Misplaced Pages

#99900

90-622: Other well-known Kenites were Heber, husband of Jael , the Biblical heroine who killed General Sisera and Rechab , the ancestor of the Rechabites . The word qēni ( קֵינִי ) was a patronymic derived from the word qayin ( Hebrew : קַיִן ). There are several competing etymologies. According to the German Orientalist Wilhelm Gesenius , the name is derived from the name Cain, the same name as Cain ,

180-544: A ostraca from Arad , seem to indicate the presence of Kenite groups in the Negev in monarchic Judah. Israeli historian Nadav Na'aman argues that the absence of anthropomorphic and other figurines at the site points to the Kenite settlers practicing aniconism . The upper and lower areas of Tel Arad were excavated during 18 seasons by Ruth Amiran and Yohanan Aharoni between 1962 and 1984. An additional 8 seasons were done on

270-479: A pseudonym for Jesus in Jewish literature. Balaam's father Beor was a son of Laban . The Book of Jasher reports that Balaam's sons were Jannes and Jambres . Balaam's exclamation, "How good are your tents, O Jacob, your tabernacles, O Israel!", was taken by later generations of Jews as the basis of the liturgical prayer Ma Tovu . Balaam is reviled as a "saviour(in terms of prophet)" in several places in

360-769: A blessing and a prophecy in succession. Agag , mentioned in the third poem, is described as a great king, which does not correspond to the king of the Amalekites who was named Agag , and described in 1 Samuel 15 , since that description considers Amalek to be small and obscure. While the Masoretic text of the poem uses the word Agag , the Septuagint , other Greek versions, and the Samaritan Pentateuch all have Gog . These names are consequently considered textual corruptions, and Og has been suggested as

450-573: A date as early as the 12th century BC, others claim it to be as late as the 3rd century BC (i.e., the Second Temple period ). Based on its language and content, the current consensus is that the song was written no earlier than the 7th century BC. Pseudo-Philo refers to Jael in the book, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum : Now Jael took a stake in her left hand and approached him, saying, "If God will work this sign with me, I know that Sisera will fall into my hands. Behold I will throw him down on

540-413: A friendship with the victor. Biblical commentaries have viewed Jael as either a heroine or someone much less so. Newsom and Ringe consider her a survivor caught up in her husband's politics. Parallels between the details of Jael's actions and Ehud's assassination of Eglon have led van Wijk-Bos to propose Jael as killing Sisera in a manner similar to his conquering army's use of rape. Jael, along with Ehud,

630-464: A hammer. And while he was dying, Sisera said to Jael, "Behold pain has taken hold of me, Jael, and I die like a woman." And Jael said to him, "Go, boast before your father in hell and tell him that you have fallen into the hands of a woman." According to the Talmud , Jael engaged in sexual intercourse with Sisera seven times, but because she was attempting to exhaust him in order to kill him, her sin

720-523: A lordly dish. She stretched forth her hand to the nail, Her right hand to the workman's hammer, And she smote Sisera; she crushed his head, She crashed through and transfixed his temples. Composed in archaic biblical Hebrew , the Song of Deborah has been traditionally identified as among the oldest texts of the Bible, and perhaps even the earliest example of Hebrew poetry . Although some scholars claim

810-450: A mallet and drove a tent peg through Sisera's temple into the ground while he was sleeping, killing him instantly. Jael was then the woman with the honor of defeating Jabin's army, as prophesied by Deborah, and she showed Barak Sisera's dead body in her tent. The "Song of Deborah" ( Judges 5:24–26 ) recounts: Extolled above women be Jael, Extolled above women in the tent. He asked for water, she gave him milk; She brought him cream in

900-399: A prophet in the Bible. In both the inscription and the Bible, Balaam is a prophet whose utterances determine the fate of nations. However, other details of the stories are different. According to the inscription, Balaam wakes up weeping and tells his people that the gods appeared to him in the night telling him about a goddess threatening to destroy the land. She is to cover the sky and reduce

990-816: A specialist and was criticized for his lack of intellectual penetration and outdated opposition to the work of continental orientalists. The Kenites are a clan mentioned in the Bible as having settled on the southern border of the Kingdom of Judah . In I Samuel 30 :29, in the time of David, the Kenites settled among the tribe of Judah . In Jeremiah 35:7-8 the Rechabites are described as tent-dwellers with an absolute prohibition against practicing agriculture; however, other Kenites are described elsewhere as city-dwellers ( 1 Samuel 30:29 , 1 Chronicles 2:55 ). Hippolytus of Rome in his Chronicon of 234 appears to identify

