Arba

Biblical Record

Arba appears as a personal name in three verses of the Book of Joshua.

• Joshua 14:15 states that the former name of Hebron was Kiriath-arba, and that Arba "was a great man among the Anakims" (KJV; many modern translations render the phrase "the greatest man among the Anakim").
• Joshua 15:13 calls Hebron "the city of Arba the father of Anak." This city was given as an inheritance (an allotted portion of land) to Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
• Joshua 21:11 records that the same city was given to the descendants of Aaron among the Levites.

Nothing is recorded of Arba's life or deeds. He is mentioned only in passages explaining the history of Hebron and of the descendants of Anak. His descendants Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai were the men whom the twelve spies saw at Hebron (Numbers 13:22). Joshua 15:14 records that Caleb drove them out.

Significance Within Scripture

The name Arba appears more often as part of the place name Kiriath-arba ("the city of Arba"). Genesis 23:2 records that Sarah died in Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, and Genesis 35:27 states that Jacob returned to Mamre, near Kiriath-arba. The place name also appears in Judges 1:10, Joshua 20:7 (the list of cities of refuge), and Nehemiah 11:25.

Within the text, Arba represents the powerful inhabitants who held Hebron before Israel entered the land: he was the ancestor of the descendants of Anak whom the spies feared (Numbers 13:33). The account of this land passing to Caleb is read as a demonstration of the fulfillment of God's promise. The New Testament does not mention Arba.

Interpretations and Debates

• Meaning of the name: The Hebrew Arba is identical in form to the word for the number "four." For this reason, some scholars take Kiriath-arba to have originally meant "Four Cities" or "City of Four," and regard the explanation in Joshua as a later reinterpretation of the name as that of a person. Others, following the text as written, hold that the name derives from an actual individual.
• Later tradition: Jewish tradition preserves explanations linking the name to a group of four, such as the four couples buried at Hebron or Anak and his three sons. These explanations are not found in the biblical text.
• "Father" and "greatest man": "The father of Anak" may denote a biological father or the founding ancestor of a clan or city. Interpreters also differ over whether "greatest" refers to physical stature or to rank and influence. Stories describing Arba as a giant of a specific height have no basis in the text.
• Dating: The place name Kiriath-arba already appears in the Abraham narratives of Genesis. Consequently, opinions differ as to whether Arba lived before Abraham or whether the writer used a place name current in his own day.

In Korean Churches

Sermons or Sunday school lessons devoted specifically to Arba are rare. He is usually mentioned in passing when preachers expounding Joshua 14, in which Caleb asks for the hill country of Hebron, explain Hebron's former name and the descendants of Anak.