KEDESH
KEDESH (
Καδής, LXX.).
1.
A town of Naphtali, 20 M. P. from Tyre. (Euseb.
Onomast. s. v. Cedes.) Its Canaanitish chieftain was slain at the conquest of the land (
Josh. 12.22); afterwards it belonged to the Levites, and was one of the cities of refuge. (
Josh. 20.7, 21.32; 1
Chron. 6.76.) Barak was born here (
Judges, 4.6): and Tiglath-Pileser made tile conquest of it (2
Kings, 15.29).
It was the scene of the victory of Jonathan Maccabaeus over the princes of Demetrius (1
Macc. 11.63--73), and was the birthplace of Tobias (
Κύδις τῆς Νεφθαλείμ, Tobit, 1.2). In Josephus,
Κύδισα (
Antiq. 9.11.1) or
Κέδασα (
Antiq. 13.5.1) is spoken of as the boundary between Tyre and Galilee: during the war it appears to have been hostile to Galilee (
B. J. 2.18.1).
The strongly fortified place in this district, called
Κυδοισσοί by the same writer (
B. J. 4.2.3), is probably the same as Kedesh.
A village on the hills opposite the marshes of
Hûlet-Bâniâs, still called
Kedes, is identified by Dr. Robinson with the ancient city. (
Bibl. Res. vol. iii. p. 355.)
Kedes was visited in 1844 by the Rev. Eli Smith, who has a full account of it in MS. (
Biblioth. Sacra, vol. iii. p. 203.)
2.
A town in the S. district of the tribe of Judah. (
Josh. 15.23.)
3.
A town of Issachar, belonging to the Levites. (1
Chron. 6.72; Reland,
Palaest. p. 668; Winer,
Biblisch. Realwört. s.v.; Von Raumer,
Palest. p. 129; Ritter,
Erdkunde, vol. xv.pp. 246--252.) [
E.B.J]