SECTION 10

#1732765820100

1080-459: A strikeforce of 12,000 men (1000 from each Israelite tribe, the Kenites were not included) that succeed in killing the five kings Evi (אֱוִי), Rekem (רֶקֶם), Hur (חוּר), Reba (רֶבַע), and Zur (צַוָּר) the father of Cozbi, ( Numbers 31:8 , Joshua 13:21 ) and burned each of the Midianite cities and all of their encampments, taking their livestock ( Numbers 31:1–12 ). The Kenites were not included in

1170-665: Is a historical reference to ancient Nineveh or a prophecy, which some religious commentators consider refers to the Seleucid Empire , which also took the name "Assyria". The seventh is also ambiguous and may either be a reference to the Sea Peoples or, in the view of some religious commentators, to the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire by Alexander the Great . In the view of some schools of textual criticism,

1260-411: Is allowed to see the angel, who informs him that the donkey's turning away from the messenger is the only reason the angel did not kill Balaam. Balaam immediately repents, but is told to go on. Balak meets with Balaam at Kirjat Huzoth , and they go to the "high places of Baal ", and offer sacrifices on seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by Yahweh , which He speaks to Balak. However,

1350-531: Is an example in Judges of the contrast between marginal heroes and well-armed enemies conquered by wit and stealth. Albert Barnes conjectures that Jael sympathized with the Israelites because of the twenty-year period of harsh oppression inflicted on them by Jabin. Noting the maternal and erotic undertones of the text and some commentators' qualms about Jael's seductive and violent act, Bachmann points out that

1440-661: Is later listed among the Midianites who were killed in revenge for the "matter of Peor". Joshua 13:22 records that Balaam died "by the sword" during a battle for the Reubenite occupation of Moabite land. In total, Balaam's prophecies consist of seven (Hebrew) poems: The poems fall into three groups. The first group consists of two poems which characteristically start immediately. The third group of three poems also start immediately, but are much shorter. The second group, however, consists of two poems which both start: Balaam

1530-691: Is now located in the region of northern Syria and southeastern Turkey is simply given as "which is by the river of the land of the children of his people" in the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint . The Samaritan Pentateuch , Vulgate , and Peshitta all identify his land as Ammon . Balaam sends back word that he can only do what YHWH commands, and God has, via a nocturnal dream, told him not to go. Balak consequently sends higher-ranking priests and offers Balaam honours; Balaam continues to press God, and God finally permits him to go but with instructions to say only what He commands. Balaam then sets out in

1620-424: Is that a confederation of regional tribes were connected to monotheistic ritual at Sinai. Some biblical scholars postulated that the Kenites were descendants of the mythical Cain . The German orientalist Wilhelm Gesenius asserted that the name is kabbalistically (mystically) derived from the name Cain (קַיִן Qayin ). The German orientalist Walter Beltz alternatively proposed that the story of Cain and Abel

1710-625: Is that of a dog: if you chase it away, it pants, and if you leave it, it ˹still˺ pants. This is the example of the people who deny Our signs. So narrate ˹to them˺ stories ˹of the past˺, so perhaps they will reflect. The Muslim commentators explain that Bal'am bin Ba'ura ( Arabic : بلعام بن باعوراء ) was a Canaanite who had been given knowledge of some of the books of God . His people asked him to curse Moses ( Musa ) and those who were with him, but he said, "How can I curse one who has angels with him?" They continued to press him, however, until he cursed

1800-646: The Book of Judges , a descendant of Jethro the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses . He had separated himself and his wife Jael from the other Kenites and pitched their tent in the plain of Zaanaim , which is near Kedesh in the territory of the Tribe of Naphtali . Deborah , a prophetess and judge , advised Barak to mobilize the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulon on Mount Tabor to do battle against King Jabin of Canaan . Barak demurred, saying he would go, provided she would also. Deborah agreed, but prophesied that

1890-730: The Heresy of Peor . Numbers 31:16 blames this on Balaam's advice and because of his culpability in the incident, which resulted in deadly divine judgements against the Israelites who participated, he was eventually killed in a retaliatory battle against Midian in Numbers 31:8. Deuteronomy 23:3–6 summarises these incidents, and further states that the Ammonites were associated with the Moabites. Joshua , in his farewell speech, also makes reference to it. With God's protection taken from him, Balaam

SECTION 20

#1732765820100

1980-649: The Israelites , and, as a consequence, they remained 40 years in the Wilderness of the Wanderings. Then, when he had cursed Moses, his tongue came out and fell upon his breast, and he began to pant like a dog. The story as told by Tabari is somewhat more Biblical . Balaam had the knowledge of the Most Sacred Name of God , and whatever he asked of God was granted to him. The story of Balaam and

