Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
18. the oaks of Mamre ] Better, as R.V. marg., terebinths. Cf. Gen 14:13, Gen 18:1. Probably the sacred trees of the Canaanite sanctuary at Hebron. Josephus ( Ant. i. x. 4 and B.J. iv. ix. 7) mentions the oak tree ( ) of Hebron. The so-called oak of Abraham, 3 miles N.W. of Hebron, was shattered by a storm in the winter of 1888 9. The tree was said to be six or seven hundred years old. In Gen 14:24 Mamre is the name of a local chieftain allied with Abram. Here, and in Gen 23:17; Gen 23:19, Gen 25:9, Gen 49:30, Gen 50:13, it is the name of a place near Hebron.
in Hebron ] The famous city of Judah; cf. Gen 23:2. From its connexion with Abram it derives its modern name El alil, “the friend,” an abbreviation of alil er-raman, “the friend of the Merciful One, i.e. God,” the designation of Abram. Cf. Isa 41:8; Jas 2:23. It stands 3000 ft. above the sea, at the junction of the main roads, from Gaza in the W., from Egypt in the S.W., from the Red Sea on the S.E., and from Jerusalem, 19 miles away, on the N.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 13:18
Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mature, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
Mamre
Mamre is the first village that comes before us distinctly in any authentic history. If Ararat was the cradle of the races of our world, Mamre was the cradle of the Church.
I. MAMRE WAS A CHURCH AMONG THE TREES.
II. IT WAS A REFUGE FOR FAITH. Abraham and the patriarchs were emigrants; they left for the honour of God. The East is full of traditions concerning Abraham and his hatred to idolatry, and how he forsook the worship of the fire and the sun. He had come from the neighbourhood where the Babel society was founded–faith, not in God, but in bricks–it had all ended in confusion, but the sacred memories of Mamre, where Abraham reared an altar to the Lord, these linger and send out their influence still. A high faithfulness ruled the life of Mature, the life of domestic piety–the first story given us of the life of faith, where Abraham raised an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.
III. The village of Mamre was THE VILLAGE OF SACRED PROMISE. What night was that, when among its moorlands the Lord appeared unto Abraham in a vision and consecrated those heights by the glowing promises which we still recognize as true? In that little mountain hamlet was given the promise of the Messiahs reign.
IV. Mamre: WHAT GUESTS CAME THITHER? Here was that great entertainment made, where, says quaint Thomas Fuller, the covert of the tree was the dining room, probably the ground the board, Abraham the caterer, and Sarah the cook; a welcome their cheer; angels, and Christ in the notion of an angel, their guests.
V. At Mamre are THE OLDEST AUTHENTIC GRAVES OF THIS EARTH–among them the grave of Abraham, the friend of God. (E. Paxton Hood.)
Abrams altar
Abrams altar was intended–
1. As a public profession of religion in the midst of enemies.
2. As a constant memorial of Gods presence.
3. As a tribute of gratitude for His mercies.
4. As expressing a sense of obligation to His love, and a desire to enjoy His presence.
5. As a sign of his determination to be fully dedicated to God. (T. H.Leale.)
Lessons
1. Faith gives immediate obedience unto Gods advice.
2. Grace will untent souls anywhere, to go where God will have them.
3. God sometimes scatters brethren in the Church to carry saving knowledge to strangers; so here with Abrams motions.
4. God sometimes makes the places of His Churchs habitation memorable.
5. The faithful cannot sit down quietly in any place without God.
6. Gods promise draweth out the saints worship of, and sacrifice to, Him.
7. Saints worship is such as is instituted by God only, a single altar.
8. Gods faithful ones desire to instruct others in the worship of
God, so Abram to Mamre.
