KEDESH ke’ dĕsh (קֶ֥דֶשׁ, LXX Καδης, sanctuary). Name of various places in Pal. This name, like Kadesh, with which it is sometimes confused, generally indicated a place where some kind of shrine had stood. Since such shrines may have been fairly common, the term may have been used at various locations, in some of which it was retained, eventually becoming simply a name with no continuing recollection of the cause of its origin.

1. The most prominent city in Scripture that bore this name was one of the “fenced cities” of Naphtali (Josh 19:35-38). “Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali” is listed (Josh 20:7) as one of the three cities of refuge set aside W of the Jordan. In the parallel lists of cities allocated to the Gershonite Levites (Josh 21:27-33; 1 Chron 6:71-76), the list of such cities in the area of the tribe of Naphtali includes “Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs” (Josh 21:32 KJV and 1 Chron 6:76 KJV). Barak had his residence at Kedesh-naphtali (Judg 4:6), and it was to this city that he called the representatives of Zebulun and Naphtali to plan the gathering of troops at Mt. Tabor (v. 10). Kedesh is listed as one of the cities, “all in the land of Naphtali,” that Tiglath-pileser conquered and led captive to Assyria in the reign of Pekah (2 Kings 15:29). A small village a few m. NW of Lake Huleh called Kades, and a nearby mound called Tell Kades, may well preserve the name and site of Kedesh-naphthali.

2. The frequency with which such a prominent city is specifically identified as “Kedesh in Naphtali” or “Kedesh in Galilee” suggests that another city of considerable importance may also have been called Kedesh. A king of Kedesh (Josh 12:22), one of the Canaanite kings, was killed by Joshua. Since this mention occurs directly after the kings of Taanach and Megiddo, it would seem to point to a city in that area. Unmistakable evidence of the existence of such a town is found (1 Chron 6) where the list of cities given to the Levites of the family of Gershom mentions not only Kedesh-naphtali (v. 76) but also another town of the same name in the region of Issachar (v. 72). In the parallel list (Josh 19:20) the place occupied by Kedesh is taken by the name Kishion. One wonders whether this could be another name for the same place based upon its nearness to the historic river Kishon. Further evidence of the existence of a Kedesh in Issachar near the river Kishon is found in Judges 4:11 where it is stated that Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the other Kenites, in the area of Judah in the S, and had moved his tent to the vicinity of Kedesh, thus laying the foundation for the later scene when Sisera, running from the battle, came to the tent of Heber and there met his death at the hand of Heber’s wife Jael (Judg 4:17) It is quite inconceivable that Sisera, fleeing from the battle in which all his men were killed, would have run forty m. N to the region of Kedesh in Galilee, twelve m. beyond the fortified city of Hazor to which Sisera belonged. The location near Taanach and Megiddo in the region of Issachar would fit the requirements of the narrative far better. A small mound in the area between these two towns still preserves the name Tell Abu Kudeis; its location fills the requirements of the story.

3. In the list of the cities of Judah in Joshua 15:23 the name Kedesh also occurs. Since there is no other mention of such a place in the Scripture it may be a city otherwise unknown or, as some have suggested, another name for Kadesh-barnea (q.v.).

Bibliography J. Garstang, The Foundations of Bible History: Joshua, Judges (1931), 301, 390, 391; F. M. Abel, Géographie de la Palestine, vol. 2 (1938), 416.