Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

Karl W. Randolph wrote:  “[T]his prattle that the area around Hebron is too 
mountainous for flocks is patently false.”
 
The problem is that there is not enough good pastureland in the near-desert 
conditions of the high hill country at and near the city of Hebron.
 
1.  Today, the Bedouins near Hebron have only small flocks of sheep and 
goats, because there is not enough pastureland to support large flocks of 
sheep and 
goats.
 
2.  In the 12th century BCE, which is obviously a much more relevant time 
period, we can tell from the distribution of the first Hebrew villages where 
the 
good land was for herding sheep and goats and doing small-time agriculture.  
If the early Hebrews were going to stay in hill country, where their presence 
was basically not contested by outsiders, then the part of hill country that 
was conducive for the early Hebrew lifestyle of herding sheep and goats and 
doing small-time agriculture was the hill country north of Jerusalem (south 
of the 
Jezreel Valley).  We know that was the case, because historically 93% of the 
first Hebrew villages are located north of Jerusalem.
 
The Hebron area was safe and secure, but it was a near-desert.  There are 
very few early Hebrew villages in the Hebron area because the high altitude 
city 
of Hebron had such poor land.
 
Yes, sheep and goats have always been herded near Hebron.  I am not denying 
that.  But I am saying that Hebron has very little good pastureland, so 
neither 
the city of Hebron itself, nor the area near Hebron, is conducive to having a 
huge flock of sheep and goats as Abraham is reported to have.
 
The one good thing about the Hebron area is something that Abraham did not 
need:  security from outside attackers, given its mountainous locale.  That 
was 
not needed by Abraham, who had 318 armed retainers of his own, and who was in 
a confederate relationship with tent-dwelling Amorites.
 
Since 93% of the first Hebrew villages were located north of Jerusalem, we 
should logically look north of Jerusalem for the locale of the Patriarchs’ “
Hebron”.  The land north of Jerusalem, both the hill country directly north 
of 
Jerusalem, and the Aijalon Valley northwest of Jerusalem, is much better 
pastureland than the near-desert conditions that prevail at and near the high 
altitude city of Hebron.  Given that Abraham is portrayed as being divinely 
given all 
of Canaan, it makes sense that Abraham would choose to sojourn in the best 
pastureland in Canaan -- the Aijalon Valley, located 17½ miles west of 
Beth-el.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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