promised land.

The Kenites

The only previous mention of this nation is in Genesis 15:19. It was one of the ten nations whose land Israel was to possess, the first to be mentioned in Genesis 15, but not among the seven to be cast out, mentioned by Moses in Deuteronomy 7:1. Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite, and the children of the Kenite “dwelt among the people” of Judah (Judges 1:16). When Sisera, the captain of the host of the king of Canaan, was defeated by Israel under Barak, it was Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite, who was the instrument used of God for his death. When Saul was sent to destroy Amalek, he “said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt” (1 Sam. 15:6).

Although the dwelling place of the Kenites was strong, and they could rest in comfort and security in their rock fortress, without the help and blessing of the God of Israel they could not continue as a nation. Even leaving their natural security, and being associated with God’s people would not save them, for the time would come when they would go into captivity, and till then their numbers would diminish. They were not like Amalek, though dwelling among them, and there was nothing of enmity against Israel to be rebuked, as in Moab; but they were not the chosen of God, and were not preserved by Him from all the varied forces that consume nations.

Jethro, or Raguel, Moses' father-in-law, is called a Kenite, Judges 1:16, and is also called a Midianite. Num. 10:29. The Midianites sprung from Midian, the son of Abraham and Keturah, Gen. 25:2; so these Kenites were probably a branch of the Midianites. The children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, left Jericho, the city of palm trees, and went into the wilderness of Judah, which was to the south of Arad, and dwelt there. Judges 1:16 Apparently Heber the Kenite travelled north, and was neutral between Israel and their enemies; but Jael his wife smote Sisera in her tent. Judges 4:11, 17; Judges 5:24. Others remained in the far south, for when Saul was going to smite the Amalekites he warned the Kenites, for their own safety, to depart from among them, because they had befriended Israel when they came from Egypt. 1 Sam. 15:6. They were still in the neighbourhood when David feigned to have attacked them. He regarded them as friends, and sent presents to them. 1 Sam. 27:10; 1 Sam. 30:29.

There were Kenites whom Balaam saw dwelling in the rocks, and who were to be carried away by Asshur. Num. 24:21-22. These may have been a remnant of the Kenites mentioned in Gen. 15:19.

The sixteenth verse, which closes this first division of the book, tells us of "the children of the Kenite, Moses' father‑in‑law." The history of this family, come out of Midian and allied to Moses, is full of interest. When Jethro returned to his own land, after having visited Israel in the desert (Ex. 18: 27), Moses asked his son Hobab to be to the children of Israel instead of eyes, to lead them in their encampments in the wilderness(Numbers 10: 29‑32); and in spite of his refusal, his sons, like Caleb, faithfully followed in the steps of the people of God. (Judges 4: 11, 1 Sam. 15: 6) Like Rahab, these children of a stranger amongst the nations, went up out of Jericho, the city of palm trees (Judges 1: 16, c.f., Deut. 34: 3), to cast in their lot with Israel. In cleaving permanently to Judah, they resembled Ruth. And like Othniel, they allied themselves with the family of Caleb, and out of it they had more especially for their chief, the faithful Jabez, the son of sorrow, who made his requests with understanding to the God of Israel, and to whom God granted that which he asked (1 Chron. 2: 50‑55, 1 Chron. 4: 9, 10). The Rechabites were descended from the Kenites (1 Chron. 2: 55, 2 Kings 10: 15, Jer. 35), and when their history closes in the Bible, they are praised as true Nazarites in the midst of the ruin of Israel. But alas! this faithful remnant come out from amongst the nations, plays its part also in the book of declension. We have an instance of it in Heber, the Kenite, in ch. 4. I cannot refrain from applying this history of the Kenites to the church called out from amidst the nations. Her testimony, too, is gone, but like the sons of Rechab amongst the Israelites, a faithful remnant in the midst of the ruin, can go on to the end in holy separation from evil, obeying the Word committed to them by their Leader.

The sixteenth verse, which closes this first division of the book, tells us of "the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law." The history of this family, come out of Midian and allied to Moses, is full of interest. When Jethro returned to his own land, after having visited Israel in the desert (Ex. 18:27), Moses asked his son Hobab to be to the children of Israel instead of eyes, to lead them in their encampments in the wilderness (Numbers 10:29-32); and in spite of his refusal, his sons, like Caleb, faithfully followed in the steps of the people of God. (Judges 4:11, 1 Sam. 15:6) Like Rahab, these children of a stranger amongst the nations, went up out of Jericho, the city of palm trees (Judges 1:16, cf., Deut. 34:3), to cast in their lot with Israel. In cleaving permanently to Judah, they resembled Ruth. And like Othniel, they allied themselves with the family of Caleb, and out of it they had more especially for their chief, the faithful Jabez, the son of sorrow, who made his requests with understanding to the God of Israel, and to whom God granted that which he asked (1 Chr. 2:50-55, 1 Chr. 4:9-10). The Rechabites were descended from the Kenites (1 Chr. 2:55, 2 Kings 10:15, Jer. 35), and when their history closes in the Bible, they are praised as true Nazarites in the midst of the ruin of Israel. But alas! this faithful remnant come out from amongst the nations, plays its part also in the book of declension. We have an instance of it in Heber, the Kenite, in Judges 4. I cannot refrain from applying this history of the Kenites to the church called out from amidst the nations. Her testimony, too, is gone, but like the sons of Rechab amongst the Israelites, a faithful remnant in the midst of the ruin, can go on to the end in holy separation from evil, obeying the Word committed to them by their Leader.