🔼The name Kenaz: Summary
- Meaning
- Hunter, Hunting
- Etymology
- From the verb קנז (qanaz), to hunt or snare.
🔼The name Kenaz in the Bible
There are three men named Kenaz in the Bible:
- One of the sons of Eliphaz, the son of Esau, and thus one of the chiefs of Edom (Genesis 36:11, 36:15, 36:42, 1 Chronicles 1:36, 1:53).
- The younger brother of Caleb (the friend of Joshua) and father of Othniel and Seraiah, all of Judah (Joshua 15:17, Judges 1:13, 3:9, 3:11, 1 Chronicles 4:13). Note that the father of Caleb was Jephunneh the Kenizzite (and the Kenizzites were an ancient Levantine tribe), which strongly suggests that at least this Kenaz and the next one were named after their father and great-grandfather's heritage (comparable to names like Judas and Judith which hail from the patriarchal name Judah).
- The son of Elah, who was a son of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:15).
🔼Etymology of the name Kenaz
There's nothing in Biblical Hebrew that looks like our name Kenaz, but it's generally assumed to be a transliteration of an Arabic verb that means to hunt or snare:
קנץ קנז
The verbs קנז (qanaz) and קנץ (qanas) are both assumed to be transliterations of the same cognate verb that means to hunt, snare or capture. Besides two names that derive from קנז (qanaz), a noun קנץ (qanas) occurs only in Job 18:2 and is assumed to describe a snare or other such implement of the hunt.
🔼Kenaz meaning
For a meaning of the name Kenaz, NOBSE Study Bible Name List reads Side, Flank for no discernable reason. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names has Hunting. BDB Theological Dictionary does not offer an explanation for this name.