Person Old Testament
Arba
Arba was the father of Anak and the namesake of Kiriath-arba, which was the former name of Hebron. Mentioned in 3 verses across 1 book, first at Joshua 14:15.
Why it matters. Father of Anak, former name of Hebron
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Arba
Arba is mentioned in the book of Joshua as the father of Anak and the namesake of Kiriath-arba, which was the former name of the city of Hebron. Hebron was a significant city in the hill country of Judah, later assigned to Caleb as part of his inheritance. The text states that Hebron's former name was Kiriath-arba, which means "the city of Arba." Arba is described as the greatest man among the Anakim, a group of people known for their large stature and strength. The Anakim were descendants of Anak and were considered a formidable enemy by the Israelites during their conquest of Canaan. The renaming of the city from Kiriath-arba to Hebron marks a significant shift in the region's history as the Israelites claimed the land promised to them by God. Apart from this mention in Joshua, no further information is provided about Arba himself in the biblical text.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Anak
Appears in Scripture
Named in 3 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.