Bible Dictionaries
Keilah

Holman Bible Dictionary

(kih' i' luh) Personal and place name perhaps meaning, “fortress.” 1. A descendant of Caleb (1 Chronicles 4:19 ). 2 . A fortified city in the lowland plain (Shephelah) of the territory of Judah identified with modern khirbet Qila, about eight miles northwest of Hebron and eighteen miles southwest of Jerusalem. David rescued the city from a Philistine attack but later withdrew fearing the populace would hand him over to Saul (1 Samuel 23:1-13 ). The city was rebuilt by the returning exiles (Nehemiah 3:17-18 ). One of the traditional sites of the burial place of Habakkuk.