Addar is a name found in the King James Version of the Bible referring to at least two distinct things: a grandson of Benjamin, and a border town in the territory of Judah.
1. Addar, the Son of Bela (The Individual)
The primary mention of Addar as a person is in the genealogical records of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Identity: Addar was a grandson of Jacob (Israel), specifically a son of Bela, who was the firstborn son of Benjamin.
- KJV Scripture Reference:“And the sons of Bela were, Addar, and Gera, and Abihud,” (1 Chronicles 8:3, KJV)
- Identified with Ard: Biblical scholars widely agree that the person named Addar in 1 Chronicles is the same individual referred to as Ard in the earlier genealogical lists. The two names are variations of the same name.
- Genesis 46:21, KJV (Listing the sons of Benjamin who went down to Egypt): “And the sons of Benjamin were Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard.”
- Numbers 26:40, KJV (Census of the families of Benjamin): “And the sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of Ard, the family of the Ardites: and of Naaman, the family of the Naamites.”
Addar (Ard) was thus a founding father of a major family or clan, the Ardites, within the tribe of Benjamin.
2. Adar (Addar), the City (The Place)
The name Adar (which is spelled Addar in some ancient texts and modern versions, and shares the same Hebrew root) is also given to a location on the southern boundary of the promised land.
- KJV Scripture Reference:“And it went out southward to the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed on to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karka:” (Joshua 15:3, KJV)
- Known as Hazar-addar: This location is considered by many commentators to be synonymous with Hazar-addar (meaning “village/enclosure of Addar”) mentioned when the boundaries of the land of Canaan were first defined.”And your border shall turn about southward to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go forth to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon:” (Numbers 34:4, KJV)
This town was a key landmark used to delineate the southwestern border of the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah.