Kenite (kç'nite or kĕn'îte), smith. A tribe of Midian, between Palestine and Sinai, and east of the Gulf of Akabah. Their land was promised to Abraham. Genesis 15:19. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, was a Kenite. Judges 1:16. They were mentioned in Balaam's prophecy. Numbers 24:21. Part of the tribe joined Israel and lived south of Judah. Judges 1:16. One family migrated to the far north. There Heber dwelt. Judges 4:11. The Kenites were friendly with the Canaanites, Amalekites, and Israelites. Saul and David spared them in their raids on Amalek on account of their former kindness. 1 Samuel 15:6; 1 Samuel 27:10; 1 Samuel 30:29. A family of Kenites came of Hemath, father of the house of Rechab. 1 Chronicles 2:55.