What and who is…
Keilah
Hebrew: קְעִילָה —meaning: citadel; fortress city
This is the name of an ancient Canaanite city and a Judean man.
Keilah, the city
This ancient Canaanite city was in the lowlands of the Tribe of Judah and is first mentioned in Joshua 15:44, along with 8 other cities—Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Achzib and Mareshah.
Keilah is mentioned by name in 16 verses of Scripture—in Joshua, Samuel, Chronicles and Nehemiah.
Before he was king of Israel, David risked his life to rescue this city from Philistine attack, as recorded in 1 Samuel 23:1-8).
“Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are pillaging the threshing floors.” So David asked of Yahweh, saying, “Shall I go and strike these Philistines?” And Yahweh said to David, “Go and strike the Philistines and save Keilah.”
But David’s men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the battle lines of the Philistines?”
Then David asked of Yahweh once more. And Yahweh answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” —1 Samuel 23:1-4 LSB excerpt
Later, after having saved the city, the inhabitants proved unfaithful to David. They intended to turn him over to King Saul who sought to kill him. Warned by God, David and his men, numbering about 600, departed from Keilah before that could happen (1 Samuel 23:13).
They fled to the hill Hareth, about 3 miles to the east, and from there through Hebron to Ziph. “And David was in the wilderness of Ziph, in a wood” (1 Samuel 23:15).
Here Prince Jonathan sought him out, “and strengthened his hand in God.” This was the last discussion between David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 23:16-18).
Location
The ruins of this city were first unovered by archaeologists in 2007, and excavations have continued. Keilah is now a ruin located at Khirbet Qeyla near the modern village of Qila in the northwest of Israel’s Hebron Governorate, 7 miles (11 km) east of Bayt Jibrin and about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Kharas, Israel.
The 6 acre ruins (2.3 ha) overlook the Valley of Elah and date to the first half of the 10th century BC. The city is encircled by a 2,300 foot long stone wall (700 m). Some of the stones weigh up to 8 tons. This place is also known Elah Fortress and in Hebrew as Horbat Qayafa (Hebrew: חוֹרְבָת קַייָאפַה).
A large structure was found at the center of the city which is believed to be an administrative building dating to the time of David. The city is located on the northern bank of Nahal Elah, one of six brooks that flow from the Judean mountains to the coastal plain.
A 40 minute walk to the east are the ruins of the fortified city of Azekah.
Keilah, the man
He is mentioned only once in a genealogical passage. He is a member of the Tribe of Judah.
The sons of the wife of Hodiah, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and Eshtemoa the Maacathite. —1 Chronicles 4:19
It is not clear what the adjective “Garmite” means. A clan name? A place name? Or is it something to do with his nature or occupation? The Hebrew word here is גַּרְמִי transliterated as garmi, which means bony, and may imply strength or something a person does to bone. The word comes from garam which applies to bone—to strip bone, break or gnaw bone. This word garmi only appears in Scripture in this single verse
What are the Cities of the Bible? Names, descriptions, locations and types