Hebron in Easton's Bible Dictionary
a community; alliance. (1.) A city in the south end of the
valley of Eshcol, about midway between Jerusalem and
Beersheba,
from which it is distant about 20 miles in a
straight line. It
was built "seven years before Zoan in Egypt" (Gen.
13:18; Num.
13:22). It still exists under the same name, and is
one of the
most ancient cities in the world. Its earlier name
was
Kirjath-arba (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 14:15; 15:3). But
"Hebron would
appear to have been the original name of the city,
and it was
not till after Abraham's stay there that it received
the name
Kirjath-arba, who [i.e., Arba] was not the founder
but the
conqueror of the city, having led thither the tribe
of the
Anakim, to which he belonged. It retained this name
till it came
into the possession of Caleb, when the Israelites
restored the
original name Hebron" (Keil, Com.). The name of this
city does
not occur in any of the prophets or in the New
Testament. It is
found about forty times in the Old. It was the
favorite home of
Abraham. Here he pitched his tent under the oaks of
Mamre, by
which name it came afterwards to be known; and here
Sarah died,
and was buried in the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 23:17-
20), which
he bought from Ephron the Hittite. From this place
the patriarch
departed for Egypt by way of Beersheba (37:14;
46:1). It was
taken by Joshua and given to Caleb (Josh. 10:36, 37;
12:10;
14:13). It became a Levitical city and a city of
refuge (20:7;
21:11). When David became king of Judah this was his
royal
residence, and he resided here for seven and a half
years (2
Sam. 5:5); and here he was anointed as king over all
Israel (2
Sam. 2:1-4, 11; 1 Kings 2:11). It became the
residence also of
the rebellious Absalom (2 Sam. 15:10), who probably
expected to
find his chief support in the tribe of Judah, now
called
el-Khulil.
In one part of the modern city is a great mosque,
which is
built over the grave of Machpelah. The first
European who was
permitted to enter this mosque was the Prince of
Wales in 1862.
It was also visited by the Marquis of Bute in 1866,
and by the
late Emperor Frederick of Germany (then Crown-Prince
of Prussia)
in 1869.
One of the largest oaks in Israel is found in the
valley of
Eshcol, about 3 miles north of the town. It is
supposed by some
to be the tree under which Abraham pitched his tent,
and is
called "Abraham's oak." (See OAK -T0002758.)
(2.) The third son of Kohath the Levite (Ex. 6:18; 1
Chr. 6:2,
18).
(3.) 1 Chr. 2:42, 43.
(4.) A town in the north border of Asher (Josh.
19:28).
Read More about Hebron in Easton's Bible Dictionary
