Numbers 24:22

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁵Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying, "This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of a man whose eyes are open, ¹⁶the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open: ¹⁷I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth. ¹⁸Edom will become a possession, Seir will be owned by his enemies, but Israel will perform with valor. ¹⁹A ruler will come from Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city." ²⁰Then Balaam saw Amalek and lifted up an oracle, saying: "Amalek was first among the nations, but his end shall be destruction." ²¹Next he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: "Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff. ²²Yet Kain will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive."²³Once more Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: "Ah, who can live unless God has ordained it? ²⁴Ships will come from the coast of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they too will perish forever."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Kenite: Heb. Kain, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. or, how long shall it be ere Asshur carry thee away captive? Genesis 10:11, Ezra 4:2, Psalms 83:8, Hosea 14:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 15:19 - Kenites Judges 1:16 - the Kenite 1 Samuel 15:6 - the Kenites 1 Chronicles 1:17 - Asshur Ezekiel 27:23 - Asshur

Cross-References

Genesis 24:2
So Abraham instructed the chief servant of his household, who managed all he owned, "Place your hand under my thigh,

Genesis 24:3
and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,

Genesis 24:9
So the servant placed his hand under his master Abraham's thigh and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.

Genesis 24:10
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed with all manner of good things from his master in hand. And he set out for Nahor's hometown in Mesopotamia.

Genesis 24:11
As evening approached, he made the camels kneel down near the well outside the town, at the time when the women went out to draw water.

Genesis 24:12
"O LORD, God of my master Abraham," he prayed, "please grant me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.

Genesis 24:15
Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.

Genesis 24:16
Now the girl was very beautiful, a virgin who had not had relations with any man. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up again.

Genesis 24:19
After she had given him a drink, she said, "I will also draw water for your camels, until they have had enough to drink."

Genesis 24:23
"Whose daughter are you?" he asked. "Please tell me, is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted,.... Though they were so strongly fortified, and closely immured and surrounded with rocks and mountains, yet they should gradually waste away, as they were but few in Saul's time, 1 Samuel 15:6

until Ashur shall carry thee away captive; Tiglathpileser, king of Assyria, when he carried captive the people of Syria, took these with them, 2 Kings 16:9, though Jarchi thinks they were carried captives with the ten tribes, that is, by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria; and the Targum of Jonathan, by Sennacherib, king of Assyria; and others think by Nebuchadnezzar, who was sometimes reckoned a king of Assyria; taking them to be the same with the Amalekites, who were carried captives and returned with the two tribes.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Render, For Kain shall surely not be destroyed (literally “be for destruction”) until Asshur, etc. The words are not, as they appear in the King James Version, a prediction of evil to the Kenites, but a promise, on the contrary, of safety to be long continued to them (compare Numbers 10:32; Jeremiah 35:19).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 24:22. Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. — The Assyrians and Babylonians who carried away captive the ten tribes, 2 Kings 17:6, and the Jews into Babylon, 2 Kings 25:1; 2 Kings 25:11, probably carried away the Kenites also. Indeed this seems pretty evident, as we find some Kenites mentioned among the Jews after their return from the Babylonish captivity, 1 Chronicles 2:55.