Meaning of CENEOS

"blacksmiths." It seems that there were different towns that received these names. (a) Those who were in the land when she was promised to Abraham (Gen. 15:19).

(b) Jethro, or Reuel, the father-in-law of Moses, is called a Kenite (Judges 1:16), he is also called a Midianite (Num. 10:29). The Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah (Gen. 25:2), so these Kenites were probably a branch of the Midianites.

Heber the Kenite was heading north and was apparently neutral between Israel and her enemies; but his wife Jael killed Sisera when he sought refuge in her tent (Judg. 4:11, 17; 5:24).

Others stayed in the Negev, because when Saul went to destroy the Amalekites, he warned the Kenites to stay away from them, so that they would not suffer their fate. This was because unlike the Amalekites, the Kenites had shown a friendly attitude toward the Israelites when they left Egypt (1 Sam. 15:6).

(c) Some Kenites that Balaam saw living in the rocks were going to be taken captive by the Assyrians (Num. 24:21-22). (d) Descendants of Hamath, father of the house of Rechab (1 Chron. 2:55).