Joshua 14:15

Kirjath-arba. Kirjath means “city,” and Arba is the name of the father of Anak (ch. 15:13), from whom came the Anakim. The first mention of this place in Scripture is by the name Hebron (Gen. 13:18), but it was either built or rebuilt by the Anakim and named Kirjath-arba.

After that territory was reconquered by Caleb, the city was called Hebron. The name Hebron, meaning “alliance,” is a derivative of the Hebrew verb chabar, which has the meaning “to associate,” “to join fellowship,” or “to ally.”

The land had rest. This statement appears in ch. 11:23, where its position is perfectly natural. There it closes the record of the wars of Joshua. It is not so easily accounted for here, but its apparent reference is to the land taken by Caleb from the Anakim. Then, again, the statement may be a reiteration of the conclusion of Joshua’s campaigns. After this the conquest consisted more of isolated battles than of general wars. The enemy was now disjointed and broken, and Israel could move in and take over without too much resistance. God had promised to go before His people to subdue the rest of the land, and if Israel had moved forward by faith and obedience, the land would soon have had rest in the fullest sense of the word.