Place Old Testament
Arad
Arad, a Canaanite city that attacked Israel during their wilderness journey, later inhabited by the Kenites. Mentioned in 4 verses across 3 books, first at Numbers 21:1.
Why it matters. Arad, Canaanite city, attacked Israel, later inhabited by Kenites
- Primary passages
- Location
- 31.281, 35.126 (approximate, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Arad
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.
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.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 4 verses across 3 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.