For the actor, see Kenan Thompson.
Kenan,
Qenan,
Kaïvav (as found in Luke 3:36, 37), , or
Cainan was a
Biblical patriarch first mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible book of
Genesis as living before the Great Flood.
According to Genesis 5:9-14, he was the grandson of
Seth and son of
Enos. Born when Enos was ninety years old, Cainan had his only named son,
Mahalalel, when he was seventy. Other sons and daughters were born to Kenan before he died at 910 years of age.
This name seems to derive from words denoting a permanent dwelling place or stronghold.
Postdiluvian Cainan
Two men named Cainan are mentioned in the
geneaology of
Jesus given in
Luke 3:37 in the
New Testament. One of these is the son of Enos above; a second Cainan is listed as the son of
Arpachshad and father of
Salah, who lived in the time between
Noah and
Abraham.
This Cainan also appears in the
Septuagint (Greek) Old Testament, but is omitted by the
Hebrew Masoretic text. For this reason, this second Cainan is considered to be a scribal error by some scholars
link. Nevertheless, a substantial number of traditions about this other Cainan exist in the history of literature.