2070-526: The Kinaidokolpitai of central Arabia with the biblical Kenites. In modern sources the Kenites are often depicted as technologically advanced nomadic blacksmiths who spread their culture and religion to Canaan. The suggestion that the Kenites were wandering smiths was first made by B. D. Stade in Beiträge zur Pentateuchkritik: dasKainszeichen in 1894 and has since become widespread. This view of

2160-474: The New Testament , where he is cited as a type of avarice; for example in Book of Revelation 2:14 we read of false teachers at Pergamum who held the "teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication". Balaam has attracted much interest, alike from Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Josephus paraphrases

2250-520: The Wife of Bath's Prologue , and whilst discussing her fifth husband's "book of wikked wives", Chaucer mentions some wives who "han drive nailes in hir brain, / Whil that they slepte, and thus they had hem slain." Judges 4:17 states that there was peace between the Canaanites and Heber's clan. They were familiar to the Israelites through the connection of Jethro to Moses, and their skill as metalworkers

2340-605: The Balaams of the Old and New Testaments, claiming that Beor is Balaam's father and Bezer is Balaam's home town. The story is also referred to in chapter 10 of 2 Meqabyan , a book considered canonical in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . In his commentary on Matthew's Gospel , Dale Allison associates the magi who visited the infant Jesus (Matthew 2) with Balaam, in that both Balaam and

2430-614: The Battle of Bezek (now Ibziq ) in Judges 1:5 . After Judah's sieges of Jerusalem and Debir, Judges 1:16 says that Jethro's Kenite descendants "went up from the City of Palms, (which appears to be Zoar or Tamar in the upper Arabah ), with the men of Judah to live among the people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad ." Following the conquest, the Israelites began to assimilate into

2520-642: The Bible itself has nothing but praise for Jael, called most blessed of women in the Song of Deborah. Christian moral theorists during the Renaissance extensively referred to Jael as an example of tyrannicide . Medieval images of Jael, mostly in illuminated manuscripts , depicted her as both a defender of Israel and a prefiguration of the Virgin Mary . This can be seen in the Stavelot Bible ,

2610-430: The Bible this word became the noun for a type of lament , dirge , or sad chant, later meaning to chant or wail at a funeral) Other scholars have linked the name to the term "smith". According to Archibald Henry Sayce , the name Kenite is identical to an Aramaic word meaning a smith , which in its turn is a cognate of Hebrew qayin "lance". However, by the end of his life, Sayce was considered an amateur rather than

2700-471: The Bible) to be used interchangeably, or that the Kenites formed a part of the Midianite tribal grouping. The Kenites journeyed with the Israelites to Canaan ( Judges 1:16 ); and their encampment, apart from the latter's, was noticed by Balaam . The Kenites were closely allied with Moses, and are not mentioned to have participated in the first invasion of Canaan ( Numbers 14:39–45 , Deuteronomy 1:41–46 ) that

2790-592: The Canaanite capital at Hazor, and set out northward to meet him with 900 chariots. The weather became unfavorable to Sisera's army, the sky became clouded ( Judges 5:4–5 ), and the river that his chariots needed to cross was flooded. While Sisera attempted to ford his chariots through the torrential Kishon River at a river crossing close to the then-Canaanite city of Taanach (Now known as Ti'inik ) near Megiddo ( Judges 5:19–21 ), Barak's 10,000 men went down southwestward from Mount Tabor ( Judges 4:14 ) to give battle on

Kenites - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-557: The Elohist describes Balaam giving two blessings, making sacrifices on seven altars, at the high places of Baal, before each, then deciding not to "seek enchantments" after the third set of sacrifices, but to "set his face upon the wilderness," which Balak views as a third blessing, and so Balaam then gives the three final predictions of fate. Conversely, in the Jahwist source, Balaam arrives, the spirit of God comes upon him, and he delivers

2970-729: The Hebrews adopted the cult of Yahweh from the Midianites via the Kenites. This view, first proposed by Friedrich Wilhelm Ghillany in 1862, afterward independently by the Dutch scholar of religion Cornelis Tiele in 1872, and more fully by the German critical scholar Bernhard Stade , has been more completely worked out by the German theologian Karl Budde ; it is accepted by the German Semitic scholar Hermann Guthe , Gerrit Wildeboer , H. P. Smith , and George Aaron Barton . Another theory

