Kir

Kir, a city or region in Mesopotamia, possibly Elam, was the place where the Arameans were exiled and from where they originally came (2Ki.16.9; Amo.9.7).

Kir is mentioned in the Bible as a city or region in Mesopotamia, distinct from the Moabite city of the same name. It is associated with the Arameans, who were a Semitic people that inhabited parts of Syria and Mesopotamia. According to 2Ki.16.9, during the reign of King Ahaz of Judah, the king of Assyria captured Damascus and exiled its inhabitants to Kir. The prophet Amos also mentions that the Arameans originally came from Kir before settling in Damascus (Amo.9.7). Some scholars suggest that Kir may be located in the region of Elam, east of Babylonia, based on its association with Elam in Isaiah 22:6. However, the exact location of Kir remains uncertain.

A wall or fortress, a place to which Tiglath-pileser carried the Syrians captive after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; 9:7). Isaiah (22:6), who also was contemporary with these events, mentions it along with Elam. Some have supposed that Kir is a variant of Cush (Susiana), on the south of Elam.