Place Old Testament
Kir
Kir, a city or region in Mesopotamia, possibly Elam, was the place where the Arameans were exiled and from where they originally came (2Ki.16.9; Amo.9.7). Mentioned in 4 verses across 3 books, first at 2 Kings 16:9.
Why it matters. A city or region in Mesopotamia, possibly Elam
- Primary passages
- Location
- 33.124, 45.931 (disputed, within about 2 km)
Coordinates from STEPBible TIPNR (palopenmaps.org link). Approximate; not independently verified. OpenBible.info places it about 987 km away (31.181, 35.702); the identification may be uncertain.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Kir
Kir is mentioned in the Bible as a city or region in Mesopotamia, distinct from the Moabite city of the same name. It is associated with the Arameans, who were a Semitic people that inhabited parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. According to 2Ki.16.9, during the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, the king of Assyria captured Damascus and exiled its inhabitants to Kir. The prophet Amos also mentions that the Arameans originally came from Kir before settling in Damascus (Amo.9.7). Some scholars suggest that Kir may be located in the region of Elam, east of Babylonia, based on its association with Elam in Isaiah 22:6. However, the exact location of Kir remains uncertain.
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.