Kiriath-Jearim

KIRIATH-JEARIM (‘city of forests’).—One of the cities of the Gibeonites (Jos 9:17), occupied by the Danites (Jdg 18:12), on the border between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 15:9; Jos 18:14). From there David brought up the ark (2Sa 6:2, 1Ch 13:5, 2Ch 1:4). Its older name appears to have been Kiriath-baal (Jos 15:60) or Baalah. (Jos 15:9-10, 1Ch 13:6). It is also mentioned as Baale Judah (2Sa 6:2), and through a textual error as Kiriath-arim (Ezr 2:25; cf. Neh 7:29). It was probably, like Kedesh, Gezer, etc., an old Canaanite ‘high place.’ In Jer 26:20 it is mentioned as the home of Uriah the prophet, the son of Shemaiah. See also 1Ch 2:50; 1Ch 2:53 and 1Es 5:19 [in this last passage it is called Kariathiarius]. The site of this important ancient sanctuary and frontier town has been very generally accepted, since the 5th cent. a.d., as close to that of the modern Kuriet el-‘Enab, a flourishing little village on the high-road from Jaffa to Jerusalem, about 9 miles from the latter. The ancient remains are to the W. of the village, but a handsome Crusading Church in the village itself has recently been restored. Kuriet el-‘Enab is generally known as Abu Ghosh, after a family of semi-hrigands of that name who established themselves there nearly a century ago, and for long held the whole surrounding country at their mercy. Another site, which has been powerfully advocated by Conder, is Khurbet ‘Erma, on the S. of the Vale of Sorek, just where the narrow valley opens into the plain. The similarity of ‘arim (Ezr 2:25) and ‘erma, and the nearness of the site to Zorah and Eshtaol, are in its favour. There, too, are ancient remains, and a great rock platform which would appear to mark an ancient ‘high place.’ On the other hand, it is far from the other cities of the Gibeonltes (Jos 9:17). The question cannot he considered as settled.

E. W. G. Masterman.

kir-i-ath jē´a-rim, -jḗ-ā´rim (קרית־יערים, ḳiryath-y^e‛ārı̄m, “city of thickets”; Septuagint ἡ ρόλις Ἰαρείμ, hē pólis Iareı̄m; the King James Version Kirjathjearim): One of the four chief cities of the Gibeonites (Jos 9:17); a city ,of Judah (Jos 15:60), evidently an ancient, Semitic “high place”, hence, the name “Kiriath-Baal” (same place) ; it was one of the places on the border line between Judah and Benjamin (Jos 18:14, Jos 18:15; Jos 15:11 (where it is called “Baalah”); compare 1Ch 13:6). It is mentioned as in Judah (Jos 15:60; Jos 18:14; Jdg 18:12), but if KIRIATH (which see) is identical with it, it is mentioned as belonging to Benjamin (Jos 18:28; in 2Sa 6:2, Baale-judah).

1. Scripture References:

Jdg 18:12 records that the men of Dan set forth out of Zôrah and Eshtaol and encamped in Mahaneh-dan behind (West of) Kiriath-jearim. (In Jdg 13:25 Mahaneh-dan (“the camp of Dan”) is described as between Zôrah and Eshtaol; see MAHANEH-DAN.) To this sanctuary the ark of Yahweh was brought, from Beth-shemesh by the people of Kiriath-jearim, and they “brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill (m “Gibeah”]; and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of Yahweh” (1Sa 7:1). Here it abode twenty years (1Sa 7:2; 2Sa 6:2-4; compare 1Ch 13:6; 2Ch 1:4). Clearly it was in the hills somewhere to the East of Beth-shemesh.

The prophet Uriah-ben-shemaiah, killed by Jehoiskim, belonged to Kiriath-jearim (Jer 26:20 f).

In Ezr 2:25 (compare Neh 7:29), this place occurs under the name “Kiriath-arim.” In 1 Esdras 5:19 the name occurs as “Kiriathiarius.”

