Bible Person

Kenaz

Meaning: this purchase; this lamentation · Male · 5 cross references

Kenaz is the relative of Caleb and the father of Othniel and Seraiah in the Judahite-Kenizzite line. He stands behind the family from which the first judge, Othniel, emerges. First appears in Josh 15:17.1

AI summary: Kenaz matters because the cross references place him at the root of a line marked by courage, conquest, and later judicial leadership. Through Othniel in particular, his family becomes one of the earliest bearers of deliverance in Israel after the settlement of the land. Even where the exact kinship wording is debated, the family significance is clear. Taken together, the material presents Kenaz as an important ancestral figure in the line that produces Othniel.1

Central Figure

Kenaz

Meaning: this purchase; this lamentation

Caleb’s younger brother, and father of Othniel (Josh.