Kerioth - cities. (1.) A town in the south of Judah ( Josh. 15:25). Judas the traitor was probably a native of this place, and hence his name Iscariot. It has been identified with the ruins of el-Kureitein, about 10 miles south of Hebron. (See HAZOR [4]).

(2.) A city of Moab ( Jer. 48:24,Jer. 48:41), called Kirioth ( Amos 2:2).

Kesitah - ( Gen. 33:19, R.V., marg., a Hebrew word, rendered, A.V., pl. "pieces of money," marg., "lambs;" Josh. 24:32, "pieces of silver;" Job 42:11, "piece of money"). The kesitah was probably a piece of money of a particular weight, cast in the form of a lamb. The monuments of Egypt show that such weights were used. (See PIECES.)

Kettle - a large pot for cooking. The same Hebrew word (dud, "boiling") is rendered also "pot" ( Ps. 81:6), "caldron" (2 Chr. 35:13), "basket" ( Jer. 24:2). It was used for preparing the peace-offerings (1 Sam. 2:13,1 Sam. 2:14).

Keturah - incense, the wife of Abraham, whom he married probably after Sarah's death ( Gen. 25:1-6), by whom he had six sons, whom he sent away into the east country. Her nationality is unknown. She is styled "Abraham's concubine" (1 Chr. 1:32). Through the offshoots of the Keturah line Abraham became the "father of many nations."

Key - frequently mentioned in Scripture. It is called in Hebrew maphteah, i.e., the opener ( Judg. 3:25); and in the Greek New Testament kleis, from its use in shutting ( Matt. 16:19; Luke 11:52; Rev. 1:18, etc.). Figures of ancient Egyptian keys are frequently found on the monuments, also of Assyrian locks and keys of wood, and of a large size (comp. Isa. 22:22).

The word is used figuratively of power or authority or office ( Isa. 22:22; Rev. 3:7; Rev. 1:8; comp. 9:1; comp 20:1; comp. also Matt. 16:19; Matt 18:18). The "key of knowledge" ( Luke 11:52; comp. Matt. 23:13) is the means of attaining the knowledge regarding the kingdom of God. The "power of the keys" is a phrase in general use to denote the extent of ecclesiastical authority.

Kezia - cassia, the name of Job's second daughter Matt 42:14), born after prosperity had returned to him.

Keziz - abrupt; cut off, a city of the tribe of Benjamin ( Josh. 18:21).

Kibroth-hattaavah - the graves of the longing or of lust, one of the stations of the Israelites in the wilderness. It was probably in the Wady Murrah, and has been identified with the Erweis el-Ebeirig, where the remains of an ancient encampment have been found, about 30 miles north-east of Sinai, and exactly a day's journey from 'Ain Hudherah.

"Here began the troubles of the journey. First, complaints broke out among the people, probably at the heat, the toil, and the privations of the march; and then God at once punished them by lightning, which fell on the hinder part of the camp, and killed many persons, but ceased at the intercession of Moses ( Num. 11:1,Num. 11:2). Then a disgust fell on the multitude at having nothing to eat but the manna day after day, no change, no flesh, no fish, no high-flavoured vegetables, no luscious fruits...The people loathed the 'light food,' and cried out to Moses, 'Give us flesh, give us flesh, that we may eat.'" In this emergency Moses, in despair, cried unto God. An answer came. God sent "a prodigious flight of quails, on which the people satiated their gluttonous appetite for a full month. Then punishment fell on them: they loathed the food which they had desired; it bred disease in them; the divine anger aggravated the disease into a plague, and a heavy mortality was the consequence. The dead were buried without the camp; and in memory of man's sin and of the divine wrath this name, Kibroth-hattaavah, the Graves of Lust, was given to the place of their sepulchre" (Num. 11:34, 35; 33:16, 17; Deut. 9:22; comp. Ps. 78:30, 31)., Rawlinson's Moses, p. 175. From this encampment they journeyed in a north-eastern direction to Hazeroth.

Kibzaim - two heaps, a city of Ephraim, assigned to the Kohathite Levites, and appointed as a city of refuge (Josh. 21: 22). It is also called Jokmeam (1 Chr. 6:68).

Kid - the young of the goat. It was much used for food ( Gen. 27:9;Gen 38:17; Judg. 6:19; Judg 14:6). The Mosaic law forbade to dress a kid in the milk of its dam, a law which is thrice repeated ( Ex. 23:19;Ex 34:26; Deut. 14:21). Among the various reasons assigned for this law, that appears to be the most satisfactory which regards it as "a protest against cruelty and outraging the order of nature." A kid cooked in its mother's milk is "a gross, unwholesome dish, and calculated to kindle animal and ferocious passions, and on this account Moses may have forbidden it. Besides, it is even yet associated with immoderate feasting; and originally, I suspect," says Dr. Thomson (Land and the Book), "was connected with idolatrous sacrifices."

