Numbers 24:21

21 Also he saw Kenites, and when a parable was taken, he said, Soothly thy dwelling place is strong, but if thou shalt set thy nest in a stone, (And he also saw the Kenites, and when he had received his prophecy, he said, Thy dwelling place is strong, and thou shalt set thy nest in a stone,)

Numbers 24:21 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 24:21

And he looked on the Kenites
Not the family and posterity of Jethro, as Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Abendana; for they were not a people by themselves, but were now encamped with Israel, and went with them into the land of Canaan, and were not carried captive with the ten tribes, though some might that dwelt in Naphtali, ( Judges 9:4 Judges 9:11 Judges 9:17 ) , for they after that remained with Judah under the name of Rechabites, ( Jeremiah 35:2 ) and returned with the two tribes, being carried captive with them, ( 1 Chronicles 2:55 ) but they were a people, though of the same original and family Jethro descended from, which dwelt near, and afterwards among the Amalekites, and therefore were seen by Balaam, and taken notice of at the same time they were; see ( 1 Samuel 15:6 ) . Abarbinel takes them to be the same with those in ( Genesis 15:19 )

and took up his parable;
or prophecy concerning them, and delivered it:

and said, strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a
rock,
they dwelling in craggy rocky places, where they thought themselves secure and out of danger; and this their habitation he calls "Ken", a nest, in allusion to their name Kenites.

Numbers 24:21 In-Context

19 of Jacob shall be he that shall be lord, and shall lose the relics, or (the) remnants, of the city. (for out of Jacob shall come he who shall be their lord, and he shall destroy those who last remain in the city of Ar.)

20 And when he had seen Amalek, he took a parable, and said, Amalek is the beginning of heathen men, whose last things shall be lost. (And in a vision he saw the Amalekites, and when he had received his prophecy, he said, Amalek was the first in all the heathen, but its end shall be utter destruction.)

21 Also he saw Kenites, and when a parable was taken, he said, Soothly thy dwelling place is strong, but if thou shalt set thy nest in a stone, (And he also saw the Kenites, and when he had received his prophecy, he said, Thy dwelling place is strong, and thou shalt set thy nest in a stone,)

22 and shalt be chosen of the generation of Kenites, how long shalt thou be able to dwell? soothly Assur shall take thee. (and shalt be the chosen of the generation of Kenites, but how long shalt thou be able to live there? for Assyria shall take thee captive.)

23 And when a parable was taken, or showed to him, he said again (And when he had received his prophecy, he said), Alas! who shall live, when the Lord shall do these things?