Kiryat Arba
Kiryat Arba
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| Hebrew transcription(s) | ||
| • ISO 259 | Qiryat ʔarbaˁ | |
| • Also spelled | Qiryat Arba (official) | |
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 Kiryat Arba
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| Coordinates: 31°31′42″N 35°7′7″E / 31.52833°N 35.11861°ECoordinates: 31°31′42″N 35°7′7″E / 31.52833°N 35.11861°E | ||
| Region | West Bank | |
| District | Judea and Samaria Area | |
| Founded | 1968–1971 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Local council | |
| • Head of Municipality | Malachi Levinger | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 4,386 dunams (4.386 km2 or 1.693 sq mi) | |
| Population (2015) | ||
| • Total | 7,108 | |
| Name meaning | Town of the Four [Giants] | |
| Website | Official website | |
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. Founded in 1968, in 2015 it had a population of 7,108.
The international community considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. According to a classified 1970 document “The method for establishing Kiryat Arba" released in 2016, the establishment of Kiryat Arba used a system of annexing land to a military base for the purpose of civilian settlement, the first time this happened in the West Bank according to Shlomo Gazit.
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 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."
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