Kiriath-Jearim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kiriath-Jearim - "city of woods" - was a city in the Land of Israel during the time of the Hebrew Bible. It was also called Kiriath-Ba'al, Ba'alah and Ba'ale-Judah.

Eusebius says that the city was located about 15 km from Jerusalem. It is identified with Deir el-Azar (Tel Qiryat Yearim) today.

Kiriath-jearim was mentioned as a Hivite city and connected with the Gibeonites. It came to be placed at the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is mentioned as the place the Ark of the Covenant was moved after being in Beth-shemesh. About 70 years afterward, the ark was moved to Jerusalem and placed in a tent outside the palace of David.

Kiriath-jearim's change in designation from Kiriath-Ba'al betrays the population change that took place after Joshua's military campaign, or holy war (Heb., cherem) to take possession of the land from its previous inhabitants. The religious basis for the war is revealed in the city's renaming; the name Baal belonged to a pagan deity, which, according to the Bible, the God of Israel ordered Joshua and the Israelites to erase the memory of the Ba'al cult (see Joshua 18.14). Interestingly, however, the name change does not reflect the Yahwist religious affiliation of the city's conquerors. Rather, it reflects salient geographical features.