9. Jehovah terminates all his saints worship and obedience. It is all to Jehovah (Gen 13:18). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Hebron
From Bethel, Abraham travelled southward till he pitched his tents in the oak grove of Mamre, at Hebron, situated in a cool and elevated region, and commanding a fertile region; about twenty-two Roman miles south of Jerusalem, and belonging to the later territory of Judah. Hebron was one of the oldest towns of Palestine; it was built seven years before Tanis in Egypt; and was early the residence of a heathen king. However, it was, by Joshua, appointed as one of the cities of refuge, and assigned to the Levites; it thus assumed the character of a holy town where vows were taken and performed; and David chose it as his abode when he was king of Judah, during seven years and a half. These circumstances suffice to explain the interest evinced for Hebron in the history of the patriarchs; Abraham resided here when the angels made him the happy announcement of the birth of a son; here he acquired the first territorial property in Canaan; and here was the burial place of himself, of Isaac, and of Jacob, of Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. The town was, therefore, appropriately distinguished by the erection of an altar (verse 18). Later, it was fortified by Rehoboam among many other cities; it is still mentioned after the exile; it then belonged to the Idumeans, who were, however, expelled from it by Judas Maccabaeus; in the Roman war, it was captured and burnt by the enemies, without, however, being destroyed. In the period of the Crusades, after having, for a time, suffered from heavy attacks, it was made the seat of the bishopric of St. Abraham (in 1167), but returned already in 1187 into the possession of the Moslems, who have ever since retained it, though it was several times assailed and plundered by rebellious pachas or lawless chiefs. In the fifteenth century, it was distinguished by a magnificent hospital and general charity for the distribution of bread and other necessaries to strangers. The present Hebron is a large village rather than a town; it counts among its inhabitants about a hundred Jewish families, living together in a separate quarter; as, in fact, Jews, though often ill-treated, oppressed, and insulted, seem always to have lived in the town, with few interruptions; but it is not unimportant in its commerce, though it is chiefly celebrated for its glass works, which form the principal articles of export. It is surrounded by elevations, containing the highest peaks in the range of the mountains of Judah. Its blooming vicinity, with its vineyards and orchards, its wells, its rich pastures and numerous flocks and herds, is one of the proofs that the care of the agriculturist may still convert Palestines desolation into smiling prosperity. The tombs of the patriarchs and of their wives, situated at the eastern end of Hebron on the slope of a ravine, attracted continually the visits of travellers; over the cave of Machpelah, called Al Magr by the Arabians, and surrounded by a high and strong wall, a mosque was erected which the Moslems regard as one of the four holiest sanctuaries of the world, from which Christians are excluded, and which stratagem only has enabled a few Europeans to enter. The town itself was, from that structure, called the Castle of Abraham, and received, therefore, from the Mohammedans the name of Bet El-Khalil, that is, the house of the Friend of God, which is the honorary title given to Abram by the Arabians. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. Abram removed his tent] Continued to travel and pitch in different places, till at last he fixed his tent in the plain, or by the oak, of Mamre, see Ge 12:6, which is in Hebron; i.e., the district in which Mamre was situated was called Hebron. Mamre was an Amorite then living, with whom Abram made a league, Ge 14:13; and the oak probably went by his name, because he was the possessor of the ground. Hebron is called Kirjath-arba, Ge 23:2; but it is very likely that Hebron was its primitive name, and that it had the above appellation from being the residence of four gigantic or powerful Anakim, for Kirjath-arba literally signifies the city of the four; See Clarke on Ge 23:2.
Built there an altar unto the Lord.] On which he offered sacrifice, as the word mizbach, from zabach, to slay, imports.
