Hebrew word · H7024

קִיר

kir-

Kir

Kir is a place name, also called Kir-hareseth or Kir-heres (Isa 16:7, 11; Jer 48:31, 36). As an ordinary noun, qir means "wall".

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Kir = "wall"

originally house of Aram; as place of exile (location uncertain)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 15:1

Range of meaning

Kir is a place name, also called Kir-hareseth or Kir-heres (Isa 16:7, 11; Jer 48:31, 36). As an ordinary noun, qir means "wall".

Against the English

English Bibles keep the name "Kir". The ancient translations, the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate (murus), rendered it as "the wall" of Moab. That turns the city into a symbol of Moab's defenses.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Kings 3:25–27: during the war of Israel, Judah and Edom against King Mesha, "only in Kir-hareseth were the stones left". There Mesha sacrificed his son on the wall, and the invaders withdrew. The site is usually identified with modern el-Kerak in Jordan, a naturally fortified height on the southern Moabite plateau. Some ancient translations, including the Aramaic Targum, seem to render the name as "Kerak" or "fortress", but this needs checking.

From the study of Amos 9:7

Range of meaning

A place name in Mesopotamia from which the Arameans were believed to have come, and to which they would be deported. Its exact location is unknown. The ordinary noun qir means 'wall'.

Against the English

English versions transliterate it 'Kir'. The ancient versions guessed at it: the Vulgate has 'Cyrene' (in North Africa), and the Septuagint appears to have read it as a common noun.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 1:5 says 'the people of Aram will go into exile to Kir'. 2 Kings 16:9 records that the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III took Damascus around 732 BC and carried its people to Kir. Isaiah 22:6 pairs Kir with Elam (in south-west Iran), which suggests somewhere in the east.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 16:9 קִ֑ירָה Kir towards

    So the king of Assyria responded to him, marched up to Damascus, and captured it. He took its people to Kir as captives and put Rezin to death.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 15:1 קִיר־ Kir of

    This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night!

    Here: Kir of Moab, called Kir-hareseth in 16:7, 11. It was Moab's great southern fortress, usually identified with modern Kerak in Jordan. The ordinary noun qir means "wall", which suits a walled citadel.

  2. Isaiah 22:6 וְקִ֥יר and Kir

    Elam takes up a quiver, with chariots and horsemen, and Kir uncovers the shield.

Amos · 2

  1. Amos 1:5 קִ֖ירָה Kir towards

    I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” says the LORD.

    Here: Kir is an unidentified region, probably in Mesopotamia. The ending -ah means 'toward'. Amos 9:7 says the Arameans originally came from Kir, so they are being sent back where they started.

  2. Amos 9:7 מִקִּֽיר׃ from Kir

    “Are you not like the Cushites to Me, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD. “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Arameans from Kir?

    Here: A place of origin somewhere in Mesopotamia; its exact location is unknown. Amos 1:5 has already threatened that Aram will go back into exile to Kir. Their 'exodus' can be reversed, and the implication is that Israel's can be too.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.