Arad, a Canaanite city that attacked Israel during their wilderness journey, later inhabited by the Kenites.
Arad was a Canaanite city located in the Negev desert. During Israel's wilderness journey, the king of Arad attacked the Israelites and took some of them captive (Num. 21:1). Israel vowed to destroy the city if God gave them victory, which they did, renaming the place Hormah (Num. 21:2-3). Later, after the conquest of Canaan, Arad was included in the list of cities defeated by Joshua (Jos. 12:14). In the time of the judges, the Kenites, descendants of Moses' father-in-law, settled in the wilderness of Judah, south of Arad (Jdg. 1:16). The city's mentions in the Bible highlight its strategic location and its interactions with the Israelites during their early history.
Approximate location: 31.281, 35.126 · view on a map · on the Bible atlas
4 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H6166
When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners.
Now the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
Now the descendants of Mosesʼ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up with the men of Judah from the City of Palms to the Wilderness of Judah in the Negev near Arad. They went to live among the people.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.