KADMONITES

(Kadʹmon·ites) [Easterners, people of the East, or, perhaps, ancients].

A people listed among other nations whose lands Jehovah promised to Abram’s seed. (Gen. 15:18-21) They were evidently a pastoral or nomadic tribe, like the Kenites and Kenizzites with whom they are mentioned. (Gen. 15:19) The exact location of their territory is uncertain, although it is suggested that they inhabited the Syrian desert between Palestine-Syria and the Euphrates River.

The Hebrew name of this people (qadh·mo·niʹ) has the same form as the adjective qadh·mo·niʹ (“eastern,” Ezek. 47:18); thus some suggest that it may merely mean “Easterners.” (Judg. 8:10) However, the fact that this Hebrew term is used as a name at Genesis 15:19 shows that it can refer to a specific tribe.

KAIN

(Kaʹin) [possibly, smith].

1. A name employed in a proverbial utterance of Balaam to refer to the tribe of the Kenites. (Num. 24:22) It is rendered “the Kenites” at Judges 4:11.—See KENITE.

2. A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:1, 48, 57) It is identified with Khirbet Yaqin, about three and a half miles (5.6 kilometers) SE of Hebron.

KAIWAN

(Kaiʹwan) [literally, Ki·yunʹ (according to the Masoretic text), this because of being intentionally vowel-pointed to correspond with the Hebrew word shiq·qutsʹ (disgusting thing); same as Rephan].

Apparently a star god, as indicated by the fact that the name “Kaiwan” is put in a parallelism with the “star of your god.” (Amos 5:26) Evidently the Akkadian star kaimanu or kaiwanu is meant, since this occurs in Akkadidan inscriptions as the name of Saturn (a star god). In the Septuagint Version “Kaiwan” is rendered Hrai·phanʹ, presumably the Egyptian designation for Saturn, and in Stephen’s quotation, at Acts 7:43, Hrom·phaʹ appears in the Westcott and Hort Greek text.—See ASTROLOGERS.

KALLAI

(Kalʹlai) [swift, light, or, perhaps, swift servant of Jehovah].

A priest in the days of the high priest Joiakim. He was the head of the paternal house of Sallai and returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel in 537 B.C.E. after the Babylonian exile.—Neh. 12:1, 12, 20, 26.

KAMON

(Kaʹmon) [perhaps, standing place, fastness].

The burial place of Judge Jair. (Judg. 10:5) Josephus speaks of Kamon as “a city of Gilead.” (Antiquities of the Jews, Book V, chap. VII, par. 6) This seems to fit the Scriptural reference to Jair’s being a “Gileadite.” (Judg. 10:3) Two locations E of the Jordan are commonly presented for ancient Kamon. One is Qamm, about eleven miles (18 kilometers) SE of the Sea of Galilee. But its ruins give no evidence of habitation before Roman times. The other suggestion is the site of the less impressive ruins of undetermined antiquity at Qumeim, more than one mile (c. 2 kilometers) farther S.

KANAH

(Kaʹnah) [reed].

1. A torrent valley that served as a boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. (Josh. 16:8; 17:9) Today it is usually linked with the Wadi Qanah. This small stream rises in the hill country a few miles SW of Nablus (thought to be ancient Shechem) and, as the Wadi Ishkar, flows in a southwesterly direction and then joins the Yarkon River, which empties into the Mediterranean Sea N of Tel Aviv. However, some scholars believe that in Joshua’s day the lower course of the Wadi Qanah perhaps flowed directly into the Mediterranean at a point about eight miles (13 kilometers) farther N.

2. A boundary city of Asher. (Josh. 19:24, 28) It is generally identified with modern Qana, about seven and a half miles (12 kilometers) SE of Tyre.

KAPH

[כ; final, ך].

The eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet; later, outside the Hebrew Scriptures, used also as a number to denote twenty. It is one of five Hebrew letters that have a different form when used as the final letter of a word. In Hebrew, kaph means “palm of hand.”

From the letter kaph the Greek letter kapʹpa is derived, and, in turn, the Latin and English “k” is derived from kapʹpa. In sound kaph corresponds to kh when not having the point (dagesh lene) in it; but with this point in it (כּ), it becomes hard like our English “k.” In the Hebrew, it is the initial letter in each of the eight verses of Psalm 119:81-88. The letters kaph [כ] and behth [ב] are similar in appearance.

KAPPA

[Κ, (κ].

The tenth letter in the Greek alphabet. It is derived from the Hebrew kaph, and, in turn, the English “k” originates from this source. It is pronounced like our “k.”

Kapʹpa, accented as a number, means twenty (κ΄) and, with the subscript (,κ), 20,000.

KAREAH

(Ka·reʹah) [baldhead, or, bald one].

A man of Judah whose sons Johanan and Jonathan were chiefs of military forces in Judah. This was at the time Gedaliah was commissioned by the king of Babylon over the Judeans not taken into Babylonian exile following Jerusalem’s destruction in 607 B.C.E.—2 Ki. 25:21-23; Jer. 40:7, 8.

