22. Yet for destruction is Kain

Until Asshur carrieth thee away captive.

b

In their relations to the Hebrews, the Kenites formed the most striking contrast to the Amalekites. From the beginning of their history down to its close, as far as it has been preserved to us, those relations were marked by the sincerest friendship and goodwill; and no less. strong and indelible than the hatred entertained by the Israelites against Amalek, was the gratitude they evinced towards the Kenites, on which it is more grateful to dwell. They never forgot that, in remote times, Jethro or Hobab, the Midianite priest or Emir, whom they associated with the Kenites," afforded them advice and assistance in the toils and dangers of their desert wanderings, that he was to them 'like eyes' on their journeys and in their encampments, and that he consented to accompany them into their new homes to share their fortunes. Indeed, from the earliest parts of the period of the Judges, we find the Kenites settled in the southern districts of Palestine, especially in the territory of Judah, to which they were almost reckoned, inhabiting their own towns and forming independent communities, but constantly exchanging with the Hebrews acts of kindliness. A portion of their number, separating from the principal stock, settled, it is true, or lived as nomads, in more northern provinces of Canaan among tribes hostile to the Hebrews; but even there they remained strongly mindful of the old bonds of sympathy. When the Israelites were compelled to encounter the powerful northern king Jabin of Hazor, it was a Kenite woman, Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite,' living near Kedesh in Naphtali, who delivered them from their most dangerous foe, the valiant general

a

Judg. i. 16, iv. 11.

b Exod. xviii. 1-26, and notes in loc.; Num. x. 29-32.

с

Judg. i. 16; 1 Sam. xxvii. 10; XXX. 29, David sent presents from

.לאשר בערי הקיני the booty also

Sisera; she committed that sanguinary deed in spite of the alliance of friendship which existed between her house and King Jabin, and in spite of the sacredness of hospitality inviolable even to enemies, so deep was her attachment to Israel; and for that deed she was extolled, with fiery eulogies, by the Hebrew prophetess: 'Blessed above women shall Jael be, the wife of Heber the Kenite, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.'a And on the other hand, when Saul, engaged in his war of extirpation against the Amalekites, had advanced to their capital, he sent to the Kenites, who had established themselves among that tribe, this message: 'Go, depart, remove from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for you showed kindness to all the children. of Israel when they came up out of Egypt.' Even the Chronicler connects the Kenites with Caleb, a descendant of Judah, and counts among them the Rechabites, who, living as nomads and Nazarites, were by Jeremiah praised as bright examples of filial piety and obedience. All the Hebrew records confirm this genial attachment and mutual harmony, which Jewish tradition of later times maintained with equal unanimity.

It would, therefore, be extremely surprising were we here to find a hostile utterance against the Kenites similar to that on Amalek or Edom. But are these verses indeed conceived in such a spirit? Carefully examined, the prophecy is not hostile, but sorrowful; it does not breathe hatred, but compassion; it proclaims a sad fate, but without exultation or bitterness. It simply enunciates that the rocky mountain strongholds, in which the Kenites believed themselves unassailable, proved a vain protection, and that the people, weakened by repeated losses and reverses, were at last carried away into captivity by the Assyrian conquerors. Indeed, weighing

a Judg. iv. 11, 17; v. 24. b 1 Sam. xv. 6.

с

XXXV.

Comp. 1 Chron. ii. 42, 55; Jer.

the context, we are justified in referring to this prophecy also the author's plaintive and sympathetic exclamation immediately following: 'Woe, who may live, when God doeth this!'a

But how, it may be asked, could such an oracle find a place in this Book of Balaam? A correct insight into the origin of the 'Supplements' explains this point. It appeared suitable to join to a prophecy on the Amalekites an announcement concerning a people which, though partly domiciled among the former, and perhaps being with them of kindred race, was held by the Hebrews in deep affection, but did not escape affliction and misery. In setting forth this memorable contrast, the tone of violent indignation is naturally changed almost into mournful elegy. Such a connection is indeed loose if not extraneous, but it fully corresponds to the character of additions in which the strict plan and close unity of the main composition are disregarded. The destinies of Moab alone were to be delineated;b with some appearance of fitness, speeches on Edom and Amalek were appended, as these nations also were inveterate enemies of Israel; but how great is the anti-climax of annexing an oracle concerning a peaceful and comparatively insignificant tribe which, even if slight collisions should have occasionally arisen, never made itself conspicuous by animosity against the Hebrews!

