The Jewish writers take Kiriath-arba to mean the city of fmir, which they refer to four saints, — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam, — in which Jerome also concurs. Sir John Mauudeville (in A.D. 1322) states that at the time of his visit the Saracens called Hebron Karicarba, while the Jews called it Arbothe ; and he also refers to Adam being buried there.
Hebron became after the entry into the Promised Land a city of Judah, situated (Jos lo**) in the hill- country (.ios 20" 21"), and is stated by Eusebius
HEBKuX
HEBRON
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(Onom. s.v. ApKti) to be 22 miles soutli of Jerusalem and 2U miles north of Beerslieba. It is now called tl-Khalil (' The Friend ') by the Mohammedans.
Hebron played an important i)art in the early history of the Hebrews until Jerusalem became the capital of Palestine. jVbraham, after vaxing rich and separating from Lot, came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there unto the Lord (Gn 13"). From here he went to the rescue of Lot, and brought him back after defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him ; here his name was cluuiged from Abram to Abraham, and it was here th.it he entertained the angels unawares (Gn 14"*- 17° 18-). Here Isaac was born, and Sarah died and was buried in the cave of the field of Mach- pelah, bought by Abraham as a burial-place. Here also Isaac and Jacob lived part of th^ir lives (Gn 35" 37") ; from here Jacob sent Joseph to seek his brethren, when he was taken into Egj-pt, and from here Jacob and his sons followed after (Gn 35" 46'). Here the three patriarchs and their wives, except Kaehel, were buried (Gn 49""-*' 50"). Here the spies sent by Moses saw the Nephilim or giants, the sons of Anak (Nu 13--).
Hebron was taken by Joshua and given as an inheritance to Caleb, wlio drove out the three sons of Anak (Jos 14'- IS"). It was made one of the six cities of refuge (Jos 20', Jos. Ant. V. i. 24, ii. 3), and given with its suburbs to Kohathite Levites ; but the fields of the city and the villages thereof were given to Caleb (Jos 21"). One of the exploits of Samson was to bring the gates of the city of Gaza and place them on the top of the mountain that is before Hebron (Jg 10'). Hebron was one of the cities to which Uavid sent a portion of the spoils after smiting the Amalekites ; liere he was anointed king over the house of Judali ; and here he remained king of Judah seven and a half years, and six sons were born to him (2 S 2. 3).
Here Abner was treacherously slain by Joab at the gate, and was buried ; and here the sons of Rimmon the Beerolhile, after their hands and their feet had been cut oil, were hanged ' beside the pool ' (2 S 3'-'' i^). Here came all the elders of Israel, and anointed David king over Israel [2 S 5^). Here it was that Absalom came to be declared king (2S 15'"). At this time there was a spot here for worshipping the Lord, j)robably the altar said to have been erected by Abraham to the Lord by the terebinths of Mamre (Gn 13'* 15"). (But see Jerome, Qu(est. Hebr. on 2 S 15").
According to Josephus (..4 7i<. VIII. ii. 1), king Solo- mon went to Hebron to sacrifice to the Lord ' upon the brazen altar that was built bj' Moses' ; and here the Lord apjjcared to Solomon, who prayed for a sound mind and {jood judj;ment ; but it IS stated in the Bible (1 Iv 3*) that this took place at the gieat high place at Gibeon.
Rehoboam fortified Hebron (2 Ch 11'"), and it was occupied after the Captivity, when it was called by its old name Kiriath-arba (Neh 11^). Judas MaccabiL'Us captured it from the Edoniites, and 'pulled down the slronj^holds thereof, and burned the towers thereof.' It had thus at that time ceased to be a city of Judah (1 Mac 5°" ; Ant. XII. viii. 6).
At the time that Vespasian was making pre- parations for the final siege of Jerusalem, Simeon tar-CJioras made a sudden raid into Kdomand took Hebron without bloodshuil ; but it was shortly afterwards recajitured by Cerealis, one of the com- manders of Vesjia.sian's army, and was burnt down (BJ IV. ix. 7, U). Josephus states that at this time the monuments of llie posteritv of Abraham were to bo seen ot Hebron, 'the faoric of which monuments is of the most excellent marble, and wrought after the most elegant manner. There
is also shown at a distance of six furlonj^'s from the city a very large turpentine tree, which has continued since the creation of the world.'
In the 4th cent, the sepulchres of the patri- archs were still shown at Hebron, built of marble and of elegant workmanship. The church de- scribed by Eusebius at the terebinths ajipears to have been the Great Basilica of Constantine, remains of which are still to be seen (Onomast. art. ' Arboch ') to the north of Hebron. The Bor- deaux Pilgrim (A.D. 333) describes the monu- ment of Abraham as a quadrangle built of stones of admirable beauty. Antoninus Martyr (/tin. 30) describes a quadrangle with an interior court, open to the sky, into which Jews and Christians entered from ditierent sides, burning incense as they advanced. In the 6th cent. Arculf visited Hebron when it was occupied by the Sara- cens, and he describes the sepult-lire as small and mean, situated about a stadium from Mamre on the east, and surrounded bj- a low wall. Willibald in the 8th cent, passed here, and mentions the sepulchres in the castle Aframia ; and Sicwulf, 1103, siieaks of the monuments to the patriarchs being surrounded by a very strong castle. In 1167 Hebron was erected into a bishopric under the Latins. William of Tyre says tliat there never w as a Greek bishop before this, but only a prior. Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Hebron in 1103, states that the ancient city was standing on a hill in ruins ; while the modern city stood in the valley in the field of Machpelah. He also describes the iron door leading to the caves.