Topics:  Preface

Hebrew

Location

The Modern Location of Kiriath-jearim

Scriptural References

Bibliography

Charts:   Why was the Ark sent to Kiriath-jearim?

Preface: The City of Kiriath-jearim is one of the more fascinating cities of Biblical history. It was initially inhabited by the Gibeonites, who, in deceit, forged a bond of peace with the Israelites so that they would not be eradicated by the Israelites on their path of destruction throughout the Land of Promise. When the boundaries of the tribes of Israel were set, Kiriath-jearim was on the border of Benjamin, Dan and Judah (there were about eight points at which three of the Israeli territories intersection). When the Ark of God had been captured by the Philistines, the Philistines were struck by the devastating hand of God, causing them to relinquish their hold of the Ark. The Ark was first taken to Beth-shemesh, where too many of the Israelites there treated it casually, behaving like curiosity-driven rubes looking inside to confirm what was in there. After a substantial portion of Beth-shemesh died, the Ark was shipped northward to the nearest major city, Kiriath-jearim.

It is important that you have a feel for the context of this doctrine. The Philistines captured the Ark of God and brought it to three of their principal cities. In each city, they were invaded by rodents which were probably infected by the bubonic plague. After each city suffered great human loss, they moved the Ark along to another Philistine city until the citizens of Ekron said that the Ark needed to be returned to Israel. The Ark was taken to the city of Beth-shemesh, which was one of the closest Israeli settlement to Ekron, and which was a Levitical city. Then we had a problem. The Israelites of Beth-shemesh first celebrated the coming of the Ark, but then curiosity got the better of them. Scripture told them what was in the Ark, which they may or may not have been aware of. However, despite the fact that the Ark was a holy artifact which was to be seen only once a year solely by the High Priest, several of the Beth-shemeshites decided to open up the Arks top and to look inside. They had completely and totally trivialized the Ark of God, which was probably the single most sacred article the Tabernacle. Therefore, God killed a significant number of them (120), and they decided to move the Ark out of Beth-shemesh. They chose to send the Ark to Kiriath-jearim, and therein is our question? Why was Kiriath-jearim the city to where the Ark was sent. A short study of Kiriath-jearim should tell us why.

I.     English pronunciation: KIR-jath JĒ-e-rim or KIR-i-ath JĒ-i-rim.

II.    Kiriath-jearim is made up of two Hebrew words:

       1.    The first is qir^eyâth (ת ָי  ׃ר  ̣ק) [pronounced kir-YAWTH], which simply means city, town. Strong’s #7151 BDB #900.

       2.    The second is the masculine noun ya׳ar (ר -ע-י) [pronounced YAH-ģahr], which means wood, forest, thicket. The im ending in the Hebrew simply makes this word plural. Strong’s #3293 and #3264 (plural form) BDB #420.

       3.    Together, they are qir^eyâth y^eģârîym (םי.רָעי ת ָי  ׃ר  ̣ק) [pronounced KIR-yahth y^eģaw-REEM], which is, of course, transliterated Kiriath-jearim (or, Kiriath-jearim). Therefore, it means City of the Forests. Strong’s #7157 BDB #900.

III.   Other names:

       1.    Kiriath-jearim is called Baalah in Joshua 15:9 I Chron. 13:6.

       2.    It is called Kiriath-Baal in Joshua 15:60 18:14.

       3.    Baalah-Judah in II Sam. 6:2 (which could have referred to the general area where Kiriath-jearim was located).

       4.    These two or three names indicate that Kiriath-jearim was once a city of Baal worship.

       5.    Kiriath-arim in Ezra 2:25 (compare to parallel passage Neh. 7:29). This is either a slightly abbreviated form of Kiriath-arim or the copyist simply left the yodh out in the Ezra passage.

IV.   Less likely equivalencies:

       1.    There is no reason to think that Kiriath-jearim of Judah is identical to Kiriath of Benjamin (Joshua 18:28). Kiriath-jearim is earlier presented as a bordering city for Benjamin which specifically belongs to Judah (Joshua 18:14).