THE increase of riches in the family of Abram must, in the opinion of many, be a source of felicity to them. If earthly possessions could produce happiness, it must be granted that they had now a considerable share of it in their power. But happiness must have its seat in the mind, and, like that, be of a spiritual nature; consequently earthly goods cannot give it; so far are they from either producing or procuring it, that they always engender care and anxiety, and often strifes and contentions. The peace of this amiable family had nearly been destroyed by the largeness of their possessions. To prevent the most serious misunderstandings, Abram and his nephew were obliged to separate. He who has much in general wishes to have more, for the eye is not satisfied with seeing. Lot, for the better accommodation of his flocks and family, chooses the most fertile district in that country, and even sacrifices reverence and filial affection at the shrine of worldly advantage; but the issue proved that a pleasant worldly prospect may not be the most advantageous, even to our secular affairs. Abram prospered greatly in the comparatively barren part of the land, while Lot lost all his possessions, and nearly the lives of himself and family, in that land which appeared to him like the garden of the Lord, like a second paradise. Rich and fertile countries have generally luxurious, effeminate, and profligate inhabitants; so it was in this case. The inhabitants of Sodom were sinners, and exceedingly wicked, and their profligacy was of that kind which luxury produces; they fed themselves without fear, and they acted without shame. Lot however was, through the mercy of God, preserved from this contagion: he retained his religion; and this supported his soul and saved his life, when his goods and his wife perished. Let us learn from this to be jealous over our own wills and wishes; to distrust flattering prospects, and seek and secure a heavenly inheritance. “Man wants but little; nor that little long.” A man’s life – the comfort and happiness of it – does not consist in the multitude of the things he possesses. “One house, one day’s food, and one suit of raiment,” says the Arabic proverb, “are sufficient for thee; and if thou die before noon, thou hast one half too much.” The example of Abram, in constantly erecting an altar wherever he settled, is worthy of serious regard; he knew the path of duty was the way of safety, and that, if he acknowledged God in all his ways, he might expect him to direct all his steps: he felt his dependence on God, he invoked him through a Mediator, and offered sacrifices in faith of the coming Saviour; he found blessedness in this work – it was not an empty service; he rejoiced to see the day of Christ – he saw it and was glad. See Clarke on Ge 12:8. Reader, has God an altar in thy house? Dost thou sacrifice to him? Dost thou offer up daily by faith, in behalf of thy soul and the souls of thy family, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world? No man cometh unto the Father but by me, said Christ: this was true, not only from the incarnation, but from the foundation of the world. And to this another truth, not less comfortable, may be added: Whosoever cometh unto me I will in no-wise cast out.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mamre was an Amorite of great note, from whom the city Hebron was called Mamre, Gen 23:19, a friend and confederate of Abram, Gen 14:13, by whom it is thought he was brought to the knowledge and worship of the true God.
In Hebron; or, near Hebron; for so the Hebrew Beth is sometimes taken.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. the plain of Mamre . . . built .. . an altarthe renewal of the promise was acknowledged byAbram by a fresh tribute of devout gratitude.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then Abram removed [his] tent,…. From the mountain between Bethel and Hai, Ge 13:3;
and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, or “in the oaks of Mamre” e; in a grove of oaks there, as being shady and pleasant to dwell among or under, and not through any superstitious regard to such trees and places where they grew; which has obtained since among the Heathens, and particularly among the Druids, who have their name from thence. Indeed such superstitions might take their rise from hence, being improved and abused to such purposes; and both Jerom f and Sozomen g speak of the oak of Abram being there in the times of Constantine, and greatly resorted to, and had in great veneration; and they and others make mention of a turpentine tree, which it is pretended sprung from a walking stick of one of the angels that appeared to Abram at this place, greatly regarded in a superstitious way by all sorts of persons: this plain or grove of oaks, here spoken of, was called after a man whose name was Mamre, an Amorite, a friend and confederate of Abram:
which [is] in Hebron; or near it, an ancient city built seven years before Zoan or Tanis in Egypt, Nu 13:22; it was first called Kirjath Arbab, but, in the times of Moses, Hebron, Ge 23:2. The place they call the Turpentine, from the tree that grows there, according to Sozomen h, was fifteen furlongs distant from Hebron to the south; but Josephus i says it was but six furlongs, or three quarters of a mile; who speaking of Hebron says,
“the inhabitants of it say, that it is not only more ancient than the cities of that country, but than Memphis in Egypt, and is reckoned to be of 2300 years standing: they report, that it was the habitation of Abram, the ancestor of the Jews, after he came out of Mesopotamia, and that from hence his children descended into Egypt, whose monuments are now shown in this little city, made of beautiful marble, and elegantly wrought; and there is shown, six furlongs from it, a large turpentine tree, which they say remained from the creation to that time.”
