Kiryat Arba

Kiryat Arba or Qiryat Arba (Hebrew: קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע), lit. "Town of the Four," is an urban Israeli settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, in the Judean Mountains region of the West Bank. It was founded in 1968. In 2015, Kiryat Arba had a population of 7,874.

Etymology

Kiryat Arba is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 23) as the place where Abraham buried Sarah. The Book of Joshua chapter 14 verse 15 says (Darby Bible): "Now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; the great man among the Anakim..." There are various explanations for the name, not mutually exclusive. According to the great Biblical commentator Rashi, Kiryat Arba ("Town of Arba") means either the town (kirya) of Arba, the giant who had three sons, or the town of the four giants: Anak (the son of Arba) and his three sons – Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai – who are described as being the sons of a "giant" in Numbers 13:22: "On the way through the Negev, they (Joshua and Caleb) came to Hebron where [they saw] Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmi, descendants of the Giant (ha-anak)..." Some say that Anak ("Giant", see Anak) is a proper name (Targum Jonathan and the Septuagint), and that he, Anak, may have been the father of the three others mentioned in the Book of Numbers as living in Hebron, previously known as "Kiryat Arba."

Arba

Arba (Hebrew: ארבע‎) (meaning "four") was a man mentioned in assorted, but early, Old Testament verses of the Bible. In Joshua 14:15, he is cited as the "greatest man among the Anakites" and the father of Anak. Arba himself was the father of Anak, whose descendents went on to be called the Anakim which is the Hebrew plural. Arba himself was not an Anakite, since he was the progenitor.

The Anakim were said to have been a mixed race of giant people. The scriptures allude to their being Nephilim, meaning 'fallen ones', (again, Hebrew plural for Nephal), which were a crossbreed between the Sons of God and the daughters of men, as cited in Genesis 6:1-2 and Genesis 6:4.

No early history of Arba is given in the Old Testament and little is known of his genealogy, with the exception of his child, Anak, and three possible grandsons, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were driven out of the land Caleb inherited, as cited in Joshua 15:13-14.

The Bible also mentions that the city of Hebron was in ancient times known to be called Kirjath-arba or "Kiriath Arba" ("city of Arba"; apparently after Arba). Although a modern-day settlement exists east of Hebron named Kiryat Arba, its relation is not known.

Arba, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Arba is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Pordenone in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of Pordenone.

Arba borders the following municipalities: Cavasso Nuovo, Fanna, Maniago, Sequals, Spilimbergo, Vivaro.

References

Arba (Achaea)

Arba (Ancient Greek: Άρβα) was a settlement in northern Achaea, Ancient Greece. Pausanias mentioned it as one of the villages that the inhabitants of Patrae fled to during the Achaean War. Its location is unknown.

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