Kidron - = Kedron = Cedron, turbid, the winter torrent which flows through the Valley of Jehoshaphat, on the eastern side of Jerusalem, between the city and the Mount of Olives. This valley is known in Scripture only by the name "the brook Kidron." David crossed this brook bare-foot and weeping, when fleeing from Absalom (2 Sam. 15:23,2 Sam. 15:30), and it was frequently crossed by our Lord in his journeyings to and fro ( John 18:1). Here Asa burned the obscene idols of his mother (1 Kings 15:13), and here Athaliah was executed (2 Kings 11:16). It afterwards became the receptacle for all manner of impurities (2 Chr. 29:16;2 Chr 30:14); and in the time of Josiah this valley was the common cemetery of the city (2 Kings 23:6; comp. Jer. 26:23).

Through this mountain ravine no water runs, except after heavy rains in the mountains round about Jerusalem. Its length from its head to en-Rogel is 2 3/4 miles. Its precipitous, rocky banks are filled with ancient tombs, especially the left bank opposite the temple area. The greatest desire of the Jews is to be buried there, from the idea that the Kidron is the "valley of Jehoshaphat" mentioned in Joel 3:2.

Below en-Rogel the Kidron has no historical or sacred interest. It runs in a winding course through the wilderness of Judea to the north-western shore of the Dead Sea. Its whole length, in a straight line, is only some 20 miles, but in this space its descent is about 3,912 feet. (See KEDRON.)

Recent excavations have brought to light the fact that the old bed of the Kidron is about 40 feet lower than its present bed, and about 70 feet nearer the sanctuary wall.

Kinah - an elegy, a city in the extreme south of Judah ( Josh. 15:22). It was probably not far from the Dead Sea, in the Wady Fikreh.

Kine - (Heb. sing. parah, i.e., "fruitful"), mentioned in Pharaoh's dream (Gen. 41: 18). Here the word denotes "buffaloes," which fed on the reeds and sedge by the river's brink.

King - is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan ( Josh. 12:9,Josh. 12:24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek subdued seventy kings ( Judg. 1:7). In the New Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1 Pet. 2:13,1 Pet. 2:17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called a king ( Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22).

This title is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17), and to Christ, the Son of God (1 Tim. 6:15,1 Tim. 6:16; Matt. 27:11). The people of God are also called "kings" ( Dan. 7:22,Dan. 7:27; Matt. 19:28; Rev. 1:6, etc.). Death is called the "king of terrors" ( Job 18:14).

Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1 Sam. 8:7; Isa. 33:22). But there came a time in the history of that people when a king was demanded, that they might be like other nations (1 Sam. 8:5). The prophet Samuel remonstrated with them, but the people cried out, "Nay, but we will have a king over us." The misconduct of Samuel's sons was the immediate cause of this demand.

The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and partly as representatives of Jehovah, the true King of Israel (1 Sam. 10:1). The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1 Sam. 10:25). The officers of his court were, (1) the recorder or remembrancer (2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Kings 4:3); (2) the scribe (2 Sam. 8:17;2 Sam 20:25); (3) the officer over the house, the chief steward ( Isa. 22:15); (4) the "king's friend," a confidential companion (1 Kings 4:5); (5) the keeper of the wardrobe (2 Kings 22:14); (6) captain of the bodyguard (2 Sam. 20:23); (7) officers over the king's treasures, etc. (1 Chr. 27:25-31); (8) commander-in-chief of the army (1 Chr. 27:34); (9) the royal counsellor (1 Chr. 27:32; 2 Sam. 16:20-23).

(For catalogue of kings of Israel and Judah see chronological table in Appendix.)

Kingdom of God - ( Matt. 6:33; Mark 1:14, Mark 1:15; Luke 4:43) = "kingdom of Christ" ( Matt. 13:41;Matt 20:21) = "kingdom of Christ and of God" ( Eph. 5:5) = "kingdom of David" ( Mark 11:10) = "the kingdom" ( Matt. 8:12;Matt 13:19) = "kingdom of heaven" ( Matt. 3:2;Matt 4:17;Matt 13:41), all denote the same thing under different aspects, viz.: (1) Christ's mediatorial authority, or his rule on the earth; (2) the blessings and advantages of all kinds that flow from this rule; (3) the subjects of this kingdom taken collectively, or the Church.

Kingly office of Christ - one of the three special relations in which Christ stands to his people. Christ's office as mediator comprehends three different functions, viz., those of a prophet, priest, and king. These are not three distinct offices, but three functions of the one office of mediator.

Christ is King and sovereign Head over his Church and over all things to his Church ( Eph. 1:22;Eph 4:15; Col. 1:18; Col 2:19). He executes this mediatorial kingship in his Church, and over his Church, and over all things in behalf of his Church. This royalty differs from that which essentially belongs to him as God, for it is given to him by the Father as the reward of his obedience and sufferings ( Phil. 2:6-11), and has as its especial object the upbuilding and the glory of his redeemed Church. It attaches, moreover, not to his divine nature as such, but to his person as God-man.

Christ's mediatorial kingdom may be regarded as comprehending, (1) his kingdom of power, or his providential government of the universe; (2) his kingdom of grace, which is wholly spiritual in its subjects and administration; and (3) his kingdom of glory, which is the consummation of all his providential and gracious administration.