       2.    ZPEB suggests that Baalath, which was fortified by Solomon, could be another name for Kiriath-jearim. The primary reason for taking this view is the similarity of the names Baalath and Baalah. We find Baalath mentioned in I Kings 9:18 and II Chron. 8:6. Neither passage gives us any helpful additional information, other than the fact that Solomon fortified the cities named herein.

V.    Location:

       1.    We know by Joshua 15:9 that Kiriath-jearim was one of the bordering cities of Judah.

       2.    It is given as a bordering city of Benjamin in Joshua 18:14–15 (yet its possession by Judah is affirmed in this passage).

       3.    Kiriath-jearim was very close to Dan, as this was the first place that they camped when leaving their territory for some territory that would be easier for them to conquer. Actually, they camped right outside Kiriath-jearim (Judges 18:12). This very passage again confirms that Kiriath-jearim was a Judæan city.

       4.    The great ancient historian Josephus places Kiriath-jearim as in the neighborhood of Beth-shemesh, which is rather imprecise and may be based simply upon the movement of the Ark out of Beth-shemesh to Kiriath-jearim. Eusebius and Jerome report that there is a village, Cariathiareim, extent in their day 9 or 10 miles from Jerusalem on the road to Lod (Lydda). Although ISBE reports this as possibly contradictory, this is all in keeping with the information found in Scripture (and it is possible that Cariathiareim may not be equivalent to Kiriath-jearim).

VI.   The modern location of Kiriath-jearim:

Possible site of Kiriath-jearim from Sandals

       1.    Robinson suggests that Kuriel el ‘Enab (the town of grapes, and more commonly known as Abu Ghosh) is the modern location of Kiriath-jearim. This is 9 miles west of Jerusalem on the carriage road to Jaffa. It is surrounded by heavy woods. Eutychius, a Patriarch of Alexandria (877–940 a.d.), supports with Robinson in his Annals, saying that the Ark was taken from Beth-shemesh to a village known as Qaryet el-Inab, once called Qaryeh but more widely known as Abu Ghosh. According to ZPEB, the Church of the Ark of the Covenant stands upon the mound in this area known as Deir el-Azhar, whom some take as a reference to Eleazar ben Abinadab, in whose custodianship was the Ark during the period of our passage. Abundant sherds of the Late Bronze and Iron Ages are found on the slopes of the mound. ZPEB seems to be fairly adamant that this is the likely location for ancient Kiriath-jearim, discounting both Masterman and Condor (both below), claiming that they placed too much emphasis upon Kiriath-jearim being in the neighborhood of Beth-shemesh. Apparently, Abu Ghosh has been excavated; however, the excavations have concentrated on the Roman-Byzantine and the Crusader structures on the one hand and on the prehistoric structures on the other hand.

       2.    Another city, Sôba, is suggested, which is in this same general area. According to ISBE, its commanding position is its primarily claim to being the spot where ancient Kiriath-jearim was located.

A possible site for Kiriath-jearim from Sandals

       3.    Colonel Conder strongly advocates the site of Khirbet ‘Erma, which is on the south side of the rugged Wâdy Ismae‛n. Unfortunately, the name is the primary reason for this suggested site. It apparently is not close enough to the other Gibeonite cities nor is it correctly placed in the Judæan-Benjamin border.

       4.    E. W. G. Masterman (who wrote the article found in ISBE) tells us that if one stands on the hill of Beth-shemesh and looks northwest, where the cities of Zorah and Eshtaol are in view, a lofty hill crowned by a considerable forest catches the eye. The village below the summit is called Beit Mạḥsîr and the hilltop is a shrine to the local saint, Sheikh el Ajâm, reminiscent of heathen worship of the original settlers of Kiriath-baal. This area is so holy that trees are not cut down and fallen brushwood is not removed. Southward from this site the eye follows the line of Judæan hills—probably the Mt. Jearim of Joshua 15 10—until it strikes the outstanding point of Keslâ (Chesalon), 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.