A certain traveller j tells us, that the valley of Mamre was about half a mile from old Hebron; from Bethel, whence Abram removed to Mamre, according to Sir Walter Raleigh k, was about twenty four miles; but Bunting l makes it thirty two:
and built there an altar unto the Lord; and gave thanks for the prevention of strife between Lot and him, and for the renewal of the grant of the land of Canaan to him and his seed; and performed all acts of religious worship, which the building of an altar is expressive of.
e “juxta quercetum Mamre”, Tigurine version, Pagninus, Montanus; so Ainsworth. f De loc. Heb. fol. 87. E. tom. 3. g Eccles. Hist. l. 2. c. 4. p. 447. h lbid. i De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 7. j Baumgarten. Peregrinatio, l. 2. c. 4. p. 79. k History of the World, par. 1. B. 2. sect. 3. p. 132. l Travels, p. 57.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
18. And Abram removed his tent (355) Here Moses relates that the holy man, animated by the renewed promise of Gods traversed the land with great courage as if by a look alone he could subdue it to himself. Thus we see how greatly the oracle had profited him: not that he had heard anything from the mouth of God to which he had been unaccustomed, but because he had obtained a medicine so seasonable and suitable to his present grief, that he rose with collected energy towards heaven. At length Moses records that the holy man, having, performed his circuit, returned to the oak, or valley of Mare, to dwell there. But, again, he commends his piety in raising an altar, and calling upon God. I have already frequently explained what this means: for he himself bore an altar in his heart; but seeing that the land was full of profane altars on which the Canaanites and other nations polluted the worship of God, Abram publicly professed that he worshipped the true God; and that not at random, but according to the method revealed to him by the word. Hence we infer, that the altar of which mention is made was not built rashly by his hand, but that it was consecrated by the same word of God.
(355) “ Et tetendit Abram tabernaculum.” Abram pitched his tent. This seems to be the true meaning of the word ויאהל; yet the term pitched does not so well agree with the context as the term removed; in the use of which word our translators have followed the Septuagint, ( ἀποσκηνώσας,) and the Vulgate, ( movens igitur tabernaculum.) The Arabic (according to the Latin translation) brings out the same sense, by a periphrasis, “Abram fixed his tent in divers places till he came and dwelt in the land of Mamre.” And this is probably the true solution of the difficulty. — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(18) The plain of Mamre.(Heb., oaks of Mamre. See on Gen. 12:6). Mamre was an Amorite, then living, and as he was confederate with Abram, it was apparently with the consent of the Amorites, and by virtue of the treaty entered into with them, that Abram made this oak-grove one of his permanent stations.
Hebron.That is, alliance. Hebron was perhaps so called from the confederacy formed between Abram and the Amorites, and was apparently the name not only of a city, but of a district, as the oaks of Mamre are described as being in Hebron. For its other name, Kirjath-arba, see note on Gen. 23:2.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. Plain of Mamre Rather, oaks of Mamre . Abram now pitches his tent among the oaks (or in the oak-grove) of Mamre, as formerly at the oak of Moreh . Gen 12:6, note . About a mile from Hebron is one of the largest oaks of Palestine, and bears the name of “Abram’s Oak . ” Mamre is not to be identified with Hebron, but seems to have been the name of the oak-grove or plain in Hebron, that is, at or near Hebron; perhaps so called from Mamre the Amorite, the friend and confederate of Abram.
