Hebrew word · H7153

קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע

'arba'

Kiriath-arba

'Town of Arba' or 'Town of Four'. Qiryah means a town. Arba' is the ordinary word for 'four' and, according to Joshua, also a personal name.

Appears 18 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

Kirjath-arba = "city of Arba"

early name of the city which after the conquest was called 'Hebron'

Another name of chev.ron (חֶבְרוֹן "Hebron" H2275A)

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

Range of meaning: 'Town of Arba' or 'Town of Four'. Qiryah means a town. Arba' is the ordinary word for 'four' and, according to Joshua, also a personal name.
Against the English: English versions transliterate the name ('Kiriath-arba', 'Kirjath-arba'), so English readers do not see that it has a meaning.
Used elsewhere in the period: Joshua 14:15: 'the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.' Joshua 15:13 and 21:11 call Arba the father of Anak. Later Jewish interpretation (Genesis Rabbah 58:4) took it as 'town of four' and connected it with the four couples buried there (Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah), or with four giants or four allied clans.

Range of meaning: Literally 'town of four' or 'town of Arba'. Qiryah is an older, mostly poetic word for 'town'. ʾArbaʿ is the ordinary number 'four'.
Against the English: BSB, NIV and ESV keep the place name and add a note that Arba was a person. KJV and YLT translate it as 'the city of Arba', which makes the personal-name reading explicit. WEB says the town was 'named after the father of Anak', which is an interpretation the Hebrew does not state outright.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 23:2; 35:27; Josh 14:15; 20:7; 21:11; Judg 1:10; Neh 11:25. Joshua 14:15 says Arba was 'the greatest man among the Anakim'. Scholars often link the 'four' with Gen 14:13, 24 (Mamre, Eshcol, Aner and Abram as allies), with four joined settlements, or with four clans.

Range of meaning: Qiryah is 'town', an older or poetic word than the everyday 'ir. 'Arba' is the number 'four' or a personal name, Arba. Hebron (H2275) probably comes from ḥbr, 'to join, be allied', suggesting 'confederation' or 'association'. The note 'that is Hebron' identifies the older name with the current one.
Against the English: BSB '(that is, Hebron)', KJV 'which is Hebron' and YLT '(it is Hebron)' keep the identification. WEB's '(also called Hebron)' suggests two names in use at once, rather than an old name glossed by the familiar one.
Used elsewhere in the period: Gen 23:2; 35:27 (Sarah's death and the patriarchs' burial cave at Machpelah); Josh 14:15 ('Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim'); 15:13, 54; 21:11; Judg 1:10; Neh 11:25. Num 13:22 says Hebron was 'built seven years before Zoan in Egypt'. Caleb received it (Josh 14:13–14), and the city went to the Aaronic priests with its fields left to Caleb (Josh 21:11–13). David reigned there first (2 Sam 2:1–4; 5:1–5). The ancient mound is Tell Rumeida.

Genesis · 4

Genesis 23:2 בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע at Kiriath, Arba

She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.

Here: 'In' plus qiryah, a word for a town or walled settlement. It is the first half of the place name 'Kiriath-arba'.
Genesis 35:27 קִרְיַ֣ת הָֽאַרְבַּ֑ע Kiriath, <the> Arba

Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

Joshua · 10

Joshua 14:15 קִרְיַ֣ת אַרְבַּ֔ע [was] Kiriath, Arba

(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
Joshua 15:13 קִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע Kiriath, Arba

According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)

Here: First part of the old name Kiriath-arba. Qiryah is a poetic or archaic word for 'town'.
Joshua 15:54 וְקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע and Kiriath, Arba

Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages.
Joshua 20:7 קִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע Kiriath, Arba

So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

Here: First half of the old name Kiriath-arba. Qiryah is a poetic or archaic word for 'town', and the 'city of …' pattern is typical of pre-Israelite Canaanite place names.
Joshua 21:11 קִרְיַת֩ אַרְבַּ֨ע Kiriath, Arba

They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)

Here: The first part of the old name, 'town of'. Qiryah is an older, mostly poetic word for a town, kept in fixed place names.

Judges · 2

Judges 1:10 קִרְיַ֣ת אַרְבַּ֑ע [was] Kiriath, Arba

Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.

Nehemiah · 2

Nehemiah 11:25 בְּקִרְיַ֤ת הָֽאַרְבַּע֙ in Kiriath, <the> Arba

As for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba, Dibon, Jekabzeel, and their villages;

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