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Revision as of 06:14, 19 May 2004 by 62.16.190.249 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Kenites were a people whose name has been interpreted as "smiths" by some and by others as smething relating to "nests". These interpretations are not sure, however.
The Bible does not say anything clear about their origin. They are sometimes mantioned in connection with other peoples. Some have believed they were a subgroup of the Midianites, but the name Kenites is mentioned even before Abraham's son Midian was born.
The Kenites are mentioned in connection with the Midianites in Exodus. Jethro and his family are sometimes called kenites and sometimes midianites. Some believe there must have been two different groups called by the name. It may also have been that way that some kenites were living together with the midianites and called midianites only in geographic sense. They may also have become mixed by intermarriage.
Other well-known kenites were Heber, the husbound of Jael, and Rechab, the ancestor of the Rechabites.