The Pulpit Commentary on Numbers 24:22

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted. כִּי אִם־יִהְיֶה לְבָעֵר קָיִן. Rather, "Kain shall surely not be wasted." כִּי־אִם is of doubtful meaning, but it seems here to have the force of a negative question equivalent to a negation.

Kain is mentioned in Joshua 15:57 as one of the towns of Judah, but there is little reason to suppose that an insignificant village is here mentioned by name. Probably "Kain" stands for the tribe-father, and is simply the poetical equivalent of Kenite.

Until עַד־מָה. There is some uncertainty about these two particles, which are sometimes rendered "how long?" In the sense of "until" they are said to be an Aramaism, but this is doubtful.

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