Kitron
Kitron is an ancient city mentioned in the Old Testament, located in the region of Galilee in modern-day Israel. Known today as Khirbet Qutteina. It appears across 1 verse in Scripture.
Biblical History
Kitron is mentioned only in Judges 1:30, in the account of the incomplete conquest of Canaan following Joshua's death. The verse records that the tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol, and instead the Canaanites remained among them as forced laborers. This failure was part of a broader pattern described in Judges 1:27-36, where multiple Israelite tribes proved unable or unwilling to fully dispossess the Canaanite populations from their allotted territories. This incomplete obedience to God's command to drive out the inhabitants (Deuteronomy 7:1-2) became a recurring source of spiritual compromise, as the remaining Canaanites drew Israel into idolatry and syncretism. The angel of the Lord explicitly rebuked Israel for this failure at Bochim (Judges 2:1-5), warning that the unconquered peoples would become "thorns in your sides" and their gods a "snare." Kitron's mention thus represents a small but significant detail in the larger narrative of Israel's failure to fully trust and obey God during the settlement period.
Archaeological & Historical Notes
Kitron has been tentatively identified with Khirbet Qutteina (also rendered Qutteineh), located in the lower Galilee region within the tribal territory of Zebulun, northwest of the Jezreel Valley. Some scholars have alternatively identified Kitron with Tell el-Far in the Acco plain, based on geographical considerations and the parallel passage in Joshua 19:15 that lists Kattath in Zebulun's territory, which may be the same city under a variant name. Limited archaeological investigation at the proposed sites has prevented definitive identification. The broader lower Galilee region shows extensive evidence of mixed Canaanite-Israelite occupation during the Iron Age I period (ca. 1200-1000 BCE), consistent with the biblical account of incomplete Israelite conquest in Judges 1.
Verse Appearances (1)
Judg
Sources: ISBE Encyclopedia · OpenBible Geocoding (CC BY) · Pleiades Gazetteer View all →