The Rechabites () were a
Biblical
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...
clan, the descendants of
Rechab through
Jehonadab.
Biblical sources
One theory is the Rechabites belonged to the
Kenites, who accompanied the
Israelites
Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age.
Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
into the
Holy Land
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
and dwelt among them; the sources of information are few and unclear. Kenites dwelt in cities and adopted settled habits of life. Whoever he was, Jehonadab ben Rechab forbade his descendants to drink wine, to own land or vineyards, or to live in cities. They were commanded to always lead a nomadic life.
The Rechabites adhered to the law laid down by
Jehonadab, and were noted for their fidelity to the old established custom of their family in the days of
Jeremiah
Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...
; and this feature of their character is referred to by God for the purpose of giving point to his message to the
King of Judah. As a reward for their fidelity, God proclaims that there will always be a descendant of
Jonadab in his service.
Claims of descent from the Rechabites
The
Mekhilta tells a story—presumably dating to the late
Second Temple
The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
period—of Rechabites, known as "sons of water drinkers" due to their abstention from wine.
Rabbi
Halafta (1st–2nd centuries) was a descendant of the Rechabites.
The apocryphal ''
Story of Zosimus'', from late antiquity, details the journey of a monk named Zosimus to the "Land of the Rechabites".
In 1839 the Reverend
Joseph Wolff found in
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
, near
Sana'a
Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
, a tribe claiming to be descendants of Jehonadab; and in the late nineteenth century a
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
tribe was found near the
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...
who also professed to be descendants of Jehonadab.
Many Muslims still claim descent from Rechab, along with the nearly-universal claim of
Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
to be descended from
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
through
Ishmael
In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs.
Within Isla ...
(Ismail).
Similar later groups
The term Rechabites also refers to a religious order, similar in some ways to the
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( ''Nāzīr'') is an Israelite (i.e. Jewish) man or woman who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . This vow required the nazirite to:
* Abstain from wine and strong drink as well as all oth ...
s, and they are mentioned by
Eusebius of Emesa.
In more recent times, the name has been used by
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
groups keen to promote
total abstinence from alcohol, such as the
Independent Order of Rechabites
The Independent Order of Rechabites (IOR), also known as the Sons and Daughters of Rechab,Alan Axelrod ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'' New York; Facts on File, inc 1997 p.206 is a fraternal organisation a ...
.
[ Alan Axelrod. ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders''. New York: Facts on File, inc., 1997, p. 206.]
References
Attribution
Online sources
“Rechabites,” ''Jewish Encyclopedia''*{{Cite NSRW, wstitle=Rechabites, The, short=x
Hebrew Bible nations
Temperance movement
Kenites