Hebron: A Grave and A Bequest

(1) And the life of Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. (2) And Sarah died in Kiriatharba—the same is Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. (3) And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spoke unto the children of Heth, saying: (4) ’I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.’ (5) And the children of Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him: (6) ’Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us; in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.’ (7) And Abraham rose up, and bowed down to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth. (8) And he spoke with them, saying: ‘If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, (9) that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field; for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you for a possession of a burying-place.’ (10) Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying: (11) ’Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee; bury thy dead.’ (12) And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land. (13) And he spoke unto Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: ‘But if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear me: I will give the price of the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.’ (14) And Ephron answered Abraham, saying unto him: (15) ’My lord, hearken unto me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee? bury therefore thy dead.’ (16) And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the hearing of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. (17) So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were made sure (18) unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. (19) And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre—the same is Hebron—in the land of Canaan. (20) And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying-place by the children of Heth.

(21) So they went up, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, at the entrance to Hamath. (22) And they went up into the South, and he came unto Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were there.—Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.—

(1) And he went to Hebron. Caleb went there alone, and prostrated himself on the graves of the forefathers, (to pray) that he would not be enticed to join his colleagues in their plan. This is what is stated (Deuteronmy 1:36): "to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon". And it is written (Judges 1:20) "And they gave Hebron to Caleb".

(6) Then the children of Judah drew nigh unto Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said unto him: ‘Thou knowest the thing that the LORD spoke unto Moses the man of God concerning me and concerning thee in Kadesh-barnea. (7) Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land; and I brought him back word as it was in my heart. (8) Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the LORD my God. (9) And Moses swore on that day, saying: Surely the land whereon thy foot hath trodden shall be an inheritance to thee and to thy children for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. (10) And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as He spoke, these forty and five years, from the time that the LORD spoke this word unto Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (11) As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, and to go out and to come in. (12) Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spoke in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakim were there, and cities great and fortified; it may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out, as the LORD spoke.’ (13) And Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. (14) Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, unto this day; because that he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. (15) Now the name of Hebron beforetime was Kiriath-arba, which Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.

(1) The supervisor said to them: Go out and see if the time for slaughter has come. If it had come, the one who saw it would say, "The [morning] light shines!" Matitia ben Shmuel says [that the supervisor would ask]: Is the whole east lit up, as far as Hebron? And he would say, "Yes!"