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Cain and the Kenites

The Sin in the Garden


As will be seen below, the subject of Genesis chapter 3 has to do with sexual matters and not snakes and
apples.

The Serpent (Satan) Tempts Eve

Genesis 3:1–3: 1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, “Yea, hath God said, ‘Ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat
of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of
the garden, God hath said, ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.’”

From Appendix 19 in the Companion Bible: “The Hebrew word rendered ‘serpent’ in Genesis 3:1 is
N~ch~sh (from the root N~ch~sh, to shine), and means a shining one.” Thus, Satan was a beautiful,
shining being when he appeared to Eve, not a literal snake. He only had the poisonous nature of a
snake.

The word translated “touch” in verse 3 is Strong’s 5060, nâga‘, naw-gah’; a prim. root; prop. to touch, i.e.
lay the hand upon (for any purpose); euphem. to lie with a woman; by impl. to reach (fig. to arrive,
acquire); violently, to strike (punish, defeat, destroy, etc.):—beat, (x be able to) bring (down), cast, come
(nigh), draw near (nigh), get up, happen, join, near, plague, reach (up), smite, strike, touch.

The Serpent (Satan) Tempts Eve, Continued

Genesis 3:4–7: 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, “Ye shall not surely die: 5 For
God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

After Adam and Eve sinned, they knew that they were naked, because they had committed a sexual sin.
The aprons they made for themselves were to cover their private parts. The word translated “aprons” is
Strong’s 2290 and means a belt for the waist.

Paul hit on the nature of Eve’s sin in II Corinthians 11:3: “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
The word translated “beguiled” in this verse is Strong’s 1818, .xapataÇ, ex-ap-at-ah’-o; from 1537 and
538; to seduce wholly:—beguile, deceive.

The fig leaves from which they constructed their aprons began the mystery of the parable of the fig tree
that Christ instructed His disciples to learn in Matthew 24:32–33: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree;
When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye,
when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.”

God Calls Adam and Eve on Their Sin

Genesis 3:8–13: 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the
LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and
said unto him, “Where art thou?” 10 And he said, “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and
I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told thee
that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat?” 12 And the man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with
me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman,
“What is this that thou hast done?” And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and
I did eat.”

Satan’s Punishment

Genesis 3:14–15: 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, “Because thou hast
done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.”

Satan committed this heinous act in an attempt to pollute the seedline through which God planned for
Jesus Christ to be born. It is clear from verse 15 that there was to be enmity between the serpent’s seed
and the woman’s seed, who was ultimately to be Christ. That enmity between the two seeds began
immediately between Cain and Abel. Cain slew Abel.

The enmity or hostility between those two seeds continued to the time of Christ, when that wicked seed
would be responsible for putting Him on the cross. They “bruised His heel” (verse 15) by nailing His feet
to the cross. That enmity continues even now.

Eve’s Punishment

Genesis 3:16: 16 Unto the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee.”
God’s punishment to Eve fit her sin. She had conceived something evil in her womb after her sin with the
devil, so God promised her she would bring forth children in sorrow.

The Birth and Life of Cain


The Birth of Cain

Genesis 4:1: And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and
said, “I have gotten a man from the LORD .”
Eve was naive as to what really happened to her. The man was not from the Lord, but from the serpent,
or the devil. The Lord, however, allowed it.

The Birth of Abel

Genesis 4:2: 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep,
but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

The word translated “again” in verse 2 is Strong’s 3254, yâcaph, yaw-saf’; a prim. root; to add or
augment (often adv. to continue to do a thing):—add, x again, x any more, x cease, x come more, +
conceive again, continue, exceed, x further, x gather together, get more, give moreover, x henceforth,
increase (more and more), join, x longer (bring, do, make, much, put), x (the, much, yet) more (and
more), proceed (further), prolong, put, be [strong-] er, x yet, yield.

This means that Eve continued in labor and bare fraternal twins. It is perfectly medically possible for two
different fathers to fertilize the eggs of fraternal twins.

