KERIOTH

(Keʹri·oth) [perhaps, towns].

A place mentioned in two prophecies against Moab. (Jer. 48:24; Amos 2:2) The meaning of its name may indicate that the city was comprised of several smaller towns. Kerioth’s exact location is uncertain. Some scholars tentatively suggest Saliya, a site about twenty-four miles (39 kilometers) due E of the central part of the Dead Sea. Others believe that Kerioth is perhaps the same as Ar. This view seems to find some support in the fact that Ar and Kerioth, although figuring as Principal cities (compare Amos 2:1-3; Deuteronomy 2:9, 18), do not appear together in lists of Moabite towns.—Compare Isaiah chapters 15 and 16; Jeremiah chapter 48.

The Moabite Stone, although giving no hint as to the location of Kerioth, does indicate that the god Chemosh had a sanctuary there.