Hebrew word · H7156

קִרְיָתַ֫יִם

kiryatayim

Kiriathaim

A place name built on qiryah, 'town, settlement', with the dual ending -ayim ('two of'). So it means 'twin towns' or 'double town'. The name may describe a settlement in two parts, or it may simply be a frozen old form of the name.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Kiriathaim = "two cities"

a city east of the Jordan in Moab

Also named: qe.riy.yot (קְרִיּוֹת "Kerioth" H7152H)

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 Joshua 13:19

Range of meaning

A place name built on qiryah, 'town, settlement', with the dual ending -ayim ('two of'). So it means 'twin towns' or 'double town'. The name may describe a settlement in two parts, or it may simply be a frozen old form of the name.

Against the English

English versions transliterate the name (Kiriathaim, Kirjathaim), so the meaning 'Twin Towns' is lost. That is normal for place names.

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 32:37 says the Reubenites (re)built it. Genesis 14:5 has the related 'Shaveh-kiriathaim' ('plain of Kiriathaim'). In the 9th-century BC Moabite inscription known as the Mesha Stele (line 10), King Mesha says 'I built Qiryaten', so by then Moab held it. Jeremiah 48:1, 23 and Ezekiel 25:9 call it a Moabite town. Where it stood is still uncertain; Khirbet el-Qureiye, northwest of Dibon, is often suggested.

From the study of Numbers 32:37

Range of meaning

"Two towns" or "double city". The word is qiryah (town) with the ending that marks a pair. Several places had this name (a different one is in Naphtali, 1 Chr 6:76).

Against the English

"Kiriathaim" (BSB, WEB) or "Kirjathaim" (KJV, YLT). These are spellings of the same name.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 14:5 has "Shaveh-kiriathaim", home of the Emim. Joshua 13:19 allots it to Reuben. Mesha's inscription says he "built Qiryaten". Jeremiah 48:1 and 23 and Ezekiel 25:9 call it a Moabite town. Where exactly it stood is uncertain. Proposals include Khirbet el-Qureiyat, north-west of Dibon.

Similar words

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 14:5 קִרְיָתָֽיִם׃ Kiriathaim

    In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him went out and defeated the Rephaites in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzites in Ham, the Emites in Shaveh-kiriathaim,

    Here: A form meaning 'two towns'. It names a Moabite town north of the Arnon (Num 32:37; Jer 48:1). It also appears on the Moabite king Mesha's stone inscription (9th century BC) as a town he built. That puts this third victory in Moab.

Numbers · 1

  1. Numbers 32:37 קִרְיָתָֽיִם׃ Kiriathaim

    The Reubenites built up Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

    Here: Literally "Two Towns" or "Twin City" (the Hebrew ending marks a pair). A town on the Moabite plateau. The list runs on into verse 38.

Joshua · 1

  1. Joshua 13:19 וְקִרְיָתַ֣יִם and Kiriathaim

    Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley,

    Here: A Reubenite town. The name is a dual form of qiryah, 'town', so it means roughly 'Twin Towns' or 'Double City'. The 'and' (ve-) just keeps the list going.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 6:76 קִרְיָתַ֖יִם Kiriathaim

    And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 48:1 קִרְיָתָ֑יִם Kiriathaim

    Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled.

    Here: 'Double town', a Moabite city once assigned to Reuben (Num 32:37; Josh 13:19). The Mesha Stele says King Mesha rebuilt it. Both verbs ('shamed, captured') fall on it.

  2. Jeremiah 48:23 קִרְיָתַ֛יִם Kiriathaim

    upon Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 25:9 וְקִרְיָתָֽיְמָה׃ and Kiriathaim <towards>

    therefore I will indeed expose the flank of Moab beginning with its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the glory of the land.

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