3060-553: The Idolatry of Solomon . More positively, Jael was included in sets of the female Nine Worthies , such as the prints by Hans Burgkmair . Ladies sometimes chose to have their portraits painted as Jael, a transformation achieved by holding a hammer and spike. In the Baroque period, Jael continued to be a sexual figure in art. Works by Gregorio Lazzarini and Artemisia Gentileschi are two examples of an attractive Jael, shown in

3150-606: The Iron Age water system. According to the Kenite hypothesis proposed by the German writer Friedrich Wilhelm Ghillany , Yahweh was historically a Midian deity, and the association of Moses's father-in-law with Midian reflects the historical adoption of the Midianite cult by the Hebrews . Moses apparently identified Jethro 's concept of a god, Yahweh, with the Israelites' god El Shaddai . The Kenite hypothesis supposes that

3240-607: The Israelite king Barak in the Battle of Mount Tabor , he seeks refuge in the tent of Jael, who kills him by driving a tent peg through his skull ( Judges 4:17–21 ) near the great tree in Zaanaim near Kedesh . The Hebrew ya'el means ibex , a nimble, sure-footed mountain goat native to that region. As of 2018, Yael was one of the most common female first names in contemporary Israel . Jael has often been understood to be

3330-498: The Israelites from the peak. The Spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he delivers a third positive prophecy concerning Israel. Balak's anger rises to the point where he threatens Balaam, but Balaam merely offers a prediction of fate. Balaam then looks upon the Kenites , and Amalekites and offers two more predictions of their fates. Balak and Balaam then go to their respective homes. Later, Numbers 25:1–9 describes how Israel engaged in

3420-563: The Jews; at first being a mere interpreter of dreams, but later becoming a magician, until finally the spirit of prophecy descended upon him. According to a negative view of Balaam in the Talmud , Balaam possessed the gift of being able to ascertain the exact moment during which God is angry—a gift bestowed upon no other creature. Balaam's intention was to curse the Israelites at this moment of wrath, and thus cause God himself to destroy them; but God purposely restrained His anger in order to baffle

3510-542: The Kenite territory in the Negev had earlier been seen as a separate territory from the parts of the Negev held by Judah and the Simeonites, as the Israelites grew in power, the Negev would be mentioned in the later histories as single region, and an integral part of the Kingdom of Judah. In the northern Negev, the city of Arad served as a key administrative and military stronghold for the Kingdom of Judah. It protected

3600-561: The Kenites originated in Germany in the mid-1800s, and it is not reflected in any ancient Hebrew, Greek, Latin, or Arabic sources. In 1988, Meindert Dijkstra argued that an ancient inscription in a metal mine in the Sinai Peninsula contained a reference to "a chief of the Kenites" ( rb bn qn ). Genesis 15:18-21 mentions the Kenites as living in or around Canaan as early as the time of Abraham . Moses's father-in-law, Jethro,

3690-420: The Kenites were a tribe of smiths . However, by the end of his life, Sayce was considered an amateur rather than a specialist and was criticized for his lack of intellectual penetration and outdated opposition to the work of continental orientalists. Based on the biblical references, proposed etymological linkage of the name 'Kenite' to blacksmithing and other evidence, various scholars have sought to associate

Kenites - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-559: The Kenites with coppersmithery and metalwork. Jael Jael ( / ˈ dʒ eɪ əl / ) or Yael ( / ˈ j eɪ əl / ' Hebrew : יָעֵל Yāʿēl ) is a heroine of the Bible who aids the Israelites in their war with King Jabin of the city of Hazor in Canaan by killing Sisera , the commander of Jabin's army. This episode is depicted in chapters 4 and 5 of the Book of Judges . According to that account, after Sisera's defeat by

3870-523: The Name and his faith. This being done, they went out from him in the form of a white dove. The Baghdadi historian Al Masudi said in his book Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems that Balaam ben Beor was in a village in the lands of Shem (Canaan), and he is the son of Baura(Beor) ben Sanur ben Waseem ben Moab ben Lot ben Haran (PUT), and his prayers were answered, so his folks asked him to pray against Joshua ben Nun but he could not do it, so he advised some of

3960-623: The Philistines in south Canaan at the time, and was either caught off-guard, or unable to prevent the rising Canaanite military, economic, and political power. (Non-biblical sources depict the King of Hazor affirming loyalty to the Egyptian pharaoh, and joining the cities of Qatna and Mari to create a trade route that linked Egypt to Ekallatum ) During this period, Heber the Kenite and his wife Jael separated from their Kenite brethren in

