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Arad

cityOld TestamentJudea1 verse
Today Tel AradCountry IsraelCoordinates 31.281, 35.125

Arad is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Judea in modern-day Israel. Known today as Tel Arad. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.

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Authority Records
Archaeological Data
Occupation Phases
Chalcolithic4500 BCE – 3800 BCE
Early Bronze Age IA3800 BCE – 3300 BCE
Early Bronze Age IB3300 BCE – 3050 BCE
Early Bronze Age II3050 BCE – 2850 BCE
Early Bronze Age III2850 BCE – 2500 BCE
Iron Age I1150 BCE – 980 BCE
Iron Age IIa980 BCE – 830 BCE
Iron Age IIb830 BCE – 720 BCE
Iron Age IIc720 BCE – 539 BCE
Iron Age III (Persian)539 BCE – 333 BCE
Hellenistic333 BCE – 63 BCE
Early Roman63 BCE – 70 CE
UnitoAssyrianGovernance, Villages to Empires Dataset (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732A. Palmisano, NERD — Near East Radiocarbon Dates (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.5767862Uppsala University, ANE Site Placemarks (CC BY 4.0), doi:10.5281/zenodo.6384044

Biblical History

This entry for Arad reflects the same Canaanite city in the Negev that features in Israel's wilderness and conquest narratives. In Judges 1:16, after the initial phases of the tribal settlement, the descendants of the Kenite, the family of Moses' father-in-law, are reported as having gone up from the City of Palms with the men of Judah into the wilderness of Judah which lies in the Negeb near Arad, where they settled among the people. This verse locates Arad as a geographical reference point for the Kenite settlement in the southern region. The Kenites had long maintained a close relationship with Israel, tracing their connection through Hobab/Jethro, and their settlement near Arad in the Negev represents one of the peaceful integrations of allied peoples into Israel's territorial domain. The name Arad may derive from a Semitic root meaning "wild donkey" or could reflect a topographical feature of the area, though its precise etymology remains uncertain. The city's role as a boundary marker in Judges underscores its continued geographical prominence even after its conquest.

Archaeological & Historical Notes

The Iron Age fortress at Tel Arad, built over the deserted Bronze Age city, served as a military outpost guarding the southern approaches to the Judean kingdom from at least the tenth century BCE. Successive fort structures, each built atop the ruins of the previous one, reflect the ongoing strategic importance of the site through the Israelite, Judahite, and later periods. The famous Arad ostraca, over a hundred Hebrew inscribed potsherds, document priestly rations, military orders, and administrative correspondence from the late monarchy period. Several ostraca mention the "house of YHWH," providing indirect corroboration of temple activities. The site is now an Israeli national park open to visitors.

Verse Appearances (1)

References

  1. Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
  2. OpenBible.info (n.d.) Bible Geocoding. Available at: https://www.openbible.info/geo/. [CC BY 4.0]
  3. Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.) (n.d.) Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places. Available at: https://pleiades.stoa.org. [CC BY 3.0]
  4. Wikidata contributors (n.d.) Wikidata. Available at: https://www.wikidata.org. [CC0]
  5. Lawrence, D. et al. (2025) Villages to Empires: a settlement dataset for the Southern Levant. doi:10.5281/zenodo.15111732. [CC BY 4.0]
  6. Church of England (1769) The Holy Bible, Authorized (King James) Version. [Public Domain]

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