VII.  As found in Scripture:

       1.    Originally (or, at least prior to Israel’s taking of the land), Kiriath-jearim was one of the several cities which belonged to the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:17). These cities also included Gibeon, Chephirah and Beeroth. You may recall that when Joshua invaded the land, he was instructed to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land, as they were idol-worshiping and (in some cases) baby-sacrificing heathen. The Gibeonites realized that they were doomed. They were soon to be conquered by the Israelites. They knew of how God delivered the Israelites out of Egypt. They knew about how Israel completely destroyed Jericho, including the men, women, and children; and even the animals. Then Israel burned the city to the ground. The Gibeonites feared God and they feared their impending doom. So what they did was to dress up in raggedly old clothes, which made it seem like they came from a long distance away; then they met with the Israelites and forged a formal bond with them. When Israel began to move through the land, they came upon these cities and had to stay their hand, as they had entered into a peace agreement with them. We studied the Gibeonites in great detail in Joshua 9. However, what we are to get from this is, Kiriath-jearim was originally settled by Gibeonites. The Gibeonites became simple laborers for the Jews, and they were assigned to cut wood and to haul water for the Israelites. It is not clear that they moved out of the city. What would be a reasonable outcome is that the Gibeonite males (and possibly women and children) served Israel during the time the Israel swept through the land; and that the Gibeonites returned to their cities once the fighting was over. It is not clear whether or not any Jews moved into the city (it would be reasonable to suppose that a few did, although not for any military purpose).

       2.    Kiriath-jearim was not inhabited solely by Gibeonites. The first Israelites to move into Kiriath-jearim was a son of Caleb by Ephrath, his wife after Aruba died. Shobal was the son of Hur, who was the son of Caleb, and Shobal is called the father of Kiriath-jearim. The families who occupied Kiriath-jearim (apart from the resident Gibeonites) were the Ithrites, the Puthites, the Shumathites, and the Mishraites. From these, came the Zorathites and the Eshtaolites (that is, those who moved down to settle in Zorah and Eshtaol). I Chron. 2:50–53

       3.    Kiriath-jearim is a bordering city for Judah (Joshua 15:9). It is at one of the northernmost points of Judah, on the border of the territories of Dan and Benjamin (Joshua 18:14 Judges 18:12).

       4.    This was one of the many cities given to the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:60).

       5.    As mentioned, Kiriath-jearim was a bordering city for Benjamin (Joshua 18:15–16).

       6.    Kiriath-jearim was not a Levitical city (Joshua 19).

       7.    The Danites, when going to find territory which was easier to conquer, first camped at Kiriath-jearim (Judges 18:12).

       8.    Of course, Kiriath-jearim is the city of our passage; the city to where to Ark of God was sent. A man by the name of Abinadab, who consecrated his son, Eleazar, took possession of the Ark. Eleazar, his son, was the person who was actually entrusted with the Ark. I Sam. 6:21 7:1–2

       9.    The Ark remained in Kiriath-jearim until the time of David, who brought the Ark to Jerusalem (I Chron. 13:1–7 II Chron. 1:4).

       10.  There is a possibility that Pharaoh Shishak (I Kings 14:25–26 II Chron. 12:1–9) may have taken Kiriath-jearim in his inland march toward Jerusalem. We have no Scripture to confirm this; however, a city called q-d-t-m of No. 25 of Shishak’s list could possibly have been q-r-t-m, making its identification with Kiriath-jearim more likely (the d and the r in Egyptian hieroglyphs are quite similar). Apparently, in the list of cities that Shishak left us, this would have been a logical place for Kiriath-jearim to be. This would have been in the 10^th century b.c.

       11.  Kiriath-jearim is not mentioned again until the book of Jeremiah, when a prophet, Uriah ben Shemaiah, is said to have come out of Kiriath-jearim (Jer. 26:20). Although we know nearly nothing about Uriah other than he as killed by Jehoiakim, this brief mention seems to be favorable.

       12.  The final mention of Kiriath-jearim is not until the exiles of Judah return from being carried away by the King of Babylon. There were 743 men who returned who had been from the cities of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah and Beeroth, all cities originally of the Gibeonites. Ezra 2:25 Neh. 7:14.

       13.  There is one mention of Kiriath-jearim in the Apocrypha in I Esdras 5:19, a passage which is more or less parallel to the Ezra and Nehemiah passages, where Kiriath-jearim is called Kirathiarius.

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