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In Judges 4, Deborah the prophetess prophesies that Sisera the Canaanite will not be delivered into Barak's hand but rather a woman's. The woman, Jael, is described as the wife of Heber the Kenite. She eventually kills Sisera by stabbing him with the temple with a stake. In Judges 5, she is praised by Deborah and Barak as being blessed above all women.

Now, what I am uncertain about is whether or not Heber, and possibly Jael, were actually Kenites. I know that Heber is an Israelite name. So, is this a case like the one between the Israelite Ruth and Moab where Heber was called a Kenite because he dwelt in the land that the Kenites once inhabited? Or is Kenite used here as an adjective similar to the way that Uriah was called a Hittite because of his ability in battle?


Can someone please help elucidate this for me?

Kenite means "smith" as in locksmith. I have heard Bill say that sometimes it means simply that. There's also at least one place in scripture where a woman is called a harlot but the actual word simply means business person. Harlot comes from an assumption that she traded in her body but the text doesn't specifically say that.

That makes far more sense than him being a descendant of Cain. I found that the root word for Kenite means metal worker so I guess he could have been a blacksmith. I couldn't find that in Strong's though. I think you're referring to Rahab who is often called a harlot. From my understanding, harlot should have been rendered innkeeper instead. It is insinuated that she was of the half tribe of Zarah by the placement of the scarlet thread on her home's window. These translation errors are a real pain as all it takes is one mistranslation to throw off a whole chapter or more.

Aechos wrote:These translation errors are a real pain as all it takes is one mistranslation to throw off a whole chapter or more.

But isn't it great how every time you sort them out the foundation of Identity remains untarnished?

Staro said

But isn't it great how every time you sort them out the foundation of Identity remains untarnished?

Amen.

I heard another example recently, I forget which podcasts it was but it was about Moses' father-in-law.
I know this is bad to quote from untrustworthy sources, but it will help highlight the confusion:

Jethro

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law. Exodus 3:1

And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law. Exodus 4:18

When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law.... Exodus 18:1

And Jethro Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses. Exodus 18:5

Hobab

Now Heber the Kenite, which as of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses. Judges 4:11

And Moses said unto Hobab ... Moses' father in law. Numbers 10:29

Reuel

And when they came to Reuel their father, he said.... And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. Exodus 2:18-21

In the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible, Jethro (/ˈdʒɛθroʊ/; Hebrew: יִתְרוֹ, Standard Yitro Tiberian Yiṯrô; "His Excellence/Posterity"; Arabic شعيب Shu-ayb) or Reuel was Moses' father-in-law, a Kenite shepherd and priest of Midian.[1] In Exodus, Moses' father-in-law is initially referred to as Reuel (Exodus 2:18) but then as Jethro (Exodus 3:1). He was the father of Hobab in the Book of Numbers 10:29.[2] He is also revered as a prophet in his own right in the Druze religion,[3] and considered an ancestor of the Druze.[4]

Bill had a good explanation, but now I cannot remember which podcasts it was, or the explanation in it's entirety. But it seems to be a similar case, in using the word 'kenite' to describe a smith.