The Lord Finds Cain’s Offering Unacceptable

Genesis 4:3–7: 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit
of the ground an offering unto the LORD . 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of
his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and
his countenance fell. 6 And the LORD said unto Cain, “Why art thou wroth? and why is
thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou
doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt
rule over him.”

Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof out of reverence for God. It doesn’t say Cain
brought the firstfruits of his harvest. Jude 10–11 makes it clear that Cain did not offer with a pure heart:
“But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts,
in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”

God later cursed the ground for Cain.

Cain Murders Abel

Genesis 4:8–9: 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they
were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the
LORD said unto Cain, “Where is Abel thy brother?” And he said, “I know not: Am I my
brother’s keeper?”

Cain was a murderer and a liar. So are his descendants. He was brazen enough to murder his brother,
and then to lie to God Himself about it.
God’s Curses on Cain

Genesis 4:10–16: 10 And He said, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s
blood crieth unto Me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which
hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; 12 When thou
tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a
vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD , “My punishment
is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of
the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in
the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15
And the LORD said unto him, “Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold.” And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him
should kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD , and dwelt in the
land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

God placed two curses on Cain. He promised that the ground would not produce for him, and that he
would live as a fugitive and a vagabond. Those curses still apply to Cain’s sons to this day.

God also put a mark upon Cain and promised vengeance on whoever would kill him. This was to
preserve the negative part of God’s plan that the sons of Cain must fulfill.
The Genealogies of Cain and Adam
If Cain was the firstborn son of Adam, he should have been listed in Adam’s genealogy in Genesis
chapter 5. But he is not. Cain was not Adam’s son, and his genealogy is listed separately before Adam’s.

God apparently thought it was so important to warn people about the sons of Cain that He listed their
genealogy and spelled out their activities, from which many of their marks and characteristics can be
discerned, in Genesis 4.

The Genealogy of Cain’s Sons

Enoch

Genesis 4:17: 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he
builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.

This Enoch was the first builder of cities. Building cities is a mark of Cain and was contrary to the will of
God, as He said in Isaiah 5:8: “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be
no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!”

Irad, Mehujael, and Methusael

Genesis 4:18: 18 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and
Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.

Lamech and His Wives and Sons

Genesis 4:19–24: 19 And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was
Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of
such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle. 21 And his brother’s name was
Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. 22 And Zillah, she
also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of
Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 And Lamech said unto his wives, “Adah and Zillah, Hear
my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my
wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly
Lamech seventy and sevenfold.”

Verse 19 identifies Lamech as the first polygamist recorded in the Bible.

The word translated “handle” in verse 21 is Strong’s 8610 tâphas, taw-fas’; a prim. root; to manipulate,
i.e. seize; chiefly to capture, wield; spec. to overlay; fig. to use unwarrantably:—catch, handle, (lay, take)
hold (on, over), stop, x surely, surprise, take.

Thus, Jubal was not the father of all who play music, but was the father of all who manipulate music for
evil purposes. Another mark of the sons of Cain.

Verse 22 states that Tubal-cain was “an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron.” Brass and iron are
implements of war. Stirring up wars and conflicts is another mark of Cain.

Lamech’s vow in verses 23 and 24 shows Cain’s sons to be a murderous and vengeful people.
The Genealogy of Adam

Genesis 5:1–30: 1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God
created man, in the likeness of God made He him; 2 Male and female created He them;
and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3
And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after
his image; and called his name Seth: 4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten
Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters: 5 And all the days
that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died. 6 And Seth lived an
hundred and five years, and begat Enos: 7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight
hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters: 8 And all the days of Seth
were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. 9 And Enos lived ninety years, and
begat Cainan: 10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen
years, and begat sons and daughters: 11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred
and five years: and he died. 12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and
begat sons and daughters: 14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten
years: and he died. 15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared: 16
And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat
sons and daughters: 17 And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and
five years: and he died. 18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he
begat Enoch: 19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters: 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two
years: and he died. 21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: 22
And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat
sons and daughters: 23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five
years: 24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. 25 And
Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech: 26 And
Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and
begat sons and daughters: 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty
and nine years: and he died. 28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years,
and begat a son: 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This same shall comfort us
concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath
cursed.” 30 And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years,
and begat sons and daughters: 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred
seventy and seven years: and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old: and
Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Cain is not in Adam’s genealogy, because he is not Adam’s son. Adam’s genealogy is the beginning of
the good seedline through which Jesus Christ would be born. Not to say that all those of the good
seedline were without sin, but they did not carry the marks of Cain.

