Numbers 24:22

Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted. כִּי אִם־יִהְיֶה לְבָעֵר קָיִן . Rather, "Kain shall surely not be wasted." כִּי־אִם is of doubtful meaning, but it seems here to have the force of a negative question equivalent to a negation. Kain is mentioned in Joshua 15:57 as one of the towns of Judah, but there is little reason to suppose that an insignificant village is here mentioned by name. Probably "Kain" stands for the tribe-father, and is simply the poetical equivalent of Kenite. Until עַד־מָה . There is some uncertainty about these two particles, which are sometimes rendered "how long?" In the sense of "until" they are said to be an Aramaism, but this is doubtful.