Kiriath Jearim approach from Bet Shemesh

When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant from Eli and his immoral sons Hophni and Phinehas, they soon regretted their actions. They sent the ark back to the Israelites at Bet Shemesh, where 70 Jewish residents paid with their lives for looking into the holy box. The people of Kiriath Jearim took the ark safely into their community, where it stayed until David had it carried to Jerusalem. Kiriath Jearim is 10 miles (17 km) west of Jerusalem, right off the main modern highway leading from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Perched on a hill in the Judean Mountains, the city has long overlooked traffic going between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.