I was reading in the book of Joshua and noticed that Hebron was also called Kiriath Arba. Kiriath means "town of" and Arba was the greatest of all Anakites and apparently founded the city. Caleb was given this city after asking for it as a favor for his honesty and bravery when previously asked to go into the land and bring back an account of it. Much of the promised land was conquered when Caleb was given Hebron but even though the King of Hebron was gone (Joshua 12:10) the Anakites still occupied the land. Caleb drove the Anakites from the land of Judah and the Bible says "Then the land had rest from war". This site ranks only behind Jerusalem in importance to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Hebron was named as a "City of Refuge" in 20:7 and then the city itself was given to the decendents of Aaron the priest in 21:13. Caleb kept the fields and villages surrounding the city. David settled in Hebron after Saul died and reigned there for 7 years. Samson lived in Hebron. I can't list all that went on in Hebron.
Hebron was so important. Its one of those cities that just blows you away when you study all that went on there. Why didn't Jesus go there? Jesus went to the north, to Samaria. He went to the well at Sychar. He went to the sinners. King Herod built Hebron into a great city but not great enough to draw Jesus' attention. He was looking for his children.
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