Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - [b-hebrew] What Does the Name "Hebron" Mean?

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] What Does the Name "Hebron" Mean?
  • Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:45:36 EDT


What Does the Name “Hebron” Mean?

1. “Hebron” = The Binding Friendship Place

The conventional interpretation of “Hebron” correctly identifies its main,
and most obvious, meaning.

“Hebron” = heth-bet-resh-vav-nun = XBRWN = XBR + WN = “Binding Friendship”
[XBR = “association”, etc.] “place” [-WN]

Notes:

(a) This meaning fits chapter 14 of Genesis perfectly, as “Hebron”/“the
Binding Friendship place” is where Abraham has a binding
friendship/confederate relationship/covenant with certain Amorites, who join
Abraham in rescuing
Lot way up north. Genesis 14: 13

(b) Note also that nun/N or vav-nun/WN as a suffix means “place”.

So far, so good, but we’re just getting started.

2. “Hebron” = The Hebrew Place

A heth [X] sounds something like a he [H]. That is why both such Hebrew
letters are usually transliterated into English as an H. Also, a heth [X] is
one
of three guttural sounds in Hebrew, which have no exact equivalent in
English,
with the other two gutturals being an ayin [(] and an aleph [)]. The
combination he-ayin [H(] may have had almost the same sound as a heth [X].
At least,
the sound would have been somewhat similar. Puns are usually based on
similar sounds, not on identical sounds. Consequently, for punning purposes,
a heth
[X] could be used to represent a he-ayin [H(].

On the basis of that similar sound, XBR-WN/Hebr-on could be viewed as
representing H(BR-WN, since the sounds are similar. That in turn produces H
+ (BR +
WN, which means "the Hebrew place". He [H] means "the". Ayin-bet-resh [(BR]
is the entire root of ayin-bet-resh-yod [(BRY], which means "Hebrew".
Vav-nun
[WN] is a suffix meaning "place".

“Hebron” = XBRWN = H(BRWN = H + (BR + WN = “the” [H] “Hebrew” [(BR =
(BRY] “place” (-WN)

Or to put it the other way around, if one wanted to say "the Hebrew place",
while not using the standard spelling for such phrase, probably the closest
one
could get by sound to that phrase is "Hebron" (where heth [X] substitutes for
he-ayin [H(]). Accordingly, "Hebron" works perfectly as a pun meaning "the
Hebrew place".

Hebron certainly is “the Hebrew place”, since Hebron is where Abraham the “
Hebrew” settles for years after splitting with his nephew Lot. Genesis 14:
13
is the first place in the Bible where the word “Hebrew” is used, as Abraham
is explicitly said to be a “Hebrew”.

Note that Genesis 14: 13 does two things. First, it confirms that the Hebron
place will be “the Binding Friendship place”, as Hebron is where Abraham’s
confederate relationship with certain Amorites is first disclosed. Secondly,
Genesis 14: 13 is the first place where anyone is called a “Hebrew”,
revealing
the Hebron place to be “the Hebrew place”. Which is just to say that we do
not really understand why this place is called “Hebron” until we get to
Genesis 14: 13.

Is all this just a “coincidence”? I think not. We know from the multiple
puns on the names of Jacob’s 12 sons, some of which puns are openly disclosed
and some of which puns are merely implied, that the author of the Patriarchal
narratives is a master of using puns. It stands to reason that the prominent
name “Hebron” would have a series of meanings that fit in with what happens
at
that important location in the Patriarchal narratives. One of those meanings
is “the Binding Friendship place”, because Abraham has a “binding friendship”
at the Hebron place with certain Amorites, who help him rescue Lot way up
north. But it seems unlikely that the name “Hebron” would only reference
Abraham’s “binding friendship” with those Amorites. The Hebron place is more
important for being the place where the first Hebrews sojourn longer than any
other place in the Patriarchal narratives. The Hebron place is clearly “the
Hebrew place”. It is not a mere “coincidence” that if heth [X] is viewed as
representing the similar-sounding he-ayin [H(], then “Hebron” means: “the
Hebrew
place”. The author of the Patriarchal narratives is using the name “Hebron”
precisely in order to generate this double pun, that tells us two very
important things about this locale: (1) Hebron is where Abraham has a
“binding
friendship” with certain Amorites (who play an important role in rescuing
Lot), and
(2) Hebron is the place where the “Hebrews” will sojourn longer than any
other place in Genesis. On the basis of those two underlying meanings,
“Hebron”
is the perfect name for this important locale.

But there’s more. There is a third pun that may be embodied in the name “
Hebron”, which is more controversial than the preceding two puns, and which
is
equally revealing.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




**************Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog,
plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com.
(http://www.stylelist.com/trends?ncid=aolsty00050000000014)




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page