KARKA

(Karʹka) [floor].

A site on Judah’s S boundary (Josh. 15:1-3), the location of which is today unknown.

KARKOR

(Karʹkor).

The campsite E of the Jordan from which the remaining forces of Midianite Kings Zebah and Zalmunna were routed by Judge Gideon’s surprise military maneuver. (Judg. 8:10, 11) Karkor’s exact location is today unknown. Some geographers, however, tentatively identify it with Qarqar, located over a hundred miles (161 kilometers) E of the Dead Sea. Whether Gideon’s tired foot soldiers traveled that distance in pursuit of the enemy may be subject to doubt.—Compare Judges 8:4, 5.

KARTAH

(Karʹtah).

A city given to the Merarite Levites out of the inheritance of Zebulun. (Josh. 21:34) Some would link Kartah with the coastal city of ʽAthlit,?1 about nine miles (15 kilometers) S of modern Haifa, but others consider it to be the same as Kattath.—Josh. 19:15.

KARTAN

(Karʹtan).

A city of Naphtali given to the Gershonite Levites. (Josh. 21:27, 32) It is apparently called Kiriathaim at 1 Chronicles 6:76. Kartan’s modern location is usually placed at Khirbet el-Qureiyeh, about thirteen miles (21 kilometers) W-NW of the Huleh Basin.

KATTATH

(Katʹtath).

A city of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 15), often considered to be the same as Kitron. (Judg. 1:30) But some geographers prefer to link it with ancient Kartah.—Josh. 21:34.

KEDAR

(Keʹdar) [perhaps, mighty, swarthy, or, black-tented].

1. One of the twelve sons of Ishmael.—Gen. 25:13-15; 1 Chron. 1:29-31.

2. An Arab tribe descended from Ishmael’s son Kedar and classed with “the sons of the East.” Their land is also called Kedar. (Jer. 2:10; 49:28, 29) A nomadic and pastoral people, having herds of sheep, goats and camels (Isa. 60:7; Jer. 49:28, 29), the Kedarites evidently inhabited the Syro-Arabian desert E of Palestine in the NW part of the Arabian Peninsula. The reference to “the settlements that Kedar inhabits” (Isa. 42:11), while possibly referring to temporary encampments, may instead indicate that a portion of them were somewhat settled. Perhaps because of their importance among the Arab tribes, the name of Kedar in later times came to apply to desert tribes in general. In the Targums and in rabbinical literature, Arabia itself is sometimes called “Kedar.”

The Shulammite girl of The Song of Solomon likened her swarthy appearance to the “tents of Kedar” (Song of Sol. 1:5, 6; compare Psalm 120:5), these likely being made of black goat’s hair, as are the tents of many modern-day Bedouins. Ezekiel’s prophecy mentions the “chieftains of Kedar” along with the Arabs as merchants in male lambs, rams and he-goats for the commercial city of Tyre.—Ezek. 27:21.

During the time of Assyria’s dominance in the Near East, the prophet Isaiah foretold the sudden decline of Kedar’s glory, her mighty bowmen being reduced to a mere remnant. (Isa. 21:16, 17) The Kedarites are evidently the Qidri or Qadri referred to in Assyrian records of warring campaigns. Assyrian King Ashurbanipal includes them with the Aribi (Arabs) and Nebaioth (compare Isaiah 60:7) in one campaign account and boasts of the asses, camels and sheep taken from them as booty.

At a later time, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, struck down Kedar. (Jer. 49:28, 29) The monarch’s conquest of N Arabia is mentioned by Babylonian historian Berossus, quoted by Josephus.—Flavius Josephus Against Apion, Book I, par. 19.

A silver bowl (considered to be of the fifth century B.C.E.) found at Tell el-Maskhuta in Egypt bears the Aramaic inscription: “Qainu the son of Geshem, king of Kedar.” The Geshem meant in this case may be “Geshem the Arabian” who opposed the work of rebuilding Jerusalem’s wall in Nehemiah’s day.—Neh. 2:19; 6:1, 2, 6.

Assyrian records indicate that at the shrine of King Hazail of Kedar (at Adumatu) there were images of the following false deities: Atarsamain (the Assyrians identified her with Ishtar Dilbat), Dai, Nahai, Ruldaiu, Atarquruma and Abirillu. A star of gold decorated with precious stones served as a symbol of the goddess Atarsamain. According to the Babylonian Talmud (Taʽan. 5b), the people of Kedar also worshiped water.

KEDEMAH

(Kedʹe·mah) [eastward; toward the east].

A son of Ishmael, named last in order at Genesis 25:15 and 1 Chronicles 1:31. In fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 17:20), Kedemah was one of the twelve chieftains produced by Ishmael.

KEDEMOTH

(Kedʹe·moth) [possibly, beginnings, or, eastern parts].

