Kenite

The Kenites are a biblical ethnonym referring to a clan or group mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. They are associated with the family of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, who is described in some passages as a Kenite. In the biblical narrative, the Kenites are depicted as living among or alongside Israelite communities in the southern Levant and are repeatedly connected to various tribal and regional groups of the period.

Notable biblical episodes illustrate their presence and connections. In Judges, Heber the Kenite and his wife Jael figure in the story of Sisera, highlighting that Kenite families lived within or near Israelite territory. Judges 1:16 also mentions the Kenites in association with the tribe of Judah and the city of the palms, indicating their presence in southern Canaan and their ongoing interactions with Israelite groups. The portrayal of Jethro as a hospitable and influential adviser to Moses also shapes the Kenites’ reputation within biblical history.

Scholarly interpretation situates the Kenites as a clan or community of the Iron Age southern Levant with ties that may span Midian, Canaan, and Israelite spheres. The exact origins and classification of the Kenites are matters of debate; some traditions link them to other regional groups, while others treat them as a distinct but allied lineage within the broader biblical ethnography. Outside the Bible, there is little independent attestation of the Kenites, so most information relies on biblical texts and later religious literature. The Kenites are thus mainly understood as a biblical ethnonym with notable associations to Jethro and to episodes illustrating Israelite–Kenite interactions during the period.