24:21 Then he looked on the Kenites and uttered this oracle:
“Your dwelling place seems strong,
and your nest 1 is set on a rocky cliff.
24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite will be consumed. 2
How long will Asshur take you away captive?”
24:23 Then he uttered this oracle:
“O, who will survive when God does this! 3
1 sn A pun is made on the name Kenite by using the word “your nest” (קִנֶּךָ, qinnekha); the location may be the rocky cliffs overlooking Petra.
2 tc Heb “Nevertheless Cain will be wasted; how long will Asshur take you captive?” Cain was believed to be the ancestor of the Kenites. The NAB has “yet destined for burning, even as I watch, are your inhabitants.” Asshur may refer to a north Arabian group of people of Abrahamic stock (Gen 25:3), and not the Assyrian empire.
3 tc Because there is no parallel line, some have thought that it dropped out (see de Vaulx, Les Nombres, 296).