Bible Dictionaries
Rechabites

Holman Bible Dictionary

(ree' ka bitess) Descendants of Jehonadab ben Rechab, who supported Jehu when he overthrew the house of Ahab (2 Kings 10:15-17 ). About 599 B.C., the Rechabites took refuge from Nebuchadnezazar in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 35:1 ). At that point, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to take them to the Temple and give them wine to drink. When he did so, they refused, saying that their father Jonadab (Jehonadab) had commanded them not to drink wine, nor to live in houses, nor to engage in agriculture. These regulations may have been intended as a protest against Canaanite religion or settled life in general, but more likely they protected the Rechabites' life-style and trade secrets as itinerant metalworkers. Jeremiah contrasted their faithfulness to the commandments of their ancestor with the faithlessness of the people of Judah to the Lord.

Ricky L. Johnson