Kir

"A wall or fortress, a place to which Tiglath-pileser carried the" Syrians captive after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings "16:9; Amos 1:5; 9:7). Isaiah (22:6), who also was contemporary" "with these events, mentions it along with Elam. Some have" "supposed that Kir is a variant of Cush (Susiana), on the south" of Elam.

"Isa. 15:1. The two strongholds of Moab were Ar and Kir, which" latter is probably the Kir-haraseth (16:7) following.

"Built fortress, a city and fortress of Moab, the modern Kerak, a" small town on the brow of a steep hill about 6 miles from Rabbath-Moab and 10 miles from the Dead Sea; called also "Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth, Kir-heres (Isa. 16:7, 11; Jer. 48:31," "36). After the death of Ahab, Mesha, king of Moab (see" "[341]MOABITE STONE), threw off allegiance to the king of Israel," and fought successfully for the independence of his kingdom. "After this Jehoram, king of Israel, in seeking to regain his" "supremacy over Moab, entered into an alliance with Jehoshaphat," "king of Judah, and with the king of Edom. The three kings led" "their armies against Mesha, who was driven back to seek refuge" in Kir-haraseth. The Moabites were driven to despair. Mesha then "took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his stead, and" offered him as a burnt-offering on the wall of the fortress in "the sight of the allied armies. "There was great indignation" "against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to" "their own land." The invaders evacuated the land of Moab, and" Mesha achieved the independence of his country (2 Kings 3:20-27).

"City, a city belonging to Benjamin (Josh. 18:28), the modern" "Kuriet el-`Enab, i.e., "city of grapes", about 7 1/2 miles" west-north-west of Jerusalem.

Two cities; a double city. (1.) A city of refuge in Naphtali (1 Chr. 6:76). "(2.) A town on the east of Jordan (Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:9, 10). It was assigned to the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:37). In the time of Ezekiel (25:9) it was one of the four cities which formed the "glory of Moab (comp. Jer. 48:1, 23). It has been identified" "with el-Kureiyat, 11 miles south-west of Medeba, on the south" "slope of Jebel Attarus, the ancient Ataroth."

"City of Arba, the original name of Hebron (q.v.), so called from" "the name of its founder, one of the Anakim (Gen. 23:2; 35:27;" Josh. 15:13). It was given to Caleb by Joshua as his portion. "The Jews interpret the name as meaning "the city of the four"," "i.e., of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam, who were all, as they" "allege, buried there."

"City of streets, Num. 22:39, a Moabite city, which some identify" "with Kirjathaim. Balak here received and entertained Balaam," "whom he had invited from Pethor, among the "mountains of the" "east," beyond the Euphrates, to lay his ban upon the Israelites," whose progress he had no hope otherwise of arresting. It was "probably from the summit of Attarus, the high place near the" "city, that the soothsayer first saw the encampments of Israel."

"City of jaars; i.e., of woods or forests, a Gibeonite town" "(Josh. 9:17) on the border of Benjamin, to which tribe it was" "assigned (18:15, 28). The ark was brought to this place (1 Sam." "7:1, 2) from Beth-shemesh and put in charge of Abinadab, a" Levite. Here it remained till it was removed by David to "Jerusalem (2 Sam. 6:2, 3, 12; 1 Chr. 15:1-29; comp. Ps. 132). It" was also called Baalah (Josh. 15:9) and Kirjath-baal (60). It "has been usually identified with Kuriet el-`Enab (i.e., "city of" "grapes"), among the hills, about 8 miles north-east of `Ain" "Shems (i.e., Beth-shemesh). The opinion, however, that it is to" "be identified with `Erma, 4 miles east of `Ain Shems, on the" "edge of the valley of Sorek, seems to be better supported. (See" [342]KIRJATH.) "The words of Ps. 132:6, "We found it in the fields of the wood," "refer to the sojourn of the ark at Kirjath-jearim. "Wood" is" "here the rendering of the Hebrew word jaar, which is the" singular of jearim.

"City of the sannah; i.e., of the palm(?), Josh. 15:49; the same" "as Kirjath-sepher (15:16; Judg. 1:11) and Debir (q.v.), a" "Canaanitish royal city included in Judah (Josh. 10:38; 15:49)," and probably the chief seat of learning among the Hittites. It was about 12 miles to the south-west of Hebron.

"City of books, Josh. 15:15; same as Kirjath-sannah (q.v.), now" "represented by the valley of ed-Dhaberiyeh, south-west of" Hebron. The name of this town is an evidence that the Canaanites "were acquainted with writing and books. "The town probably" "contained a noted school, or was the site of an oracle and the" "residence of some learned priest." The "books" were probably" engraved stones or bricks.

Definition of Kir:
"a city; wall; meeting"