Hebrew word · H7157
קִרְיַת יְעָרִים
ye'arim
Kiriath-jearim
'Town of forests/thickets'. A hill town about 13 km (8 miles) west of Jerusalem, usually identified with Deir el-Azar near Abu Ghosh. It was also called Baalah, Kiriath-baal, and Baale-judah (Josh 15:9, 60; 18:14; 2 Sam 6:2).
Appears 39 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
§ Kirjath-jearim = "city of forests"
a city on the northern boundary of Judah and on the western and southern boundaries of Benjamin
also 'Kirjath-baal' and 'Baalah'
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 1 Chronicles 2:52
- Range of meaning
'Town of forests/thickets'. A hill town about 13 km (8 miles) west of Jerusalem, usually identified with Deir el-Azar near Abu Ghosh. It was also called Baalah, Kiriath-baal, and Baale-judah (Josh 15:9, 60; 18:14; 2 Sam 6:2).
- Against the English
English versions simply transliterate the name, so the meaning 'forest-town' and its history are invisible.
- Used elsewhere in the period
One of the four Gibeonite cities that made a treaty with Joshua (Josh 9:17). It sat on the Judah–Benjamin border (Josh 15:9; 18:14). The ark was kept there in the house of Abinadab (1 Sam 7:1–2) until David brought it up (1 Chr 13:5–6). The prophet Uriah came from there (Jer 26:20). People from Kiriath-jearim returned after the exile (Ezra 2:25; Neh 7:29). Excavations directed by Israel Finkelstein and Thomas Römer since 2017 have uncovered a large Iron Age platform there.
- Range of meaning
"Town of the woods". It is built from qiryah, "town", and yeʿarim, the plural of yaʿar, "forest, thicket".
- Against the English
"Kiriath-jearim" (BSB, WEB), "Kirjath-jearim" (KJV, YLT). These are spelling differences only.
- Used elsewhere in the period
It has other names: Baalah or Kiriath-baal (Josh 15:9, 60; 18:14), and Kiriath-arim (Ezra 2:25). It is generally placed at Tel Deir el-Azar near Abu Ghosh, which has been excavated since 2017. The ark stayed there in the house of Abinadab (1 Sam 7:1-2) until David brought it up (2 Sam 6:2; 1 Chr 13:5-6).
Similar words
Where it appears
Joshua · 11
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Joshua 9:17 וְקִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִֽים׃ and Kiriath, Jearim
So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
Here: Qiryah is a poetic and old word for "town". It forms the first half of a two-part place name.
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Joshua 15:9 קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִֽים׃ [is] Kiriath, Jearim
From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).
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Joshua 15:60 קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִ֖ים [is] Kiriath, Jearim
Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah—two cities, along with their villages.
Here: The same element as above, beginning the town's better-known name.
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Joshua 18:14 קִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֔ים [is] Kiriath, Jearim
On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side.
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Joshua 18:15 קִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֑ים Kiriath, Jearim
On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah.
Here: The first part of the place name. Qiryat means 'town of'.
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Joshua 18:28 קִרְיַ֔ת Kiriath
Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
Here: 'Town (of)'. As the text stands the word is left hanging. It is most likely a shortened or damaged 'Kiriath-jearim', 'town of the forests', the border town of 18:14–15 where the ark later stayed.
Judges · 4
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Judges 18:12 בְּקִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִ֖ים קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִֽים׃ at Kiriath, Jearim, Kiriath
They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.
1 Samuel · 6
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1 Samuel 6:21 קִרְיַת־ יְעָרִ֖ים Kiriath, Jearim
So they sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the LORD. Come down and take it up with you.”
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1 Samuel 7:1 קִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֗ים Kiriath, Jearim
Then the men of Kiriath-jearim came for the ark of the LORD and took it into Abinadab’s house on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to guard the ark of the LORD.
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1 Samuel 7:2 בְּקִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֔ים at Kiriath, Jearim
And from that day a long time passed, twenty years in all, as the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim. And all the house of Israel mournfully sought the LORD.
1 Chronicles · 10
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1 Chronicles 2:50 קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִֽים׃ Kiriath, Jearim
These were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of Hur the firstborn of Ephrathah: Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim,
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1 Chronicles 2:52 קִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֑ים Kiriath, Jearim
These were the descendants of Shobal the father of Kiriath-jearim: Haroeh, half the Manahathites,
Here: First half of the place name, from qiryâ, 'town'.
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1 Chronicles 2:53 קִרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֔ים Kiriath, Jearim
and the clans of Kiriath-jearim—the Ithrites, Puthites, Shumathites, and Mishraites. From these descended the Zorathites and Eshtaolites.
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1 Chronicles 13:5 מִקִּרְיַ֖ת יְעָרִֽים׃ from Kiriath, Jearim
So David assembled all Israel, from the River Shihor in Egypt to Lebo-hamath, to bring the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim.
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1 Chronicles 13:6 קִרְיַ֥ת יְעָרִ֖ים Kiriath, Jearim
David and all Israel went up to Baalah of Judah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called by the Name.
2 Chronicles · 2
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2 Chronicles 1:4 מִקִּרְיַ֣ת יְעָרִ֔ים from Kiriath, Jearim
Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place he had prepared for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem.
Ezra · 2
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Ezra 2:25 קִרְיַ֤ת עָרִים֙ Kiriath, Arim
the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
Nehemiah · 2
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Nehemiah 7:29 קִרְיַ֤ת יְעָרִים֙ Kiriath, Jearim
the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743;
Jeremiah · 2
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Jeremiah 26:20 מִקִּרְיַ֖ת הַיְּעָרִ֑ים from Kiriath, <the> Jearim
Now there was another man prophesying in the name of the LORD, Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land the same things that Jeremiah did.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.