The name applied to a city E of the Jordan and apparently also to the wilderness surrounding it. From the wilderness of Kedemoth Moses sent messengers to Amorite King Sihon, requesting permission to pass through his land. (Deut. 2:26, 27) Originally given to the Reubenites, Kedemoth was later assigned to the Merarite Levites. (Josh. 13:15, 18; 21:34, 36, 37; 1 Chron. 6:77-79) Geographers generally favor as a possible identification Kasr ez-Zaʽferan, situated about ten miles (16 kilometers) NE of what is thought to be the site of ancient Dibon.

KEDESH

(Keʹdesh) [sacred place, sanctuary].

1. A city in southern Judah (Josh. 15:21, 23), possibly the same as Kadesh-barnea.—See KADESH, KADESH-BARNEA.

2. A city of Naphtali given to the Gershonites and set aside as a city of refuge. (Josh. 20:7; 21:32, 33; 1 Chron. 6:71, 76) Because of its location it was also called “Kedesh-naphtali” (Judg. 4:6) and “Kedesh in Galilee.” (Josh. 20:7) Apparently the residence of Judge Barak, Kedesh served as the rallying point for his ten thousand men from Naphtali and Zebulun prior to their victory over the Canaanite army under Sisera. (Judg. 4:6, 10) Centuries later the city was conquered by Assyrian King Tigloth-pileser III during the rule of Israel’s King Pekah (778-758 B.C.E.).—2 Ki. 15:29.

Kedesh has been linked with Tell Qades, a mound overlooking a small, but fertile plain some four miles (6 kilometers) NW of the Huleh Basin.

3. A site in Issachar assigned to the “sons of Gershom” (1 Chron. 6:71, 72), seemingly the same as the “Kishion” mentioned in the parallel list at Joshua 21:28. Tell Abu Qedeis, about two and a half miles (4 kilometers) SE of Megiddo, has been suggested as a possible identification. This would seem to fit Joshua 12:21, 22, where Kedesh appears to be placed in the vicinity of Megiddo and Jokneam. Since Barak defeated Sisera in the Megiddo area (Judg. 5:19), it may have been near this Kedesh (and not No. 2 above) that Jael killed Canaanite army chief Sisera in her tent.—Judg. 4:11, 17, 21.

KEHELATHAH

(Ke·he·laʹthah) [congregation, or, assembly].

One of the places where the Israelites encamped while wandering in the wilderness. (Num. 33:22, 23) Its exact location is today unknown.

KEILAH

(Keiʹlah) [possibly, the spur].

A fortified Judean city in the Shephelah. (Josh. 15:20, 33, 44; 1 Sam. 23:7) Keilah was perhaps ‘founded’ or, at one time, ‘governed’ by some Calebite(s). (1 Chron. 4:15, 19; compare ATROTH-BETH-JOAB.) It is commonly identified with Khirbet Qila, situated on a hill about nine miles (15 kilometers) NW of Hebron. As in the region of ancient Keilah, today grain is cultivated in the vicinity of Khirbet Qila.—Compare 1 Samuel 23:1.

David, while outlawed by King Saul saved Keilah from falling to the Philistines. Yet afterward he and his men had to escape from the city to avoid being surrendered to Saul’s army by the landowners of Keilah.—1 Sam. 23:5, 8-13.

The city was reoccupied after the Babylonian exile. At the time Jerusalem’s walls were being repaired under Nehemiah’s direction, there were two half districts of Keilah, each with its own “prince.”—Neh. 3:17, 18.

KELAIAH

(Ke·laiʹah).

Another name for the Levite Kelita, a contemporary of Ezra the priest.—Ezra 10:23; see KELITA No. 1.

KELITA

(Ke·liʹta) [perhaps, crippled, dwarfed one, or, adopted one].

1. One of the Levites of Ezra’s day who recognized their guilt in taking foreign wives and therefore sent them away in 468-467 B.C.E. He is also called Kelaiah (meaning, perhaps, swift for Jehovah, Jehovah has dishonored, or, dwarf). (Ezra 10:23, 44) Possibly the same as Nos. 2 and 3.

2. A Levite who assisted Ezra in “explaining the law to the people” in 455 B.C.E.—Neh. 8:7, 8; see No. 1.

3. A Levite whose descendant, if not himself, attested by seal the “trustworthy arrangement” of Nehemiah’s time. (Neh. 9:38; 10:1, 9, 10) If Kelita himself, rather than a descendant, was present when this agreement was made, he may have been the same as No. 1 or No. 2.

KEMUEL

(Kem·uʹel) [perhaps, God’s mound, or, congregation of God].

1. A son of Abraham’s brother Nahor and his wife Milcah, and hence Abraham’s nephew. He had a son named Aram.—Gen. 22:20, 21.

2. Son of Shiphtan and a chieftain of the tribe of Ephraim. He was one of the twelve men appointed by Jehovah through Moses to divide the land of Canaan among the Israelites, representing the tribe of Ephraim in this undertaking.—Num. 34:16-29.

3. A Levite who was the father of Hashabiah, leader over the tribe of Levi in David’s day.—1 Chron. 27:16, 17.