Kerioth

Kerioth (meaning cities or the callings) refers to two or possibly three distinct biblical locations. The most historically significant is Kerioth-hezron in the south of Judah (Joshua 15:25), believed by many commentators to be the birthplace of Judas Iscariot—the name Iscariot (Ish-Kerioth) possibly meaning man of Kerioth. If this etymology is correct, Judas was from a Judean town rather than from Galilee, making him a geographic outsider within the predominantly Galilean disciples.

A second Kerioth was a city of Moab, mentioned in Jeremiah 48:24, 41 and Amos 2:2 in oracles of judgment. Amos 2:2 threatens that fire will devour the palaces of Kerioth and Moab will die in tumult, suggesting it was a major Moabite city. The Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) mentions Kerioth as the seat of a significant sanctuary, possibly of the god Chemosh, indicating its religious centrality in Moab. This Moabite Kerioth is tentatively identified with el-Qreiyat south of the Arnon River in modern Jordan.