The Lamech of this seedline was not the murderous and vengeful Lamech in Cain’s seedline.
Interestingly, he lived to be 777 years old.
Compare the Names

As seen in comparing the genealogies of Cain and Adam, the children of the wicked seed (Cain) have
some strangely similar names to the children of the good seed (Adam). This is to show that the sons of
Cain and their father the devil are mockers of God and His plan.

Six generations after Cain are given in his genealogy. Six is Satan’s number.

Generation Wicked Seed (Satan/Cain) Good Seed (Adam)

1 Enoch (2585, initiated; teaching; Seth (8352, put or substituted)


initiating)

2 Irad (5897, fugitive; city of Enos (583, a mortal; frail; incurable)


witness)

3 Mehujael (4232, smitten of God) Cainan (7018, fixed; a possession)

4 Methusael (4967, man who (is) Mahalaleel (4111, praise of God)


of God)

5 Lamech (3929, powerful) Jared (3382, a descent)

6 Jabal (2989, a stream; flowing), Enoch (2585, initiated; teaching; initiating)


Jubal (3106, stream; joyful
sound), and Tubal-cain (8423,
offspring of Cain; flowing from
Cain)

7 Methuselah (4968, man of a dart; when he is dead


it shall be sent) [“it” refers to Noah’s flood]

8 Lamech (3929, powerful)

9 Noah (5146, rest; comfort; consolation)

10 Shem (8035, name), Ham (2526, hot), and


Japheth (3315, expansion)

The Meanings of Lamech’s Wives’ and Daughter’s Names

Adah (5711, ornament)


Zillah (6741, shade)
Naamah (5279, pleasantness)
Further Proof that Cain Was Satan’s Son
The Parable of the Sower

What Jesus Told the Multitudes

Matthew 13:24–30; 34–35: 24 Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, “The
kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares
also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir, didst not thou
sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?’ 28 He said unto them, ‘An
enemy hath done this.’ The servants said unto him, ‘Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also
the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of
harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in
bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ’ ” 34 All these things spake
Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake He not unto them: 35
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, “I will open My
mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of
the world.”

Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, because the mysteries were not for everyone to know.

What Jesus Told His Disciples

Matthew 13:36–43: 36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house:
and His disciples came unto Him, saying, “Declare unto us the parable of the tares of
the field.” 37 He answered and said unto them, “He That soweth the good seed is the
Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the
devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this
world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His
kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into
a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear,
let him hear.

Jesus explained parables to His disciples, because the mysteries were for them to know. They are for
those that love Him to know today too. He made it clear that the devil sowed wicked seed and has a seed
that does his lusts. He sowed them through Cain.

The word translated “seed” in this parable is Strong’s 4690, sp.rma, sper’-mah; from 4687; something
sown, i.e. seed (includ. the male “sperm”); by impl. offspring; spec. a remnant (fig. as if kept over for
planting):—issue, seed.
The tares Jesus spoke of are zewan. While they grow, they are hard to distinguish from wheat. But when
the fruit has matured, the tares He spoke of produce a black, poisonous fruit that is quite distinct from the
golden, nutritious wheat. Each grain of zewan has to be removed before grinding wheat or the bread is
bitter and poisonous. The wheat and the tares will grow together until the end.

John Identified Cain as Being “Of That Wicked One.”

I John 3:11–13: 11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we
should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his
brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his
brother’s righteous.
Kenites
The Full Etymology of the Words “Kenite” and “Kenites”

Words Translated “Kenite” and “Kenites”

Strong’s 7014—Qayin, kah’-yin; the same as 7013 (with a play upon the affinity to 7069); Kajin, the name
of the first child, also of a place in Pal., and of an Oriental tribe:—Cain, Kenite(-s).