4050-787: The Speculus Darmstadt, as well as several other texts. When not shown in the act of killing Sisera, she carries her hammer and sometimes the spike, making her easy to identify. In Renaissance works the subject is one of the most commonly shown in the Power of Women topos , with other biblical women who triumphed over men, such as Judith or Delilah . Here she was used to show the risk for men in following women, in groupings including positive figures and scenes such as Judith beheading Holofernes , but mostly ones with females depicted as over-powerful, such as Phyllis riding Aristotle , Samson and Delilah, Salome and her mother Herodias and

4140-548: The act of killing her foe. Jael is portrayed in the French silent film Jael and Sisera (1911), directed by Henri Andréani. Balaam Balaam ( / ˈ b eɪ l æ m / ; Hebrew : בִּלְעָם , romanized :  Bīlʿām ), son of Beor , was a biblical character, a non-Israelite prophet and diviner who lived in Pethor , a place identified with the ancient city of Pitru , thought to have been located between

4230-639: The age of 33, and it is stated that he had no portion in the world to come. The book devotes a special section to the history of the prophet discussing why God has taken away the power of prophecy from the Gentiles. The Talmud states that "Moses wrote his book and the portion of Balaam", regarding this passage as separate from the rest of the Torah in terms of topic or style, but united in authorship. In ( Sanhedrin 106b) and ( Giṭtin 57a) Balaam may be likened to Jesus. Some have theorized that Balaam became used as

4320-469: The ass, then follows at length. When it came to the actual cursing, God "turned his tongue" so that the cursing fell upon his own people and the blessing upon Israel. Then his tongue came out and hung down on his breast. Finally, he advised his people to adorn and beautify their women and to send them out to ensnare the Israelites. The story of the plague at Baal-peor and of Cozbi and Zimri follows. According to another story which al-Tabari gives, Balaam

4410-537: The death of 24,000 victims of the plague which God sent as punishment. When Balaam saw that he could not curse the children of Israel, the Rabbis assert that he advised Balak, as a last resort, to tempt the Hebrew nation to immoral acts and, through these, to the worship of Baal-peor. The God of the Hebrews , adds Balaam, according to the Rabbis, hates lewdness; and severe chastisement must follow . The Rabbis, playing on

4500-412: The ground from the bed on which he sleeps; and if he does not feel it, I know that he has been handed over." And Jael took Sisera and pushed him onto the ground from the bed. But he did not feel it, because he was very groggy. And Jael said, "Strengthen in me today, Lord, my arm on account of you and your people and those who hope in you." And Jael took the stake and put it on his temple and struck it with

4590-523: The honor of defeating Jabin's army would then go to a woman. Jabin's army was led by Sisera ( Judges 4:2 ). The armies met on the Plain of Esdraelon , where Sisera's iron-bound chariots became hampered by the mud caused by a downpour during the night that caused the Wadi Kishon to overflow its banks. The Canaanites were defeated, and Sisera fled the scene. Sisera arrived on foot at the tent of Heber on

SECTION 50

#1732765820100

4680-463: The invasion of Midian, it is unclear how the Kenites reacted to the fall of the Midianite kings that they had formerly been subject to. After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelite invasion of Canaan; conquering a large portion of central Canaan. Upon Joshua's death, the Israelite tribes of Judah and Simeon took action to conquer southern Canaan, defeating the Canaanites and the Perizzites at

4770-496: The kindness which the Kenites had shown to Israel in the wilderness was gratefully remembered. "Ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt," said Saul to them ( 1 Samuel 15:6 ); and so not only were they spared by King Saul, but later in the war David also sent a share of the spoil that he took from the Amalekites to the civic elders of the cities of the Kenites. ( 1 Samuel 30:26–31 ) While

4860-485: The kings of the giants to show the pretty women and release them toward the camp of Joshua ben Nun, and so they did, and they (the Israelites) hurried up to the women and the plague spread among them and seventy thousand of them were dead. In 1967, at Deir Alla , Jordan , archaeologists found an inscription with a story relating visions of the seer of the gods Bala'am, son of Be'or, the same name appearing as that of

4950-554: The larger Canaanite culture and started converting to the Canaanite religion ( Judges 2:11–13 , Judges 3:1–7 ), only returning to their national religion when confronted by an 8-year invasion and occupation by the North Mesopotamians (from Aram-Naharaim ) under King Cushan-Rishathaim . The Israelites rose up under the leadership of Othniel the son of Kenaz , (thus the nephew of Caleb, Judah's previous war-leader) who

