IIEBRON (fri2r1; Sept. Xeppdiv), a town in the south of Palestine and in the tribe of Judah, /8 miles south from Jernsalem, in 31° 32' 30" N. lat., 35° 8' 20" E. long., at the height of 2664 Paris feet above the level of the sea (Schubert). It is one of the most ancient cities existin,,,,, having, as the sacred writers inform us, been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt,' and being mentioned even prior to Damascus (Num. xiii. 22 ; Gen. xiii. 18 ; comp. xv. 2). Its most ancient name was Kirjath-arba, that is, the city of Arba,' from Arba, the father of Anak and of the Anakim who dwelt in and around Hebron (Gen. xxiii. 2 ; Josh. xiv. 15 ; xv. r3 ; xxi. ; Judg. ro). It appears to have been also called Marnre, probably from the name of Abraham's Amoritish ally (Gen. xxiii. 19 ; xxxv. 27 ; comp. xiv. 13, 28). The ancient city lay in a valley ; and the two remaining pools, one of which at least existed in the time of David, serve, with other circumstances, to identify the modern with the ancient site (Gen. xxxvii. 14 ; z Sam. iv. 12). Much of the lifetime of Abra ham, Isaac, and Jacob was spent in this neigh bourhood, where they were all entombed ; and it was from hence that the patriarchal family departed for Egypt by way of Beersheba (Gen. xxxvn. 14 ; xlvi. /). After the return of the Israelites, the city was taken by Joshua and given over to Caleb, who expelled the Anakim from its territories (Josh. x. 36, 37; xiv. 645 ; xv. 13-14 ; Judg. 2o). It was afterwards made one of the cities of refuge, and assigned to the priests and Levites ( Josh. xx. 7 • xxi. /1, 13). David, on becoming king of Judaii, made Hebron his royal residence. Here he reigned seven years and a half ; here most of his sons were born ; and here he was anointed king over all Israel (2 Sam. ii. 1-4, ; Kings ii. ; 2 Sam. v. r, 3-5). On this exten sion of his kingdom Hebron ceased to be suffi ciently central, and Jerusalem then became the metropolis. It is possible that this step excited a degree of discontent in Hebron which afterwards encouraged Absalom to raise in that city the stan dard of rebellion against his father (2 Sam. xv. 9, ro). Hebron was one of the places fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chron. xi. To) ; and after the exile the Jews who returned to Palestine occupied Hebron and the surrounding villages (Neh, xi. 25).
Hebron is not named by the prophets nor in the N. T. ; but we learn from the first boa of Mac cabees, and from Josephus, that it came into the power of the Edomites, who had taken possession of the south of Judah, and was recovered from them by Judas Maccabmus Maccab. v. 65 ; Joseph. ',bail% xii. 8. 6). During the great war, Hebron was seized by the rebel Simon Giorides, but was recaptured and burnt by Cerealis, an officer of Vespasian (Joseph. De Bell. jud. iv. 9.
7, 9). Josephus describes the tombs of the patri archs as existing in his day ; and both Eusebius and Jerome, and all subsequent writers who men tion Hebron down to the time of the Crusades, speak of the place chiefly as containing these sepulchres. In the course of time the remarkable structure enclosing the tombs of Abraham and the other patriarchs was called the 4 Castle of Abra bam ;' and by an easy transition this nanae came to be applied to the city itself ; till in the time of the Crusades the names of Hebron and Castle of Abraham were used interchangeably. Hence, as Abmham is also distinguished among the Mos lems by the appellation of el Khulil, the Friend' (of God), this latter epithet became among them the name of the city ; and they now know He. bron only as el Khulil (Robinson's Researches, ii. 456)• The modern town of Hebron lies low down on the sloping sides of a narrow valley (of Mamre), chiefly on the eastern side, but in the southern part stretches across also to the western side. The houses are all of stone, high, and well built, with windows and flat roofs, and on these roofs are small domes, sometimes two or three to each house. This mode of building seemed to Dr. Robinson peculiar to Judma, as he had not ob. served it further north than Nabulus. It is, how ever, common in the countries farther east, where wood is scarce. The streets are narrow, seldom more than two or three yards in width ; the pave. ment, where one exists, is rough and difficult. The bazaars are to a considerable extent covered, either by some kind of awning, or by arches springing from the tops of the houses, and span ning the street. The goods in them are thus secured from the effects of the sun and rain, but the streets are rendered gloomy as well as damp. The shops arc well furnished, better indeed than those of towns of the same class in Egypt, and the commo dities are of a very similar description. The only display of local manufactures is the produce of the glass-works, for which the place has long been celebrated in these parts. The articles manufac tured consist almost exclusively of glass lamps, many of which are exported to Egypt, and rings of coloured glass worn by females on the arms. Gates are placed not only at the entrance of the city, but in different parts of the interior, and are closed at night for the better preservation of order, as well as to prevent communication between the different quarters. This is a rude contrivance much resorted to in Eastern towns from the want of an efficient ambulatory night-watch.