Hebron

Hebron is a city in the hill-country of Judah, south of Jerusalem, anciently known as Kiriath-arba after Arba the father of Anak (Jos 15:13, Jos 21:11). The patriarchal narratives, the conquest, the cities-of-refuge system, the rise of David's kingdom, and Absalom's revolt all converge on this single town. The cave of Machpelah at its edge holds the burials of Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the city later becomes David's first capital before he moves the throne to Jerusalem.

Names and antiquity

Hebron's earliest mention places Abram at "the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron," where he builds an altar to Yahweh (Gen 13:18). The town's older name, Kiriath-arba, is preserved alongside Hebron in repeated paired references: "Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen 23:2); Jacob comes "to Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac sojourned" (Gen 35:27); the spies pass through, "and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt" (Num 13:22). Joshua records both names together when assigning territory: "Kiriath-arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron)" (Jos 15:13).

The cave of Machpelah

The patriarchal burials are gathered at Machpelah, the field and cave at the edge of Mamre that Abraham buys from Ephron the Hittite. Sarah is the first laid there: "Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is Hebron), in the land of Canaan" (Gen 23:19). Isaac and Ishmael then bury Abraham in the same cave, "in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre" (Gen 25:9). Jacob's sons in turn carry his body home from Egypt to be buried "in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre" (Gen 50:13).

The Anakim and the conquest

When the spies are sent into Canaan, "they went up by the South, and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Anak, were there" (Num 13:22). At the conquest, Hoham king of Hebron joins Adoni-zedek's coalition against Joshua: "Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Jarmuth, and to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon" (Jos 10:3). Joshua then turns on the city itself: "And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, to Hebron; and they fought against it" (Jos 10:36). The campaign against the giants is summarized later: "And Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill-country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill-country of Judah" (Jos 11:21).

Caleb's inheritance

Hebron passes to Caleb as a personal grant. At Gilgal, Caleb reminds Joshua of Yahweh's promise through Moses: "I was forty years old when Moses the slave of Yahweh sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land; and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart" (Jos 14:7). He asks for the hill-country where the Anakim live, "for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and cities great and fortified" (Jos 14:12). The grant follows: "And Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day; because he wholly followed Yahweh, the God of Israel" (Jos 14:13-14). The summary glosses the older name: "Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba, which was great among man of Anakim. And the land had rest from war" (Jos 14:15).

The same allotment is repeated in the Judah list: "And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the [Speech] of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath-arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron)" (Jos 15:13). Judges echoes the conquest: "And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they struck Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai" (Judg 1:10), and "And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had spoken: and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak" (Judg 1:20).

City of refuge and Levitical city

Hebron is also set apart in the western refuge system: "And they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill-country of Naphtali, and Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill-country of Judah" (Jos 20:7). The Levitical allotment to the priests follows: "And they gave them Kiriath-arba, [Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill-country of Judah, with its suburbs round about it" (Jos 21:11), and "to the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs--the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Libnah with its suburbs" (Jos 21:13). The town that fell to Caleb the warrior thus also becomes a priests' city and a haven for the manslayer.

David's first capital

After Saul's death, David inquires of Yahweh and is sent to Hebron: "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And Yahweh said to him, Go up. And David said, Where shall I go up? And he said, To Hebron" (2Sa 2:1). David moves there with both wives and his men, and "they dwelt in the cities of Hebron" (2Sa 2:3). The men of Judah come to him, "and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah" (2Sa 2:4). The reign over Judah at Hebron lasts seven years and six months (2Sa 2:11).

David's family also grows there: "And to David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess" (2Sa 3:2). Eventually all the tribes come south: "Then all the tribes of Israel came to David to Hebron, and spoke, saying, Look, we are your bone and your flesh" (2Sa 5:1). The covenant and second anointing follow: "So all the elders of Israel came to the king to Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh: and they anointed David king over Israel" (2Sa 5:3). The Chronicler records the muster: "All these being men of war, that could order the battle array, came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David king over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart to make David king" (1Ch 12:38). The reign is then summed at the close of David's life: "the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hebron, and thirty and three [years] he reigned in Jerusalem" (1Ch 29:27; cf. 2Sa 5:5).

Burials and the pool of Hebron

The early years of David's Hebron reign are also marked by violent deaths and their burials in the city. Abner is killed by Joab and laid to rest there: "And they buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept" (2Sa 3:32). When Ish-bosheth is murdered, David's response gathers the conspirators, the pool of Hebron, and the grave of Abner into one verse: "And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in the grave of Abner the son of Ner in Hebron" (2Sa 4:12).

Absalom's revolt

Hebron is the city from which Absalom launches his coup. After receiving leave from his father, "he arose, and went to Hebron" (2Sa 15:9), and there the proclamation goes out: "But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you⁺ hear the sound of the trumpet, then you⁺ will say, Absalom is king in Hebron" (2Sa 15:10). The town that crowned David twice is now used by his son to claim the same throne against him.

Fortification, return, and Maccabean campaign

Under the divided monarchy, Rehoboam fortifies Hebron with Judah's defensive belt: "and Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin, fortified cities" (2Ch 11:10). After the exile, Nehemiah's list of resettled villages records the older name: "some of the sons of Judah dwelt in Kiriath-arba and its towns, and in Dibon and its towns, and in Jekabzeel and its villages" (Neh 11:25). In the Maccabean wars the city is taken and dismantled: "Then Judas and his brothers went forth and attacked the sons of Esau, in the land toward the south, and he took Hebron, and her towns. And he pulled down its fortifications, and burned its towers all round it" (1Ma 5:65).

Hebron son of Kohath

A separate Hebron is one of the four sons of Kohath in the Levitical genealogies: "And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred thirty and three years" (Ex 6:18). The same four names recur in the wilderness census ("Amram, and Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel," Num 3:19) and in the Chronicler's lists (1Ch 6:2; 1Ch 6:18; 1Ch 23:12). His own family is then enumerated: "The sons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth" (1Ch 23:19).