the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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New King James Version
Numbers 24:21
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- CondensedParallel Translations
Then he looked at the Kenite and took up his discourse and said,"Your habitation is enduring,And your nest is set in the cliff.
And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Your dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff.
And he loked on the Kenites, and toke vp his parable, and sayde: Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rocke.
Then Balaam saw the Kenites and said this: "You believe that your country is safe, like a bird's nest high on a mountain.
And he looked on the Ken'ite, and took up his discourse, and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock;
He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is your dwelling-place, Your nest is set in the rock.
And hee looked on the Kenites, and tooke vp his parable, and saide, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rocke:
And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
And whan he sawe the Kenites, he toke vp his parable, & sayde: Stroge is yi dwellinge, and on a rocke hast thou put thy nest,
He saw the Kenites and delivered his oracle-message to them: Your home is in a nice secure place, like a nest high on the face of a cliff. Still, you Kenites will look stupid when Asshur takes you prisoner.
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock.
And looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock.
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is your dwelling-place, And your nest is set in the rock.
And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle: "Your dwelling place seems strong, and your nest is set on a rocky cliff.
"And this is what I saw about the Kenites: They think they're safe, living among the rocks,
He saw the Keini and made this pronouncement: "Though your dwelling is firm, your nest set on rock,
And he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock;
And he looked on the Kenites, and vttered his parable, and sayde, Strong is thy dwelling place, and put thy nest in the rocke.
And he looked on the Kenites and took up his parable and said, Strong is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in a rock.
In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy: "The place where you live is secure, Safe as a nest set high on a cliff,
And Balaam looked at the Kenites and took up his [sixth] discourse (oracle) and said: "Strong is your dwelling place, And you set your nest in the cliff.
He looked at the Keni, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is your dwelling-place, Your nest is set in the rock.
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said: Though firm be thy dwelling-place, and though thy nest be set in the rock;
Then he looked over toward the Kenites and delivered this message: "Your home is secure; your nest is set in the rocks.
Then he looked at the Kenite and said, "The place where you live is strong. Your nest is set in the rock.
Then he looked on the Kenite, and uttered his oracle, saying: "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock;
And having seen the Kenite, he took up his parable and said, thy dwelling-place is strong; yet though thou shouldest put thy nest in a rock,
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, And thy nest is set in the rock.
Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: "Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff.
And when he saw the Kenite, he took up hi parable, and said, - Enduring thy dwelling-place, Set thou then in the crag, thy nest;
He saw also the Cinite: and took up his parable, and said: Thy habitation indeed is strong: but though thou build thy nest in a rock,
And he looked at the Kenites, uttered his oracle, and said, "Steady is your dwelling place; in the rock is your nest.
And he looked upon the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Your dwelling-place may be enduring, and your nest may be set in a rock.
And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock.
And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Your dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff.
Then Balaam saw the Kenites and gave this message: "Your home is safe, like a nest on a cliff.
Next he saw the Kenites and proclaimed his poem: Your dwelling place is enduring; your nest is set in the cliffs.
Also `he siy Cyney, and whanne a parable was takun, he seide, Forsothe thi dwellyng place is strong, but if thou schalt sette thi nest in a stoon,
And he seeth the Kenite, and taketh up his simile, and saith: `Enduring [is] thy dwelling, And setting in a rock thy nest,
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the Kenites: Genesis 15:19, Judges 1:16, Job 29:18
Reciprocal: Judges 4:11 - Heber 1 Samuel 15:6 - the Kenites 1 Samuel 27:10 - Kenites Jeremiah 22:23 - makest
Cross-References
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there.
The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your descendants [fn] I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
Then he said, "O LORD God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham.
So she said, "Drink, my lord." Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink.
Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, ran back to the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.
And he said to them, "Do not hinder me, since the LORD has prospered my way; send me away so that I may go to my master."
