Numbers 24 · Verse 21

Numbers 24:21

And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Numbers 24:21, King James Version

Numbers 24:21 in other translations

BSBNext he saw the Kenites and lifted up an oracle, saying: “Your dwelling place is secure, and your nest is set in a cliff.
WEBHe looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, “Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock.
ASVAnd he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock.
YLTAnd he seeth the Kenite, and taketh up his simile, and saith: ‘Enduring is thy dwelling, And setting in a rock thy nest,
DARBYAnd he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock;
BBEAnd looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock.
WebsterAnd he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

What does Numbers 24:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
21. Kenites ... nest in a rock--Though securely established among the clefts in the high rocks of En-gedi towards the west, they should be gradually reduced by a succession of enemies till the Assyrian invader carried them into captivity (Jud 1:16; 4:11, 16, 17; also 2Ki 15:29; 17:6).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 21 He looked on the Kenites - Commentators are not well agreed who the Kenites were. Dr. Dodd's opinion is, I think, nearest to the truth. Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, is called a priest or prince of Midian, Exo 3:1, and in Jdg 1:16 he is called a Kenite; we may infer, therefore, says he, that the Kenites and the Midianites were the same, or at least that the Kenites and the Midianites were confederate tribes. Some of these we learn from Judges 1, followed the Israelites, others abode still among the Midianites and Amalekites. When Saul destroyed the latter, we find he had no commission against the Kenites, 1Sam 15:6, for it appears that they were then a small and inconsiderable people; they had doubtless been wasted, as the text says, though by what means does not appear from history. On the other hand, it may be observed that the Midianites mentioned here lived close to the Dead Sea, at a great distance from the Midian where Jethro lived, which was near Horeb. Perhaps they were a colony or tribe that had migrated from the vicinity of Mount Sinai. It seems that at this time the Kenites occupied a very strong position: Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock; where there is a play on the original word קי, which signifies both a Kenite and a nest. High rocks in these countries were generally used as their strong places.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 24:15-25

Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretold the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boasts that his eyes are open. The prophets were in old times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, nor hear God in them. He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace…

Read the full comment on Numbers 24:15-25 →

Numbers 24:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיַּרְא֙vai.yaR'and he sawH7200
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַקֵּינִ֔יha.kei.Nithe Kenite[s]H7017
וַיִּשָּׂ֥אvai.yi.Sa'and he lifted upH5375
מְשָׁל֖וֹme.sha.Looracle hisH4912
וַיֹּאמַ֑רvai.yo.Marand he saidH559
אֵיתָן֙'ei.Tan[is] enduringH386
מֽוֹשָׁבֶ֔ךָmo.sha.Ve.khadwelling yourH4186
וְשִׂ֥יםve.Simand [is] setH7760
בַּסֶּ֖לַעba.Se.la'in the rockH5553
קִנֶּֽךָ\׃ki.Ne.chanest yourH7064

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 24:21

  • Genesis 15:19

    The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites,

  • Job 29:18

    Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand.

  • Judges 1:16

    And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the Kenites.
Ge 15:19; Jud 1:16; Job 29:18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 24:20

    And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

  • Numbers 24:21

    And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

  • Numbers 24:22

    Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.

Read all of Numbers 24

Numbers 24:21 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y viendo al Cineo, tomó su parábola, y dijo: Fuerte es tu habitación, pon en la peña tu nido:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et il vit le Kénien, et il proféra son discours sentencieux, et dit: Forte est ta demeure, et tu as placé ton nid dans le rocher.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und er sah die Keniter und hob seinen Spruch an und sprach: Fest ist dein Wohnsitz, und auf den Felsen gesetzt dein Nest;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Vidit quoque Cinæum: et assumpta parabola, ait: Robustum quidem est habitaculum tuum: sed si in petra posueris nidum tuum,