Bible Strands
Joshua 21:11
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joshua records the distribution of land to the Kohathite Levites, descendants of Aaron, during the final allotment of Canaan.
The words — The Hebrew verb וַיִּתְּנוּ (va-yittenû) means "they gave," and קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע (Qiryat-Arbba) translates literally as "city of Arba."
The thread — This land grant is recorded again in 1 Chronicles 6:55 and reappears in Genesis 23:2 and Luke 1:39 as a known location in the hill country of Judah.
Why it lands — The text states that the city itself was transferred to the Kohathites while the surrounding fields were retained by Caleb, requiring the reader to acknowledge the precise boundaries of tribal inheritance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 6:55 They were given Hebron in the land of Judah and its surrounding pasturelands.
- Luke 1:39 In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
- Genesis 23:2 She died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went out to mourn and to weep for her.
- Genesis 35:27 Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
- Joshua 14:15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.
- Joshua 15:13 According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.)
- Joshua 15:54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages.
- Joshua 20:7 So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
- Judges 1:10 Judah also marched against the Canaanites who were living in Hebron (formerly known as Kiriath-arba), and they struck down Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai.
- 2 Samuel 2:1 Some time later, David inquired of the LORD, “Should I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” “Go up,” the LORD answered. Then David asked, “Where should I go?” “To Hebron,” replied the LORD.