1The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south. 2Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward; 3and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh Barnea, and passed along by Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned toward Karka; 4and it passed along to Azmon, went out at the brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border. 5The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan. 6The border went up to Beth Hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 7The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that faces the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at En Rogel. 8The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem) southward; and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of Rephaim northward. 9The border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border extended to Baalah (also called Kiriath Jearim); 10and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim (also called Chesalon) on the north, and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah; 11and the border went out to the side of Ekron northward; and the border extended to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea. 12The west border was to the shore of the great sea. This is the border of the children of Judah according to their families.
13He gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (also called Hebron). 14Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15He went up against the inhabitants of Debir: now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher. 16Caleb said, “He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.” 17Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18When she came, she had him ask her father for a field. She got off her donkey, and Caleb said, “What do you want?”
19She said, “Give me a blessing. Because you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water.”
So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. 21The farthest cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (also called Hazor), 26Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.
33In the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim); fourteen cities with their villages.
37Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 39Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
45Ekron, with its towns and its villages; 46from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages. 47Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline.
48In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (which is Debir), 50Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54Humtah, Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Jutah, 56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages. 60Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.
61In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.
63As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn’t drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
1 Sam 6.21 Kiryat Yearim (today Abu Gosh) has a long reputation for beguiling or charming enemies into pacts of peace. Kiryat Yearim (typically identified as Deir el-‘Azar above Abu Gosh) is one of the four Gibeionite cities that made a pact with Joshua (Josh 9.17) and served as a border town between Judah and Benjamin (Josh 15:9,60; 18:28). Kiryath-Yearim has a number of former names such as Baalah, Kiryat-baal, and Baale of Judah (Josh 15:9; 18:14; 2 Sam 6:2; 1 Chr 13:6) and is identified as modern Deir el-‘Azar.
Kiryat Yearim also figured prominently in the story of the Ark of the Covenant. Israel received the Ark after the Philistine sent it up the Sorek valley by Beth-Shemesh (1 Sam 6), and after the plague there, it was taken up to Kiriath-Yearim for 20 years (1 Sam 7:1). The exact location of the Ark in Kiryat Yearim is given as the house of Abinadav son of Eleazar on the hill (2 Sam 6:3). The modern Arabic term for the tel (Deir el-Azar) may be connected to Eleazar. The Ark seems to fall out of use (maybe because Mizpah and Gibeah are more prominent) as Saul “paid not regard to it” (1 Chr 13:3). Psalms 132:6 assumes it is quite unknown until “found in the region of Yaar.” (But compare 1 Sam 14:18.) David hoped to move the ark from Kiryat-Yearim to the city of David, but he was afraid of it after Ahio son of Abinadav drove the cart that carried the Ark (rather than the Kohathite priests, see 1 Chr 15) and his brother Uzzah touched the Ark and died at the threshing-floor of Nachon (2 Sam 6:6). Due to this, David took the Ark aside into the house of Obed-edom from Gath (2 Sam 6:10) for three months (2 Sam 6:11; 1 Chr 15:24), until David finally brought the Ark to the City of David in Jerusalem in a manner that followed the Torah (1 Chr 15-16).
While plowing in 1905, a farmer discovered a semi-circular wall on the summit of Deir el-‘Azar which turned out to be remnants of a fifth-century Byzantine church. Many objects from this era can be seen around the new Church built on the summit in the early 1900s by Sister Josephine Rumebe. This church with its towering statue of Mary belongs to the French Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, who call it Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant: associating Mary containing Yeshua with the Ark containing the Ten Commandments.