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And he looked on the Kenites,.... Not the family and posterity of Jethro, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Abendana; for they were not a people by themselves, but were now encamped with Israel, and went with them into the land of Canaan, and were not carried captive with the ten tribes, though some might that dwelt in Naphtali, Judges 9:4, for they after that remained with Judah under the name of Rechabites, Jeremiah 35:2 and returned with the two tribes, being carried captive with them, 1 Chronicles 2:55 but they were a people, though of the same original and family Jethro descended from, which dwelt near, and afterwards among the Amalekites, and therefore were seen by Balaam, and taken notice of at the same time they were; see 1 Samuel 15:6. Abarbinel takes them to be the same with those in Genesis 15:19
and took up his parable; or prophecy concerning them, and delivered it:
and said, strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock, they dwelling in craggy rocky places, where they thought themselves secure and out of danger; and this their habitation he calls "Ken", a nest, in allusion to their name Kenites.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The Kenites - First mentioned Genesis 15:19 as one of the tribes whose territory was promised to Abraham. In Judges 1:16, where we read of them as moving with the children of Judah, to establish themselves in the pastures south of Arad, Moses’ father-in-law is spoken of as a Kenite (compare Judges 4:11). It appears therefore, since Moses’ father-in-law was a prince or priest of Midian (Exodus 2:15 ff), that the Kenites must have been of Midianite extraction, and so descended from Abraham through Keturah Genesis 25:2.
But it seems unlikely that the Kenites of Genesis 15:19, who were to be dispossessed by the descendants of Abraham, were identical with those of whom Balaam speaks, and who were, because of good offices rendered at the time of the Exodus, always regarded as kinsmen and friends by Israel (compare 1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 27:10). Rather, is it probable that the Kenites of Genesis 15:19 were a Canaanite people, who derived their name from the city Kain, which fell eventually within the borders of the tribe of Judah Joshua 15:22; and that the descendants of Hobab, who appear in Judges 1:16 as making war in this very district, possessed themselves of this city, and with it of the name Kenite also. This they would seem to have already done when Balsam uttered his prediction; and in the next verse it is, as the margin correctly indicates, not of the Kenite, but of Kain the city, that he speaks. Nor is it surprising to find them in possession of their new abode in the promised land, while the Israelites were yet in their tents. It may well be that this roving band of Midianites had already entered Canaan, perhaps along the shores of the Dead Sea, and by routes impracticable for the huge host of Israel, and had, as a kind of advanced guard, made a beginning of the conquest of the country.
From 1 Chronicles 2:54-55, we learn that the Rechabites were a branch of the Kenites; and the name Salmaites, always given to the Kenites in the Targums, connects them with Salma, the son of Caleb, there mentioned. Jeremiah 35:0 shows how tenaciously, for many centuries, they held fast the nomadic habits of their race.
Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock - Render, Strong (or firm) be thy dwelling-place, and put thou thy nest in the rock (or cliff). In the Hebrew there is a play on the words ken, “nest,” and Kain, the name of the Kenites’ abode. This nest in the cliff might be the city of Hazazon-tamar or Engedi, if that be (as is likely) the “city of palm-trees,” from which they went up subsequently Judges 1:16. But there is another site, about 10 miles south of Engedi, to which Balaam’s words would be more appropriate, on the summit of the cliff rising perpendicularly from the level of the western shore of the Dead Sea, where was afterward built the city of Masada, the scene of the closing tragedy of the Jewish-Roman war. It is not likely that such a natural fortress would ever have been unoccupied, or even excluded from a place in the list of the cities of Judah. Nor is there any site in the Holy land which a rude but warlike people might more fittingly designate as either Ken, the Nest, or Kain, the Possession.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Numbers 24:21. He looked on the Kenites — Commentators are not well agreed who the Kenites were. Dr. Dodd's opinion is, I think, nearest to the truth. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, is called a priest or prince of Midian, Exodus 3:1, and in Jdg 1:16 he is called a Kenite; we may infer, therefore, says he, that the Kenites and the Midianites were the same, or at least that the Kenites and the Midianites were confederate tribes. Some of these we learn from Judg. i., followed the Israelites, others abode still among the Midianites and Amalekites. When Saul destroyed the latter, we find he had no commission against the Kenites, 1Sa 15:6, for it appears that they were then a small and inconsiderable people; they had doubtless been wasted, as the text says, though by what means does not appear from history. On the other hand, it may be observed that the Midianites mentioned here lived close to the Dead Sea, at a great distance from the Midian where Jethro lived, which was near Horeb. Perhaps they were a colony or tribe that had migrated from the vicinity of Mount Sinai. It seems that at this time the Kenites occupied a very strong position: Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock; where there is a play on the original word קי, which signifies both a Kenite and a nest. High rocks in these countries were generally used as their strong places.