5040-559: The magi were "from the east": thus "Matthew's magi are Balaam's successors". No clear reference is made to Balaam in the Qur'an . However, the commentators argue that he is the one to whom the following text is referring: And relate to them ˹O Prophet˺ the story of the one to whom We gave Our signs, but he abandoned them, so Satan took hold of him, and he became a deviant. If We had willed, We would have elevated him with Our signs, but he clung to this life—following his evil desires. His example

5130-568: The morning with the princes of Moab. God becomes angry that he went and sends the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:22) to prevent him. At first, the angel is seen only by the donkey Balaam is riding, which tries to avoid the angel. After Balaam starts punishing the donkey for refusing to move, it is miraculously given the power to speak to Balaam (Numbers 22:28) and says, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" At this point, Balaam

5220-472: The murderer of his son, to the cruelest punishment imaginable among humans: banishment. Beltz believed this to be the foundational myth of the Kenites, a clan settled on the southern border of Judah that eventually resettled among the tribes of Judah. It seemed clear to him that the purpose of this myth was to explain the difference between the nomadic and sedentary populations of Judah, with those living from their livestock (pastoralists, not raising crops) under

5310-504: The name Balaam, call him "Belo 'Am" (without people; that is, without a share with the people in the world to come), or "Billa' 'Am" (one that ruined a people); and this hostility against his memory finds its climax in the dictum that whenever one discovers a feature of wickedness or disgrace in his life, one should preach about it. In the process of killing Balaam (Numbers 31:8), all four legal methods of execution—stoning, burning, decapitating, and strangling—were employed. He met his death at

5400-614: The name Balaam. A man also named Balaam also figures as an example of a false prophet motivated by greed or avarice in both 2 Peter 2:15 and in Jude 1:11. This Balaam is listed as the son of Bezer, which is usually identified as Beor. Some authors claim that Bezer was the Aramaic pronunciation of Beor, while others hold that the author was attempting to play off the Hebrew word basar or "flesh" to insult Balaam. Later Jewish tradition similarly played with Balaam's name to call him corrupt and imply bestiality. Still other authors hold that Bezer and Beor are distinct, while still identifying

5490-417: The narrative, excepting the episode involving the donkey, is simply a framework invented to be able to insert much older poems. In rabbinic literature Balaam is represented as one of seven gentile prophets ; the other six being Beor (Balaam's father), Job , and Job's four friends. In this literature, Balaam gradually acquired a position among the non-Jews, which was exalted as much as that of Moses among

SECTION 60

#1732765820100

5580-403: The original. The final three poems do not refer to Israel or Moab and are thus considered unusual since they seem to have little relevance to the narrative. It is thought that they may have been added to bring the number of poems up to five if inserted into the Elohist source or up to seven if only inserted once JE was constructed. While the sixth poem refers to Assyria, it is uncertain whether it

5670-399: The plain and rivers. Sisera left his chariot behind and escaped the battle on foot, while Barak pursued the chariots that were fleeing back to the Canaanite base at Harosheth Haggoyim ( Judges 4:15–16 ) As Sisera fled on foot near Kedesh-Naphtali, he was passing by the tent of Heber the Kenite , and Jael offered to shelter him. Accepting her offer, he asked her to stand in the doorway of

5760-426: The plain of Zaanaim . Heber and his household were at peace with Jabin, the king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor ( Judges 4:17 ). Jael (whose tent would have been separate from Heber's) welcomed Sisera into her tent and covered him with a blanket. Sisera asked Jael for a drink of water; she gave him milk instead. He commanded Jael to watch over the tent and tell any inquirers that no one was there. Quietly, Jael took

5850-476: The prophecy blesses Israel; Balak remonstrates, but Balaam reminds him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak takes him to another "high place" at Pisgah , to try again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provides another prophecy blessing Israel. Balaam finally gets taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor , and, after the seven sacrifices there, decides not to "seek enchantments" but instead looks upon

5940-451: The question of how long their future slavery would last being unanswered. While the camp was still encamped on the west side of Mount Peor, the local Moabites attempted to include the Israelites in their worship of their god Baal of Peor. During the commotion and bloodshed, Moses's grandnephew Phinehas killed a Midianite princess, Cozbi, the daughter of King Zur, one of the five Kings of Midian ( Numbers 25:14–18 ). Following this, Moses sent

6030-451: The region of Iraq and northern Syria in what is now southeastern Turkey. According to chapters 22-24 of the Book of Numbers , he was hired by King Balak of Moab to curse Israel, but instead he blessed the Israelites , as dictated by God. Subsequently, the plan to entice the Israelites into idol worship and sexual immorality is attributed to him. Balaam is also mentioned in the Book of Micah . The main story of Balaam occurs during