2. Position:

The exact position of this important Israelite sanctuary has never been satisfactorily settled. Some of the data appear to be contradictory. For example, Josephus (Ant., VI, i, 4) says it was a city in the neighborhood of Beth-shemesh, while Eusebius and Jerome (Onomasticon) speak of it (“Cariathiareim”) in their day as a village 9 or 10 miles from Jerusalem on the way to Lydda. But it is open to doubt whether the reputed site of their day had any serious claims. Any suggested site should fulfill the following conditions: (1) It must harmonize with the boundary line of Judah and Benjamin between two known points - the “waters of Nephtoah,” very generally supposed to be Lifta, and Chesalon, certainly Keslā (Jos 15:10). (2) It should not be too far removed from the other cities of the Gibeonites - Gibeon, Chephirah and Beeroth - but those places, which are all identified, are themselves fairly widely apart. (3) Mahaneh-dan (“the camp of Dan”) is described as between Zorah and Eshtaol, and was West of Kiriath-jearim; this, and the statement of Josephus that it was in the neighborhood of Beth-shemesh, makes it probable that the site was near the western edge of the mountains of Judah. Zorah (now Sara‛), Eshtaol (now Eshū‛a) and Beth-shemesh (now ‛Ain Shems), are all within sight of each other close to the Vale of Sorek. (4) The site should be a sanctuary (or show signs of having been such), and be at least on a height (Gibeah, 1Sa 7:1 margin). (5) The name may help us, but it is as well to note that the first part of the name, in the form “Kirathiarius” (1 Esdras 5:19), appears to have survived the exile rather than the second.

3. Suggested Identifications:

The first suggested identification was that of Robinson (BE, II, 11, 12), namely, Ḳuriet el ‛Enab, the “town of grapes,” a flourishing little town about 9 miles West of Jerusalem on the carriage road to Jaffa. The district around is still fairly well wooded (compare y^e‛ārı̄m = “thickets”). This village is commonly known as Abu Ghosh, from the name of a robber chieftain who, with his family, flourished there in the first half of the last century. Medieval ecclesiastical tradition has made this place the Anathoth of Jer, and a handsome church from the time of the Crusades, now thoroughly repaired, exists here to mark this tradition. This site suits well as regards the border line, and the name Ḳuriet is the exact equivalent of Kiriath; it also fits in with the distance and direction given the Eusebius, Onomasticon, but it cannot be called satisfactory in all respects. Sôba, in the neighborhood, has, on account of its commanding position, been selected, but except for this one feature it has no special claims. The late Colonel Conder has very vigorously advocated the claims of a site he discovered on the south side of the rugged Wādy Ismae‛n, called Khurbet ‛Erma, pointing out truly that ‛Erma is the exact equivalent of ‛Arim (Ezr 2:25). Unfortunately the 2nd part of the name would appear from the references in 1 Esdras and in Eusebius (Onomasticon) to be that part which was forgotten long ago, so that the argument even of the philological - the strongest - grounds cannot be of much value. The greatest objections in the minds of most students are the unsuitability of the position to the requirements of the Judah-Benjamin frontier and its distance from the other Gibeonite cities.

The present writer suggests another site which, in his opinion, meets at least some of the requirements better than the older proposals. Standing on the hill of Beth-shcmesh and looking Northwest, with the cities of Zorah (Sur‛ah) and Eshtaol (Eshū’a) full in view, a lofty hill crowned by a considerable forest catches the eye. The village a little below the summit is called Beit Maḥṣı̂r, and the hilltop itself is the shrine of a local saint known as Sheikh el Ajām. So “holy” is the site, that no trees in this spot are ever cut, nor is fallen brushwood removed. There is a Wely or sanctuary of the saint, and round about are scores of very curious and apparently ancient graves. Southward from this site the eye follows the line of Judean hills - probably the Mt. Jearim of Jos 15:10 - until it strikes the outstanding point of Keslā (Chesslon), some 2 miles to the South. If the ark was taken here, the people of Beth-shemesh could have followed its progress almost the whole way to its new abode. Although the name, which appears to mean “besieged” or “confined,” in no degree helps, in all the other respects (see 2 above), this site suits well the conditions of Kiriath-jearim.

Literature.

See PEFS, 1878, 196-99; PEF, III, 43-52; HGHL, 225 f; BR, II, 11 f; Buhl, GA the Priestly Code (P), Index.

Prior to Israel’s conquest of Canaan, the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim were known as Gibeonites, after the name of a more important town in the region (Jos 9:3; Jos 9:17; see GIBEON). Kiriath-jearim was on the border between Benjamin and Judah, and was known also as Kiriath-baal, Baalah, Baale-judah and Kiriath-arim (Jos 15:9; Jos 15:60; Jos 18:14; Jos 18:21-28; 2Sa 6:2; Ezr 2:25). It is chiefly remembered because during the time of Saul and David the ark of the covenant rested there for twenty years (1Sa 7:1-2; 2Sa 6:2; for maps see BENJAMIN; JUDAH, TRIBE AND KINGDOM).