What are the…
Rechabites
These are the nomadic descendants of Rechab through Jonadab or Jehonadab.
They belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the children of Israel into the Promised Land, and lived among them. Moses married a Kenite wife (Judges 1:16), and Jael was the wife of “Heber the Kenite” (Judges 4:17).
King Saul also showed kindness to the Kenites (1 Samuel 15:6).
The main body of the Kenites dwelled in cities, and adopted settled habits of life (1 Samuel 30:29).
However, this was not the lifestyle of the Kenite named Jehonadab who forbade his descendants to drink wine or to live in cities. They were commanded to lead always a nomad life.
“We will not drink wine”
Then I [Jeremiah] put before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine”
But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but tents you shall inhabit all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’
So we have listened to the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to inhabit; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. —Jeremiah 35:5-9
They adhered to the law laid down by Jonadab, and were noted for their fidelity to the old-established custom of their family in the days of Jeremiah (Jer. 35); and this feature of their character is referred to by the prophet for the purpose of giving point to his own exhortation.
They are referred to by Nehemiah and in Chronicles.
The families of scribes who lived at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites, and the Sucathites. Those are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab. —1 Chronicles 2:55
Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate [in Jerusalem]. He built it and made its doors stand with its bolts and its bars. —Nehemiah 3:14
Dr. Wolff (1839) found in Arabia, near Mecca, a tribe claiming to be descendants of Jehonadab; and later a Bedouin tribe was found near the Dead Sea who also profess to be descendants of the same Kenite chief.
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