Christ sustained and exercised the function of mediatorial King as well as of Prophet and Priest, from the time of the fall of man, when he entered on his mediatorial work; yet it may be said that he was publicly and formally enthroned when he ascended up on high and sat down at the Father's right hand ( Ps. 2:6; Jer. 23:5; Isa. 9:6), after his work of humiliation and suffering on earth was "finished."

King's dale - mentioned only in Gen. 14:17; 2 Sam. 18:18, the name given to "the valley of Shaveh," where the king of Sodom met Abram.

Kings, The Books of - The two books of Kings formed originally but one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX., which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as the third and fourth books of Kings, the two books of Samuel being the first and second books of Kings.

They contain the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon till the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). The books of Chronicles (q.v.) are more comprehensive in their contents than those of Kings. The latter synchronize with 1 Chr. 28-2 Chr. 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the kingly.

The authorship of these books is uncertain. There are some portions of them and of Jeremiah that are almost identical, e.g., 2 Kings 24:18-25 and Jer. 52; 39:1-10; Jer 40:7-41:10. There are also many undesigned coincidences between Jeremiah and Kings (2 Kings 21-23 and Jer. 7:15; Jer 15:4; Jer 19:3, etc.), and events recorded in Kings of which Jeremiah had personal knowledge. These facts countenance in some degree the tradition that Jeremiah was the author of the books of Kings. But the more probable supposition is that Ezra, after the Captivity, compiled them from documents written perhaps by David, Solomon, Nathan, Gad, and Iddo, and that he arranged them in the order in which they now exist.

In the threefold division of the Scriptures by the Jews, these books are ranked among the "Prophets." They are frequently quoted or alluded to by our Lord and his apostles ( Matt. 6:29;Matt 12:42; Luke 4:25, Luke 4:26; Luke 10:4; comp. 2 Kings 4:29; Mark 1:6; comp. 2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4, etc.).

The sources of the narrative are referred to (1) "the book of the acts of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:41); (2) the "book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah" 1 Kings 14:29;1 Kings 15:7,1 Kings 14:23, etc.); (3) the "book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel" 1 Kings 14:19;1 Kings 15:31;1 Kings 16:14,1 Kings 14:20,1 Kings 14:27, etc.).

The date of its composition was some time between B.C. 561, the date of the last chapter (2 Kings 25), when Jehoiachin was released from captivity by Evil-merodach, and B.C. 538, the date of the decree of deliverance by Cyrus.

Kinsman - Heb. goel, from root meaning to redeem. The goel among the Hebrews was the nearest male blood relation alive. Certain important obligations devolved upon him toward his next of kin. (1.) If any one from poverty was unable to redeem his inheritance, it was the duty of the kinsman to redeem it ( Lev. 25:25,Lev. 25:28; Ruth 3:9, Ruth 3:12). He was also required to redeem his relation who had sold himself into slavery ( Lev. 25:48,Lev. 25:49).

God is the Goel of his people because he redeems them ( Ex. 6:6; Isa. 43:1; Isa 41:14; Isa 44:6, Isa. 43:22; Isa 48:20; Ps. 103:4; Job 19:25, etc.).

(2.) The goel also was the avenger (q.v.) of blood ( Num. 35:21) in the case of the murder of the next of kin.

Kir - a wall or fortress, a place to which Tiglath-pileser carried the Syrians captive after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; Amos 9:7). Isaiah Amos 22:6), who also was contemporary with these events, mentions it along with Elam. Some have supposed that Kir is a variant of Cush (Susiana), on the south of Elam.

Kir-haraseth - built fortress, a city and fortress of Moab, the modern Kerak, a small town on the brow of a steep hill about 6 miles from Rabbath-Moab and 10 miles from the Dead Sea; called also Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth, Kir-heres ( Isa. 16:7,Isa. 16:11; Jer. 48:31, Jer. 48:36). After the death of Ahab, Mesha, king of Moab (see MOABITE STON), threw off allegiance to the king of Israel, and fought successfully for the independence of his kingdom. After this Jehoram, king of Israel, in seeking to regain his supremacy over Moab, entered into an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Jdah, and with the king of Edom. The three kings led their armies against Mesha, who was driven back to seek refuge in Kir-haraseth. The Moabites were driven to despair. Mesha then took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his stead, and offered him as a burnt-offering on the wall of the fortress in the sight of the allied armies. "There was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land." The invaders evacuated the land of Moab, and Mesha achieved the independence of his country (2 Kings 3:20-27).

Kirjath - city, a city belonging to Benjamin ( Josh. 18:28), the modern Kuriet el-'Enab, i.e., "city of grapes", about 7 1/2 miles west-north-west of Jerusalem.

Kirjathaim - two cities; a double city. (1.) A city of refuge in Naphtali (1 Chr. 6:76).

(2.) A town on the east of Jordan ( Gen. 14:5; Deut. 2:9, Deut. 2:10). It was assigned to the tribe of Reuben ( Num. 32:37). In the time of Ezekiel ( Num 25:9) it was one of the four cities which formed the "glory of Moab" (comp. Jer. 48:1, Jer. 48:23). It has been identified with el-Kureiyat, 11 miles south-west of Medeba, on the south slope of Jebel Attarus, the ancient Ataroth.