Gen 14:18. Hebron is celebrated as the most ancient city of Canaan, “built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.” Num 13:22. Its more ancient name was Kirjath-arba. Gen 23:2; Jos 14:15. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob spent much of their lives in the vicinity of this city, and here was Machpelah, the tomb of these patriarchs . Chap . 23 . Hebron is now called El-khalil, “the friend . ”
Built there an altar The third altar he had built in Canaan, (comp . Gen 12:7-8,) and thus is he careful to “keep the way of the Lord . ” Gen 18:19. “This remarkable narrative,” says Bunsen, “bears upon its face every evidence of historic truth, and is most fitly assigned to a time soon after 2900 years before Christ . ” Notable concession from such a source .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 13:18. Then Abram removed his tent And continued to do so, till he had travelled through and surveyed the whole land of Palestine, according to the divine admonition; which done, he settled in the plain, or rather at the oak of Mamre. See ch. Gen 12:6.* Mamre was so called from the name of the proprietor, Mamre the Amorite. See ch. Gen 14:24. It lay near two miles south of Hebron; and therefore that clause would be more properly rendered, which is by or near Hebron. Hebron, or Chebron, was accounted one of the most ancient cities in the world, having been built seven years before Tanis, the capital of Lower AEgypt. It was situated upon an eminence, twenty miles southward from Jerusalem, and twenty north from Beersheba, and had its name very probably from the word chaber , to couple or join, because three married couples, Abram and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah, were buried there. See Calmet, and Univ. Hist.
* The Arabic version has it here, “Abram therefore fixed his tent in different stations, till he came and dwelt in,” &c.
REFLECTIONS.Lot is now gone; but Abram has a better friend left: God visits him; and communion with him makes us ample amends for every loss. And he comes at a season when Lot’s choice might have affected Abram, to comfort him with the assurance, that though for a moment he might feel the loss, yet in the end the land must be all his own. Observe,
1. God’s promise. Lot looked, and chose the best; but it was a precarious and unhappy abode to him. Abram shall look on every side, and inherit the whole, and his seed after him. These repeated assurances convey increasing consolations.
2. The commandto go through and view the premises; for they were his own, and he might look upon them as such, yea, in possession, as soon as he should have a seed capable of occupying them.
3. The assurance, that God would raise up a seed to him, and, though childless now, make him a numberless multitude. Learn, (1.) The more at God’s command we look forward by faith to the heavenly Canaan, the more shall we be comforted. (2.) Though nothing appeared more unlikely than the fulfilment of the promise, Abram’s faith staggered not; nor should ours in the darkest day of trial.
4. Abram’s obedience. He went forth, and fixed again his abode in Mamre, near Hebron; took possession in God’s name for his family, though himself no more than a sojourner in the land of promise; and, as was his custom, no sooner pitched his tent, than he built his altar. Note; It is our duty in every place to make profession of our religion, and to be neither ashamed nor afraid to be found in the worship of God.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Still in a pilgrimage state. Observe Abram again builds an altar. And what doth his conduct in this instance teach, but this, that it is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, in all places wheresoever a gracious God meets his people, in the visits of his love, that there they should raise a memorial of tribute to his praise?
REFLECTIONS
AMIDST all the competitions, strifes and jealousies, which this world’s goods excites among men in life, let Abram’s portion be my portion. Let me but be able, in a well-grounded assurance to call Jesus mine, and I value not what sinners value of the perishing things of time and sense. Precious Redeemer! it is thy favour which gives a sweetness to every joy, and softens every sorrow. Let the cisterns of all creature-comforts be dried up, if thy wisdom see it fit: the stream of thine everlasting love will still flow. And while, like the prophet, I can Truly rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation it matters not, even if the fig-tree doth not blossom, neither fruit be in the vine.
