Numbers 24:21

The utterance on the Kenites.

And he saw the Kenite The singular adjective stands for the whole tribe; cf. 1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 30:29 (Heb.). In the next verse the tribe is called by the name of its reputed ancestor Ḳain.

Enduring is thy dwelling place With this and the following line cf. Obad. Numbers 24:3 f.

thy nest is set in the rock The writer here plays upon the words ḳçn(-nest") and Ḳayin(-Ḳain").

Kain The reputed ancestor of the tribe; cf. Judges 4:11 (R.V. marg.). The name (Heb. Ḳayin) denotes -a lance," and Kênîin Aramaic means -a smith." This has led to the conjecture that the Kenites were at one time thought of not as a tribe in the strict sense but as an hereditary guild or caste of smiths. Such castes are still found in Arabia and many parts of Africa. In this connexion it is interesting to notice that Tubal-Cain (Ḳayin) is named as -the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron" (Genesis 4:22). Further, Cain (Ḳayin) the son of Adam may very possibly be identical with the Ḳayin of the present verse, and his story (Genesis 4:1-17) -may preserve the recollection of some old collision between the agricultural and pastoral elements in prehistoric man." See Driver, Genesis, pp. 70 73.