6120-424: The route from the Judaean Mountains to the Arabah and on to Moab and Edom . It underwent numerous renovations and extensions. The Kenites have been proposed as a reason for the appearance of Midianite pottery imported into the Negev of the Kenites during the 1200s and 1100s BC. Petrographic studies carried out on some of the Timna wares led to the conclusion that they originated in the Hejaz , most probably in

6210-403: The site of Qurayya in Saudi Arabia. J. Gunneweg analyzed pottery samples with the help of The Hebrew University and the University of Bonn in 1991. The Midianite pottery found in the Negev was linked to a kiln discovered at Qurayya, Saudi Arabia, through Neutron Activation Analysis. Excavations at the site of Horvat Uza , the probable site of the city of Qinah mentioned in Joshua 15:22 and in

6300-526: The sojourn of the Israelites in the plains of Moab , east of the Jordan River , at the close of forty years of wandering , shortly before the death of Moses and the crossing of the Jordan. The Israelites have already defeated two kings in Transjordan: Sihon , king of the Amorites , and Og , king of Bashan . Balak , king of Moab , consequently becomes alarmed and sends elders of Midian and his Moabite messengers, to Balaam, son of Beor, to induce him to come and curse Israel. Balaam's location, Pethor , which

6390-408: The son of Adam and Eve . However this may simply be the ancient Hebrew transliteration or phonetization of the Kenites' name in their own language. The word qayin could also mean a spear or lance, derived from Hebrew : קוֹנֵן , romanized :  qonēn , lit.   'to strike'. Qonēn would also be used to mean striking a note on a musical instrument, by the later books of

6480-566: The son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open ... Of Balaam's three groups of poems, the documentary hypothesis argued that the first and third groups originated within the Elohist text, whereas the second group belonged to the Jahwist . Thus

6570-479: The south, and went to live in northern Canaan ( Judges 4:11 ). After two decades of North Canaanite dominance in the region, the prophetess Deborah, who was now leading Israel, commissioned Barak the son of Abinoam as her commander to lead the Israelites against the Canaanites. ( Judges 4:4–10 ) King Jabin 's general Sisera learned that Barak was massing troops on Mount Tabor , situated between Sisera's base at Harosheth Haggoyim (believed to now be Ahwat ) and

6660-489: The special protection of Yahweh. Ronald Hendel believes the Israelites linked the Kenites to Cain to give them a "shameful, violent ancestral origin". According to the critical interpretation of the Biblical data , the Kenites were a clan settled on the southern border of Judah, originally characterized by a semi-nomadic lifestyle and involved in the copper industry in the Aravah region. Archibald Sayce has implied that

6750-450: The story more so, and speaks of Balaam as the best prophet of his time, but with a disposition ill-adapted to resist temptation . Philo describes him as a great magician in the Life of Moses ; elsewhere he speaks of "the sophist Balaam, being," i.e. symbolizing "a vain crowd of contrary and warring opinions" and again as "a vain people", both phrases being based on a mistaken etymology of

6840-449: The strength to defeat the Israelites, the leaders of Moab and Midian gathered together and paid a large fee to Balaam to put a curse on the Israelite camp from the high place (a type of religious shrine) on Mount Peor ( Numbers 22:1–21 ). Balaam was unable to curse Israel, but prophesied about the Kenites, saying that they would endure, but foretold that someday they would be led away captive as slaves to Assur , ( Numbers 24:21–22 ), with

6930-505: The tent, and to deny his presence to anyone who was chasing him. However, once he was asleep, Jael hammered a tent peg into Sisera's head, and he died. ( Judges 4:17–22 , Judges 5:24–30 ) From that point onwards, Israel grew stronger and continued to press Hazor harder, until King Jabin 's defeat. ( Judges 4:23–24 ) In the time of King Saul there were Kenites living in Amalek territory. When King Saul of Israel went to war against Amalek,

7020-447: The territory of Israel. ( Judges 3:12–15 ) After defeating the Israelites, Moab and Amalek took the City of Palms (believed to be the later city of Zoar or Tamar), from the Kenites. At this point, around 180 or 190 years after Joshua's invasion, the Canaanites in northern Canaan under King Jabin ruling from Hazor re-asserted their dominance over Canaan ( Judges 4:1–3 ). The Israelite leader Shamgar appears to have been battling with

7110-460: The wicked one , is often attached to the name of Balaam. Balaam is pictured as blind in one eye and lame in one foot, and his disciples (followers) are distinguished by three morally corrupt qualities: an evil eye , a haughty bearing, and a greedy spirit. Due to his behavior with the Midianites, the Rabbis interpret Balaam as responsible for the behavior during the Heresy of Peor , which they consider to have been unchastity , and consequently

