Biblical Hebrew Blog by ClassicalHebrew.com

The patriarchal age is one of great importance for the people of Israel: it begins with Abraham’s journey, a daring voyage to a strange land led by faith in a then new, single God, who said unto him: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). At a late age of 100, 25 years after having arrived in Canaan, Abraham and Sarah give birth to their son, Isaac, and he and Rebecca then give birth to Esau and Jacob. Jacob, Rachel, Lea and their handmaids give birth to twelve sons. Jacob is renamed Israel, and the family started by Abraham and distinguished by the monotheistic faith starts to become a nation, comprised of twelve tribes. The land of Canaan, to which God led Abraham, becomes the land of the people of Israel.

Historically, the patriarchal age is believed to have begun some time between the 21^st and the 15^th century B.C.E., and to have lasted for a few hundred years. At this time, the patriarchs were foreigners in the land of Canaan, then inhabited by many small nations. Having originated in Mesopotamia (current Iraq; Abraham’s native city was in the southern part of this region), Mesopotamian traditions and practices, such as dedication of holy places when a revelation has taken place, are described in the Bible as part of the patriarchs’ every-day life. The patriarchs also distinguished themselves from Canaanite practices and social ties by their insistence that the sons of the family not marry local women, and marry only members of the extended family who resided in Haran (current south-east Turkey). This distinction from the Canaanite nations is later apparent in various biblical decrees against intermarriage.

The patriarchs are not only the genealogical fathers of the nation: they are also the first prophets and the founders of the covenant between God and the people of Israel.
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Hebron (also known as Kiryat Arba or Mamreh) is a city of a rich biblical history going back to the era of the Patriarchs. When Abraham arrived in Canaan, one of the places in which he settled was the Hebron area, which he sanctified by building an altar to YHWH: “And Abraham moved his tent and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre which is in Hebrom and there he built an altar to YHWH” (Genesis 13:18).. Hebron is also where Abraham buried his wife, Sarah, in the cave of Machpela. Both in Jewish and in Muslim tradition Hebron is considered “the city of Abraham,” and both in Hebrew and in Arabic its name is derived from the word “friend,” because Abraham is considered to be the friend of God.

When the Israelites returned from Egypt, Hebron was conquered by Caleb the son of Jephunneh, one of the spies sent to Canaan by Moses and the only one other than Joshua who lived to enter the land. Hebron was conquered from the giants who had formerly inhabited the city, and became a central part of Judean territory.

Hebron was especially important at the beginning of David’s reign, when, for seven years, it served as his capital before Jerusalem: “In Hebron he [David] reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all of Israel and Judah thirty three years” (2 Samuel 5:5). Hebron continued to be a central part of Jewish history throughout the First Temple Period, and it is the place of Absalom’s revolt against David, a city fortified by king Rehoboam, and apparently an important cultural and administrative center throughout this period. The city was conquered again by Judah the Maccabi during the Second Temple Period.

The most substantial archeological finding from biblical Hebron are the handles of jars dedicated to king Hezekiah bearing the name of the city, thus showing that it was under Judean rule and that the inhabitants gave taxes and gifts to the king in Jerusalem.

Hebron

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