Strong’s 7017, Qênîy, kay-nee’; or Qînîy (I Chron. 2:55), kee-nee’; patron. from 7014; a Kenite or
member of the tribe of Kajin:—Kenite.

Words from Which “Kenite” and “Kenites” Are Derived

Strong’s 7013—qayin, kah’-yin; from 6969 in the orig. sense of fixity; a lance (as striking fast):—spear.

Strong’s 6969—qûwn, koon; a prim. root; to strike a musical note, i.e. chant or wail (at a
funeral):—lament, mourning woman.

Strong’s 7069—qânâh, kaw-naw’; a prim. root; to erect, i.e. create; by extens. to procure, espec. by
purchase (caus. sell); by impl. to own:—attain, buy(-er), teach to keep cattle, get, provoke to jealousy,
possess(-or), purchase, recover, redeem, x surely, x verily.

Thus, the Kenites are the sons of Cain.

Kenites Became Scribes for Judah

I Chronicles 2:55: 55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the
Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of
Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

I Chronicles 2:3–54 lists the genealogy of the tribe of Judah, the tribe that David and all the kings of
Judah came from, and one of the two Israelite tribes that Jesus Christ would be born through. But in
verse 55 there is a curious addition of Kenites who were dwelling with Judah and who had evidently
worked themselves in to be their scribes.

Being scribes meant that they handled, and no doubt mishandled, the scriptures and other records of the
day. Kenites mixed themselves up with Judah, the tribe that was the source of the name “Jew,” and
called themselves Jews. Thus, there are real Jews of Judah who are good seed, and then there are those
of the bad seed who falsely claim to be Jews.

Many of the false Jews had become the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time who caused Him so much
trouble, as is well recorded in the Gospels. Both the good seed and the bad seed lived in Jerusalem at
that time. It was the Jews of the bad seed that put Jesus on the cross, not the Jews of the good seed.

In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, Christ was pleased with only two churches out of seven. Both of those
churches, Smyrna and Philadelphia, taught one thing in common that no other churches taught—that
there would be those of the Jews who say they are Jews and are not but are of the synagogue of Satan.

To Smyrna in Revelation 2:9, He said, “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich),
and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan.”

To Philadelphia in Revelation 3:9, He said, “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which
say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie: behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet,
and to know that I have loved thee.”

The House of Rechab

The Scribes at Jabez

I Chronicles 2:55: 55 And the families of the scribes which dwelt at Jabez; the
Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and Suchathites. These are the Kenites that came of
Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab.

The house of Rechab is the most prominent Kenite family recorded in the Bible. The family is identified
in I Chronicles 2:55 (also mentioned above), where they had worked their way in as scribes for the tribe
of Judah.

The Lord Commands Jeremiah to Offer Wine to the Rechabites

Jeremiah 35:1–19: 1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of
Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go unto the house of the
Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD , into one
of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of
Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole
house of the Rechabites; 4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD , into the
chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the
chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum,
the keeper of the door: 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots
full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, “Drink ye wine.” 6 But they said, “We will
drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, ‘Ye
shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: 7 Neither shall ye build house,
nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents;
that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.’ 8 Thus have we obeyed
the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to
drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; 9 Nor to build
houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 10 But we have
dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father
commanded us. 11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came
up into the land, that we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of
the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians:’ so we dwell at Jerusalem.” 12
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, ‘Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to My words? saith the LORD . 14
The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink
wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s
commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but
ye hearkened not unto Me. 15 I have sent also unto you all My servants the prophets,
rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Return ye now every man from his evil way,
and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell
in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers:’ but ye have not inclined your
ear, nor hearkened unto Me. 16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have
performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this
people hath not hearkened unto Me: 17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts,
the God of Israel; ‘Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken
unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not
answered.’ ’ ’ 18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, “Thus saith the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of
Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath
commanded you: 19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab
the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me for ever.’”

Wine is symbolic of the blood of Christ, as Christ stated in Matthew 26:27–29: 27 And He took the cup,
and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; 28 For this is My blood of the new
testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say unto you, I will not drink
henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

In Jeremiah 35, the Rechabites refused to drink wine in the Temple of God. However, God gave them
credit for being more obedient to their father Jonadab than His own children were being to Him and in
verse 19 established their house forever. That means that the house of Rechab is here to this day.

