Genesis 35:21. Jacob's first halting place between Bethlehem and Hebron was "beyond" this. The name means "a flock" or "drove." The tower was to watch the flock against wild beasts or robbers. Jewish tradition made it the destined birthplace of Messiah. Jerome saw in it the foreshadowing of the announcement of His birth to the "shepherds." Probably the Tower of Edar answers to the present Khirbet Sir el Ghanem, "the ruin of the sheepfold," which however contains Christian remains, arches, cisterns, tombs, etc.