7200-468: The wicked prophet and to save the nation from extermination. The Talmud also recounts a more positive view of Balaam, stating that when the Torah was given to Israel, a mighty voice shook the foundations of the earth, so much so that all kings trembled, and in their consternation turned to Balaam, inquiring whether this upheaval of nature portended a second deluge; the prophet assured them that what they heard

7290-482: The wife of Heber the Kenite . However, the Hebrew phrase translated this way could also mean "a woman of the group of the Kenites". The Kenites were a nomadic tribe—possibly a subset of the Midianites —some of whom lived in close proximity to the Israelites. The Hebrew Bible records a number of cases of intermarriage between the Kenites and the Israelites. Hever the Kenite ( חבר הקיני ‎) was, according to

7380-440: The world to complete darkness. In contrast with the biblical account where Balaam receives prophecies from Yahweh, the inscription associates Balaam with multiple deities ( Ashtar , a god named Shgr, and Shadday gods and goddesses). The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies describes it as "the oldest example of a book in a West Semitic language written with the alphabet, and the oldest piece of Aramaic literature." The inscription

7470-471: Was a Kenite ( Judges 1:16 ) and a resident in the land of Midian . At the Exodus , Jethro and his clan inhabited the vicinity of Mount Sinai and Mount Horeb . ( Exodus 3:1 ) In Exodus 3:1 Jethro is said to have been a "priest in the land of Midian " and a resident of Midian ( Numbers 10:29 ). This has led many scholars to believe that the terms "Kenite" and "Midianite" are intended (at least in parts of

7560-514: Was a neighbor of the Kenites and lived in the same area ( Judges 3:9–11 ). Although the text is brief, it is likely Othniel had reliable political support at-the-ready from his relatives the Calebites and Kenizzites , and probably from his Kenite neighbors as well, this likely gave him a large support base for the tribe of Judah to unite around. Later, King Eglon of Moab allied with the Kingdom of Ammon and nation of Amalek , in order to invade

7650-571: Was a renegade Israelite who knew the Most Sacred Name, and to gain the things of this world, went over to the Canaanites. Al-Tha'labi adds that Balaam was descended from Lot. He gives, too, the story of Balaam's dream, his being forbidden by God to curse Israel. Another version is that Balak , the king of Bal'a , compelled Balaam to use the Most Sacred Name against Israel. The curse fell automatically, and Moses, having learned whence it came, entreated God to take from Balaam his knowledge of

7740-453: Was conducted against Moses's orders. During the second invasion of Canaan ( Numbers 21:1–4 ), the Kenites would have seen the area around the town of Arad, the region of Canaan that the next generation of Kenites would later choose as their place to settle after the conquest. When the Israelites and Kenites were camped at the foot of Mount Peor, King Balak of Moab allied himself with the five Kings of Midian, but seeing that they did not have

7830-515: Was for Heaven's sake and therefore praiseworthy. The significance of that exact number of coituses and the meaning of the multicoital nature of Jael and Sisera's encounter has been discussed in the scholarship, along with an alternate view in rabbinic literature that assert quite to the contrary that Jael never engaged in sex with Sisera. There is also a reference to the story of Jael in Geoffrey Chaucer 's The Canterbury Tales . During

7920-518: Was not originally about the murder of a brother, but a myth about the murder of a god's child. In his reading of Genesis 4:1, Eve conceived Cain by Adam, and her second son Abel by another man, this being Yahweh. Eve is thus compared to the Sacred Queen of antiquity, the Mother goddess. Consequently, Yahweh pays heed to Abel's offerings, but not to Cain's. After Cain kills Abel, Yahweh condemns Cain,

8010-401: Was the voice of God, giving the sacred law to the Israelites. According to Jewish legend, Balaam was made this powerful in order to prevent the non-Jewish tribes from saying: "If we had only had our own Moses, we would be as pious as the Jews." The wicked Balaam is included in the list of persons born circumcised along with Moses. In rabbinical literature the epithet rasha , translating as

8100-536: Was welcomed wherever they camped. Both sides in the conflict would have considered the Kenites a neutral party. C. E. Schenk notes that Sisera was Jael's guest, "was in the sanctuary of her home, and protected by the laws of hospitality ." According to Herbert Lockyer she may have acted out of practical necessity. Sisera was in flight and Barak in pursuit. It would not have been wise to allow Barak to find Sisera in her tent. She also knew that Sisera would be killed if captured; therefore, she would kill him and thus cement

#99900