The fact that the Rechabites did not “sow seed, nor plant vineyard” fits right in with the curse God put on
the ground for Cain in Genesis 4:12. The fact that they dwelled in tents and lived in the land of strangers
fits in with the God’s promise to Cain that he would be a fugitive and a vagabond, also in Genesis 4:12.
Here these Kenites are again mixing themselves with the good seed by moving into their land.

As Cain’s earliest sons did, the Rechabites took the names of the good seed for themselves. The
Kenite/Rechabite “Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah” of verse 3 is not the same as God’s prophet
Jeremiah, who, as it is stated in Jeremiah 1:1 was the son of Hilkiah and was of the priests in Anathoth:
“The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:”

Other Mentions of Kenites

God Gives the Kenites into Abram’s Hand

Genesis 15:17–20: 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was
dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.
18 In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed
have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the
Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the
Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

These were all evil nations that God promised to give into the hand of Abram, through whom Jesus
would come. The Kenites were among them.

Balaam Prophesies Destruction for the Kenites in the Latter Days

Numbers 24:12–23: 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, “Spake I not also to thy
messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak would give me his house
full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD , to do either
good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?’ 14 And now,
behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people
shall do to thy people in the latter days.” 15 And he took up his parable, and said,
“Balaam the son of Beor hath said, And the man whose eyes are open hath said: 16 He
hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the Most High,
Which saw the vision of the ALMIGHTY, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a
Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of
Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir
also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 19 Out of
Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of
the city.’” 20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, “Amalek
was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.” 21 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. 22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be
wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.” 23 And he took up his parable, and
said, “Alas, who shall live when GOD doeth this! 24 And ships shall come from the
coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish
for ever.” 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also
went his way.

Here, Baalam prophesied to the nations what would befall each of them in the latter days.

Saul Spares the Kenites

I Samuel 15:6: 6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, “Go, depart, get you down from
among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the
children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt.” So the Kenites departed from
among the Amalekites.
Saul, from whom God took away the kingship of Israel for his sins and his inability to be a good king,
spared the Kenites when he attacked the Amalekites. The Kenites are subtil like the serpent and appear
to show kindness to the good seed in order to attach themselves to them.

David Conquers the Kenites

I Samuel 27:8–10: 8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and
the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the
land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. 9 And David smote the land,
and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the
asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. 10 And
Achish said, “Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, “Against the south
of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the
Kenites.”

I Samuel 30:26–21: 26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the
elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, “Behold a present for you of the spoil of the
enemies of the LORD ;” 27 To them which were in Beth-el, and to them which were in
south Ramoth, and to them which were in Jattir, 28 And to them which were in Aroer,
and to them which were in Siphmoth, and to them which were in Eshtemoa, 29 And to
them which were in Rachal, and to them which were in the cities of the Jerahmeelites,
and to them which were in the cities of the Kenites, 30 And to them which were in
Hormah, and to them which were in Chor-ashan, and to them which were in Athach, 31
And to them which were in Hebron, and to all the places where David himself and his
men were wont to haunt.

David, the king who God chose to replace Saul, was more intelligent than Saul was when it came to
dealing with the Kenites in war. He conquered them.

Jesus Addresses the Scribes and Pharisees

Matthew 23:28–35: 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within
ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of
the righteous, 30 And say, ‘If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not
have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Wherefore ye be
witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers,
how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you
prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and
some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to
city: 35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew
between the Temple and the altar.

The word translated “generation” in verse 33 is Strong’s 1081, g.nn‘ma, ghen’-nay-mah; from 1080;
offspring; by anal. produce (lit. or fig.):—fruit, generation.

Its root is Strong’s 1080, g.nnaÇ, ghen-nah’-o; from a var. of 1085; to procreate (prop. of the father, but
by extens. of the mother); fig. to regenerate:—bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered
of, gender, make, spring.

Thus, Jesus called them literal offspring of vipers.

