EE'BRON, one of the oldest cities in Palestine, belonging to the tribe of Judah, 21 m. s.s.w. of Jerusalem; it may even be regarded as one of the oldest in the world, for it was in existence in the time of Abraham, nearly 2,000 years before Christ. Hebron was anciently called Kirjatharba, i.e., city of Arba, from the progenitor of the Anakim (q.v.); at a later period it was the residence of king David, before lie conquered Jeru salem; its subsequent history is unimportant.—The modern town is a poor place, inhab ited by about 5,000 people, of whom about 50 families are Jews. It lies low down in a narrow and picturesque valley—the valley of Esehol, famous now, as of old, for its thick clustering grapes, its olives, and other fruits. The church erected by the empress Helena, the mother of Constantine, on the spot where Abraham is said to have been buried, has been converted into a mosque called The alleged tombs of the patriarch and of several members of his family are still shown. They are all richly
hung with palls of green or red silk, which are renewed from time to time; but it is believed that the real tombs are in a "cave" below the building. The modern name of the town is (" the friend," i.e., of God), in allusion to Abraham. About a mile from Hebron, rising solitarily in the midst of vineyards, beside a well of pure water, is one of the largest oak-trees in Palestine. It is 2:l ft. in girth, and its foliage covers a space of about 90 ft. in diameter. Some say that this is the very tree beneath which Abraham pitched' his tent; but this notion is untenable, for the tree itself gives no evidence of such enormous antiquity; and, besides, Jerome speaks of Abraham's oak having disappeared about the time of Constantine.