This verse marks a suspension of the developing story line. And initially this parenthetical remark about Heber the Kenite seems irrelevant and disruptive to the flow of the narrative. However, the original audience would know enough about Israelite storytelling style to realize this tidbit of information would prove to be important in the unfolding plot. This Heber would somehow play a role in the approaching battle.
1
11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.