Places in the Bible Today:

Kir 1

Data

Translated NameKir
Typesmountain range, region, settlement, or valley
Geo Data KML (for Google Earth)
GeoJSON (for GIS applications)

9 Possible Identifications

  1. Der (modern): 50% confidence

    1. artifact related to DerDer

  2. within 100 km of the Kura River (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of the Kura Riverwithin 100 km of the Kura River

  3. Amuk Valley (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of the Amuk ValleyAmuk Valley

  4. another name for Koa (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of a mountain in GutiumGutium

  5. within 50 km of Tell Meskene (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. ruins at Tell Meskenewithin 50 km of Tell Meskene

  6. not a proper name (common noun for "city"): less than 10% confidence
  7. within 100 km of Elam (ancient): less than 10% confidence

    1. ruins at Shushwithin 100 km of Shush

  8. El Kaiyara (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. satellite view of the region around El KaiyaraEl Kaiyara

  9. plain between the Tigris River and Elam (modern): less than 10% confidence

    1. panorama of a region in the plain between the Tigris River and Elamplain between the Tigris River and Elam

Verses (4)

1Sam-Esth (1)
2Kgs 16:9
Job-Mal (3)
Isa 22:6
Amos 1:5, 9:7

Linked Data Identifiers

SourceIdentifier
Logos FactbookKir
OpenBible.info (2007)Kir
OpenBible.infoab92800 (Kir 1)
TIPNRKir@1Sa.22.3
UBS Names Databaseot ID_2599
WikidataQ65086594

Sources

  1. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (1992): Kir (place)
  2. Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2013): Kir
  3. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000): Kir
  4. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (2003)
  5. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1979): Kir
  6. New Bible Dictionary (1996): Kir
  7. New Unger’s Bible Dictionary (1988): Kir

Confidence Trends over Time

This chart indicates how confidence in the identifications is changing over time. Each dot (connected by a dotted line) reflects the confidence of an identification over the preceding ten years (e.g., the 2009 dot reflects scholarship from 2000 to 2009), and the corresponding solid line reflects a best-fit line for the identification. Confidences that cluster near or below 0% indicate low confidence. Because of the small dataset, it's best to use this chart for general trends; if one identification is trending much higher than the others (in this case, Der), then you can probably have higher confidence in the identification. This chart only reflects the sources I consulted (listed above), not an exhaustive review of the literature.

Places with Similar Names

Thumbnail Image Credits

Gary Todd, Smerus, Radyokid, Hosseiniran, James Gordon, Carole Raddato, Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2019, درفش کاویانی

About

This page attempts to identify all the possible locations where this biblical place could be. The confidence levels add up to less than 100%, indicating that the modern location is uncertain. It's best to think about the confidences in relative rather than absolute terms. Often they reflect different schools of thought, each confident in their identifications.

The isobands you see on the map (gray areas with dark borders) attempt to give you confidence where a region is. Because many ancient regions aren't precisely defined, I consulted atlases to determine where the biblical region is located and used that data to build the isobands. The smaller isobands reflect more confidence that the given isoband is in the region, while the larger isobands reflect less confidence. Isobands are a kind of contour line that here indicate confidence levels.