The Meaning of Judges 1:16 Explained

Judges 1:16

KJV: 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.

YLT: And the sons of the Kenite, father-in-law of Moses, have gone up out of the city of palms with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, and they go and dwell with the people.

Darby: And the descendants of the Ken'ite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad; and they went and settled with the people.

ASV: And the children of the Kenite, Moses brother-in-law, went up out of the city of palm-trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt with the people.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Judges 1:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The descendants of the Kenite, Jethro (Reuel), "... were probably a branch of the Kenites mentioned in Gen. xv19 along with the other tribes of Canaan, which had separated from the other members of its own tribe before the time of Moses and removed to the land of Midian, where Moses met with a hospitable reception from their chief Reguel [1] on his flight from Egypt. These Kenites had accompanied the Israelites to Canaan at the request of Moses (Num. x29 sqq.); and when the Israelites advanced into Canaan itself, they had probably remained as nomads in the neighborhood of the Jordan near Jericho [2], without taking part in the wars of Joshua." [3]

Context Summary

Judges 1:16-36 - Flagging In Their Great Task
The conquest of Canaan was very partial. Israel dwelled among the ancient inhabitants of the land, much as the Normans did among the Anglo-Saxons, whom they found in England; and the mixture of the two peoples was the beginning of moral degeneracy and decline in the chosen race. Wherever there was the old-time faith in God, as in the case of Caleb, the land was cleared of the Canaanite; but where God was out, the Canaanite was in.
So it is in the life of the soul. It is intended that the whole should be yielded to Christ, that no evil passion should reign, that no besetting sin should enthrall. But how often Christian people give up the fight! They say that the old Adam is too strong for them, and settle down to a joint-occupation. Let us not yield to reasoning like this! The Lion of Judah can break every chain. By faith in Him we can be more than conquerors! The Holy Spirit strives with the flesh, so that we may not do as otherwise we would. Only give Him the right of way! Sin shall not reign in your mortal body! [source]

Chapter Summary: Judges 1

1  The acts of Judah and Simeon
4  Adonibezek justly requited
8  Jerusalem taken
10  Hebron taken
11  Othniel has Achsah to wife for taking of Debir
16  The Kenites dwell in Judah
17  Hormah, Gaza, Askelon, and Ekron taken
21  The acts of Benjamin
22  Of the house of Joseph, who take Bethel
30  Of Zebulun
31  Of Asher
33  Of Naphtali
34  Of Dan

What do the individual words in Judges 1:16 mean?

Now the sons of the Kenite father-in-law Moses’ went up city from Palm City with the sons of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah which [lies] in the Negev [near] Arad and they went and dwelt among the people
וּבְנֵ֣י קֵינִי֩ חֹתֵ֨ן מֹשֶׁ֜ה עָל֨וּ מֵעִ֤יר הַתְּמָרִים֙ אֶת־ בְּנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה מִדְבַּ֣ר יְהוּדָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּנֶ֣גֶב עֲרָ֑ד וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אֶת־ הָעָֽם

וּבְנֵ֣י  Now  the  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
קֵינִי֩  of  the  Kenite 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֵינִי  
Sense: the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.
חֹתֵ֨ן  father-in-law 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָתַן 
Sense: to become a son-in-law, make oneself a daughter’s husband.
מֹשֶׁ֜ה  Moses’ 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹשֶׁה  
Sense: the prophet and lawgiver, leader of the exodus.
עָל֨וּ  went  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
מֵעִ֤יר  city 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
הַתְּמָרִים֙  from  Palm  City 
Parse: Preposition, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תָּמָר  
Sense: palm tree, date palm.
בְּנֵ֣י  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
יְהוּדָ֔ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
מִדְבַּ֣ר  into  the  Wilderness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
יְהוּדָ֔ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
אֲשֶׁ֖ר  which  [lies] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
בְּנֶ֣גֶב  in  the  Negev  [near] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נֶגֶב  
Sense: south-country, Nekeb, south.
עֲרָ֑ד  Arad 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: עֲרָד 
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Beriah, who drove out the inhabitants of Gath.
וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ  and  they  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב  and  dwelt 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הָעָֽם  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.