Rechabites

Biblical Text

2 Kings 10:15-23 describes how Jehu, after wiping out the house of Ahab, met "Jehonadab the son of Rechab." Jehu took him up into his chariot and brought him to Samaria, and Jehonadab went with Jehu into the house of Baal when Jehu put the worshipers of Baal to death.

Jeremiah 35 is set in the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah. God commands Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites into one of the chambers of the temple and offer them wine. Jaazaniah and the other Rechabites refuse, citing the command of their ancestor Jonadab (Jehonadab): they were to drink no wine, build no house, sow no seed, plant no vineyard, and dwell in tents all their days (Jeremiah 35:6-7). The text explains that they had come to Jerusalem to escape the army of the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar and the army of the Syrians (35:11). God contrasts the Rechabites, who kept their ancestor's word, with Judah, which did not listen to the word of God, and promises: "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever" (35:19).

Background

1 Chronicles 2:55 identifies certain families of scribes as "the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab." On the basis of this verse, many scholars hold that the Rechabites were a branch of the Kenites who lived among the Israelites. Nehemiah 3:14 also mentions "Malchiah the son of Rechab," but whether he belonged to the same family is uncertain.

More than two centuries separate the time of Jehu from that of Jeremiah. Jeremiah 35 therefore attests to a family rule kept over many generations. Some scholars regard this way of life as an effort to preserve the simple life of the wilderness period in opposition to Canaanite agrarian culture and Baal worship. Others connect the name "Rechab" to a root meaning "to ride," though this etymology is not settled.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The focus of Jeremiah 35 lies less in abstinence itself than in the contrast in obedience. The text emphasizes that while the Rechabites faithfully keep the word of a human ancestor, the people of Judah defy the word of God. Because they abstained from wine, the Rechabites are sometimes compared with the Nazirites. The difference, however, is that the Nazirite vow was undertaken by an individual for a set period (Numbers 6), whereas the Rechabite rule was a code of life observed by an entire family from generation to generation.

The New Testament does not mention the Rechabites directly. The church historian Eusebius, citing the second-century writer Hegesippus, reports that when James the brother of the Lord was martyred, "one of the priests of the sons of Rechab" tried to stop it. This is a later tradition from outside Scripture.

Interpretations and Debates

• As a basis for abstinence: Churches and movements that stress abstinence from alcohol have cited the Rechabites as a model. In nineteenth-century Britain, a temperance friendly society named after them was founded.
• As an illustration of obedience: This interpretation holds that the text commends the Rechabites for their faithfulness to their ancestor's command and does not require all believers to adopt their rule.

Because denominations and churches differ in their views on drinking, the application of this passage also varies (see Alcohol and Tobacco). Stories that the Rechabites survive somewhere to this day derive from later legends and travel accounts; they are not part of what the biblical text says.

In the Korean Church

Korean Protestantism has maintained a strong tradition of abstinence from alcohol since its early days. Accordingly, Jeremiah 35 is cited in sermons urging abstinence and temperance, and it also serves as a sermon text on obedience to the Word and the passing down of faith across generations.