Methinks this gracious call of God to Abram, which is always sweet in mercy, is uncommonly so in this instance: lift up thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art. And is not the same in effect said to every believer? Lift up thine eves, and behold in every direction, northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward, how all mercies and promises are continued to the faithful, in the Covenant of grace which is in Christ Jesus. All are yours saith the Apostle, if ye are Christ’s; whether the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. Blessed God! May it be my mercy to enjoy all things in Jesus, and Jesus in all things!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 13:18 Then Abram removed [his] tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which [is] in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.
Ver. 18. Built an altar. ] See Trapp on “ Gen 12:8 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
plain = among the oaks belonging to Mamre, brother of Eshcol and Aner (Gen 14:13).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
plain: Heb. plains
Mamre: Gen 14:13, Gen 18:1
Hebron: Gen 23:2, Gen 35:27, Gen 37:14, Num 13:22, Jos 14:13
altar: Gen 13:4, Gen 8:20, Gen 12:7, Gen 12:8, Psa 16:8, 1Ti 2:8
Reciprocal: Gen 26:25 – builded Gen 33:20 – altar Exo 6:3 – Jehovah Jos 10:36 – Hebron Heb 11:9 – dwelling
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
TENT AND ALTAR
Abram removed his tent. and built there an altar.
Gen 13:18
Here is Abrahams life given us in these two wordshis tent and his altar. Everything in that wondrous life of his, from the day that he left his fatherland, is connected with these two things. He was a stranger, and a worshipper. As a stranger, without a certain dwelling-place, he needed the tent; as a worshipper, he needed the altar.
I. These two still make up the life of a believing man.With less than these we cannot rightly pass through our three-score years and ten; more than these we do not need. Of these two the altar is the more needful. We may perhaps do without the former; we may be homeless men, like Him who had not where to lay His head. But we cannot do without the latter.
II. Daily intercourse with Jehovah we must have; and we cannot have that without the altar.Only there can God meet with us. Only there can we meet with God. At the altar is reconciliation, and forgiveness, and peace; for the blood is therethe blood of the everlasting covenant. On that sacrificial blood we stand; round that altar we gather for worship and for fellowship. Standing there, we see the fire of heaven coming down, and the fire of the altar going up. But they touch not us. We are safe. The fire consumes the Substitute, and reaches not the sinner. All is well with those who have accepted the altar as their place of worship. Theirs is peace with God.
Help us, O Thou whom we own as Lord, to walk here in the footsteps of Thy saints of old! Help us to live the believing life of peace, and communion, and service, pitching our tents beside Thy altar, and living our pilgrim life beneath the shadow of Thy cross! Lead us safely on, and give us pilgrim hearts for our pilgrim life!
Illustration
Mamre was a refuge for faith. Abram and the patriarchs were emigrants; they left for the honour of God. The East is full of traditions concerning Abram and his hatred to idolatry, and how he forsook the worship of the fire and the sun. He had come from the neighbourhood where the Babel society was founded,faith, not in God, but in the vanity of bricks it had all ended in confusion; but the sacred memories of Mamre, where Abram reared an altar to the Lord, these linger and send out their influence still. A high faithfulness ruled the life of Mamre, the life of domestic piety,the first story given us of the life of faith, where Abram raised an altar and called upon the name of the Lord.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Abram later relocated near Hebron where he built another altar and worshipped again (Gen 13:18). Hebron is the highest town in the Promised Land with an elevation of about 3,050 feet. Its site is strategic lying midway between Jerusalem and Beersheba.
Many of the commentators have seen two types of believers in Abram and Lot. One commits himself completely to trusting and obeying God, though not without occasional failures in his faith. The other wants both what God and what the world can give him. These correspond to a spiritual and a carnal believer, a single-minded and a double-minded believer (Jas 1:8; Jas 4:8). When Abram gave Lot the choice of where he wanted to live, Abram was giving up any claim to temporal advantages and was trusting God to bless him as God had promised He would. This step of faith led to greater blessing by God (Gen 13:14-17). Abram’s response to this fresh revelation was again worship.
People who truly believe God’s promises of provision can be generous with their possessions.