We are not informed what disasters the Kenites suffered in the course of time. Those who had taken up their abodes in the northern districts, probably participated in the fate of the ten tribes of Israel, which Shalmaneser deported into Assyria, if they had not already belonged to those whom Tiglath-pileser carried away in the reign of Pekah, king of Israel, since among the captives we find distinct mention made of the people of Kedesh and all the

a

inhabitants of Naphtali. After this time, therefore, the verses before us must have been added, probably by the same hand that wrote the preceding prophecy on Amalek and the following words concerning Kittim; all at least refer to the Assyrian period. We learn indeed from the Inscriptions, that the Assyrians began to come into contact with the Hebrews, and to make them tributary, from a time as early as the first half of the ninth century; but an actual abduction into Assyria is only recorded in connection with much later expeditions, and these verses manifestly imply more than a mere menace or a vague apprehension of danger.

PHILOLOGICAL REMARKS.-Among the nations whose possessions God promised to Abraham after the conclusion of the Covenant (Gen. xv. 19-21), the Kenites are indeed also mentioned. But the object of that enumeration was merely to describe the extent of the future territory of the Hebrews, which was to reach from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates' (ibid., ver. 18). Not all those tribes need necessarily be considered as hostile to the Israelites, who were, of course, at liberty to allow residence among them to whomsoever they chose. It is, therefore, also an unfounded supposition to identify the Kenites with those Canaanites who, in conjunction with Amalek, fought unprovoked against the wandering Hebrews on the southern frontiers of Palestine (Num. xiv. 25, 43, 45), since even those portions of the Kenites that lived among the Amalekites were amicably disposed towards the Hebrews (comp. also Nöldeke, Ueber die Amalekiter, pp. 19-23; Kuenen, Relig. of Israel, i. 179–182, and others).—It has been conjectured that the capital of the southern Kenites was Hazezon-Tamar, later called En-gedi (the present Ain Djidi), in the desert of Judah, famous for its beautiful palm plantations and vineyards and the precious

a 2 Ki. xv. 29; comp. the Inscription of Tiglath-pileser: The land of Beth-Omri (Samaria), the population, the goods of its people I sent

to Assyria' (Records of the Past, v. 52).

b See the events referred to in notes on vers. 23, 24.

opobalsamum (Gen. xiv. 7; 1 Sam. xxiv. 1-3; 2 Chr. xx. 2; Cant. i. 14; comp. Joseph. Ant. IX. i. 2; Plin. Nat. Hist. v. 17; Robinson, Bibl. Researches, i. 500-509, etc.), while others fix upon the summit of the cliff rising perpendicularly from the level of the western shore of the Dead Sea, about ten miles south of En-gedi, where afterwards the famous city of Masada was built: the position of either place is indeed suitable; but proofs are wanting in the one case and the other, and En-gedi is, in earlier times, described as peopled by the Amorites (Gen. xiv. 7).—The friendly spirit of Jewish tradition towards the Kenites is reflected in Rashi's explanation : 'Blessed art thou in being so strongly fortified, for surely thou shalt no more be humbled in the world; for even if one day expelled from the place of thy habitation, and led into captivity with the ten tribes of Israel, do not be concerned; this is no humiliation but merely a change of abodes, and thou shalt certainly return with the other captives.' The last idea is also expressed in the reading of the Samaritan Codex, JAWIN TIMND TY, 'till thy inhabitants return from Assyria,' and

The Targum of Jonathan .סעד מאשור עזרותך,.in the Sam.Vers

renders by 'Jethro who had become a proselyte' (similarly Mendelss. and others, 'Balaam saw Jethro and his family in the Hebrew camp'), and the Chaldee translators generally

probably meaning שַׁלְמָיָה or שַׁלְמָאָה by הקני represent

נפתוחי Gen. xv. 19, but הקדמוני stands for שלמאה 56a, where

'the peaceful people' (compare, however, Talm. Bab. Bathr.

for p. According to 1 Chr. ii. 51, 54, with -is kindred with the Kenites).—The hypothesis of two tribes distinct from each other and both accidentally bearing the same name of Kenites, the one of Midianite descent, friendly to the Hebrews, the other of Canaanite origin, hostile to them, can neither be supported nor is it required; it was chiefly suggested by the supposed necessity that these 'prophecies of Balaam' must certainly include some representative of the Canaanites, those most troublesome and most obnoxious foes of Israel. But this opinion rests on an estimate of the economy of the last speeches (vers. 18-24), which we have proved to be untenable. And even if that necessity were admitted, why should the small and peaceful people of the