As was seen earlier in I Chronicles 2:55, Kenites had worked themselves in to being scribes for Judah.
The scribes and Pharisees Jesus is addressing here were those Kenites who had mingled themselves in
with the good seed. Why mention Abel if He wasn’t talking to the sons of Abel’s murderer? Abel’s blood
cried out to God from the ground after Cain murdered him, and the Kenites have been murderers since
then.

Who Was Not a Blood Kenite


There are three individuals identified as Kenites in the Bible about whom it can be determined that they
were not blood Kenites upon closer investigation. They were called Kenites because they lived in the
same geographical location as Kenites did. It is like calling an Englishman a North Carolinian because he
lives in North Carolina. His blood is still English, but he’s likely to sometimes be called a North Carolinian
because of where he lives.

Jethro/Hobab

Exodus 3:1: 1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian:
and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God,
even to Horeb.

Judges 1:16: 16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the
city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in
the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

In Exodus 3:1 and elsewhere, Moses’ father-in-law is identified as a Midianite priest. He is called both
Jethro and Hobab in different places. To qualify for this position as a Midianite priest, he would have had
to have been a Midianite by blood.

As recorded in Genesis 25:1–2, Midian was a son of Abraham by Keturah: “ Then again Abraham took a
wife, and her name was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and
Ishbak, and Shuah.”

Midian was the father of the Midianites and was not of the seedline of Cain. Thus, the designation of
Moses’ father-in-law as a Kenite in Judges 1:16 has to refer to where he lived geographically and not his
bloodline, and Moses did not marry a Kenite.

Heber and Jael

Judges 4:11–24: 11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the
father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto
the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh. 12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the
son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. 13 And Sisera gathered together all his
chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from
Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon. 14 And Deborah said unto Barak,
“Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not
the LORD gone out before thee?” So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten
thousand men after him. 15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and
all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his
chariot, and fled away on his feet. 16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after
the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of
the sword; and there was not a man left. 17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the
tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of
Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and
said unto him, “Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not.” And when he had turned in
unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. 19 And he said unto her, “Give
me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” And she opened a bottle of milk,
and gave him drink, and covered him. 20 Again he said unto her, “Stand in the door of
the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, ‘Is
there any man here?’ that thou shalt say, “No.” 21 Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of
the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail
into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So
he died. 22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said
unto him, “Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest.” And when he came
into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples. 23 So God
subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. 24 And the
hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of
Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

Heber is identified as being of the same people as Moses’ father-in-law. Thus, he was probably a
Midianite by blood. Like Jethro, he and his wife Jael were called Kenites because they lived in the
geographical location of the Kenites. Heber wouldn’t have severed himself from the Kenites (verse 11) if
he was a true blood Kenite. In Judges 5:24, Deborah, a woman of God, commended Jael for her heroic
act that led Israel to victory: “Blessed above women shall Jael The wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed
shall she be above women in the tent.”

The Marks of Cain


From studying the Kenites, several distinct marks and characteristics by which to identify this people
become apparent. They are marks to watch for today too.

• Murder. Genesis 4:8–9. Genesis 4:23.


• Vengeance. God said vengeance belongs to Him. Genesis 4:24.
• Taking the good seed’s names and calling themselves by the good seed. Genesis 4:17–24.
Jeremiah 35:3.
• Attaching themselves to the good seed. I Chronicles 2:55. Jeremiah 35.
• Manufacturers of implements of war. Genesis 4:22.
• Liars. Genesis 4:9.
• Fathers of evil music. Genesis 4:21.
• Fathers of false religion. I Chronicles 2:55.
• The ground will not produce fruit for them. Genesis 4:12. Jeremiah 35:7.
• Some do not drink wine. Jeremiah 35:6.
• Builders of cities. Genesis 4:17.
• Scribes. I Chronicles 2:55.
• Subtility, like their father, the serpent. Genesis 3:1. Jeremiah 35:7.
• Wanderers, fugitives, vagabonds. Genesis 4:12.

These are traits of the devil, and the sons of Cain are the devil’s children. They are the people he uses to
try to deceive the rest of the peoples of the world into worshipping him.

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