Judges 4:11
in Judges 4Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent by the great tree of Zaanannim, which was near Kedesh.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far as the oak in Zaanannim, which is by Kedesh.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Judges 4
Commentary
5 notes on this verseNow Heber the Kenite,.... A descendant of Kain, a principal man among the Midianites; the Targum calls him the Salmaean: which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses; who came along with the children of Israel through the wilderness into the land of Canaan, and first settled about Jericho, and then removed into the wilderness of Judah, Jdg 1:16, had severed himself from the Kenites; which dwelt in the said wilderness; to whom he belonged when this separation was made, and on what account is not certain.
This site's exposition
Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali
on Judges 4:10-11
The ten thousand go up at his feet, which is footmen against nine hundred chariots on ground the chariots own. Heber is planted before he is needed, and the narrator stops the march to pitch one tent by Kedesh. He is a Kenite of the children of Hobab, the father in law of Moses, so the household that ends this war descends from the kin who came into the land with Judah at Judges 1:16 and then moved north alone.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Of Hobab - Called also Jethro. The Kenites - From the rest of his brethren, who lived in the wilderness of Judah. His tent - That is, his dwelling, which probably was in tents, as shepherds used.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Read, “Heber the Kenitc had severed himself from the Kenites which were of the children of Hobab,” etc., “unto the oak (or terebinth tree) in Zaanaim” (or Bitzaanaim, which Conder identifies with Bessum, twelve miles southeast of Tabor, and near Kedesh on the Sea of Galilee). This migration of Heber the Kenite, with a portion of his tribe, from the south of Judah to the north of Naphtali, perhaps caused by Philistine oppression, had clearly taken place recently.
Hohab the father-in-law of Moses - For a circumstantial account of this person, and the meaning of the original word חתן chothen, which is translated son-in-law in Gen 19:14, see the notes on Exo 2:15, Exo 2:16, Exo 2:18; Exo 3:1; Exo 4:20, Exo 4:24; Exo 18:5.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Elon Betza'anayim. The marshland plain. 8 This is Targum Yonasan’s rendition. A plateau area with marshes, "mariscum", "morass" in old French.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְחֶ֤בֶר | vechever | and Heber | H2268 → | 11 times |
| הַקֵּינִי֙ | hakeini | the Kenite | H7017 → | 12 times |
| נִפְרָ֣ד | nifrad | [was] separate | H6504 → | |
| מִקַּ֔יִן | mikayin | from [the] Kenite[s] | H7014 → | |
| מִבְּנֵ֥י | mibenei | from [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חֹבָ֖ב | chovav | Hobab | H2246 → | |
| חֹתֵ֣ן | choten | [the] father-in-law of | H2859 → | 33 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיֵּ֣ט | vaiyet | and he had pitched | H5186 → | 214 times |
| אָהֳל֔וֹ | ʾoholo | tent his | H168 → | 345 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| אֵל֥וֹן | ʾelon | [the] great tree | H436 → | 9 times |
| בְּצַעֲנַנִּ֖ים | batzanim | in Zaanannim | H6815 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | [is] with | H854 → | 929 times |
| קֶֽדֶשׁ׃ | kedesh | Kedesh | H6943 → | 12 times |
וְחֶ֤בֶרand Heber
vecheverH2268 →11 times
הַקֵּינִי֙the Kenite
hakeiniH7017 →12 times
נִפְרָ֣ד[was] separate
nifradH6504 →
מִקַּ֔יִןfrom [the] Kenite[s]
mikayinH7014 →
מִבְּנֵ֥יfrom [the] descendants of
mibeneiH1121 →4930 times
חֹבָ֖בHobab
chovavH2246 →
חֹתֵ֣ן[the] father-in-law of
chotenH2859 →33 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיֵּ֣טand he had pitched
vaiyetH5186 →214 times
אָהֳל֔וֹtent his
ʾoholoH168 →345 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
אֵל֥וֹן[the] great tree
ʾelonH436 →9 times
בְּצַעֲנַנִּ֖יםin Zaanannim
batzanimH6815 →
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֶת־[is] with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
קֶֽדֶשׁ׃Kedesh
kedeshH6943 →12 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Judges 1:16Now the descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live…
it leads to
- Numbers 10:29–32
Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
- 1 Samuel 15:6
And he warned the Kenites, “Since you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt, go on and get away from the Amalekites. Otherwise I will sweep you away…
- Numbers 10:29–32
Through
Numbers 10:29Then Moses said to Hobab, the son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite, “We are setting out for the place of which the LORD said: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us,…
it leads to
- Genesis 12:7
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
- Exodus 2:18
When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, “Why have you returned so early today?”
- Exodus 3:1
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Genesis 12:7
Through
Exodus 3:1Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 19:8
So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
- Psalms 78:70–72
He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds;
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- 1 Kings 19:8
Where this verse is studied
About Judges
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.