{"id":54113,"date":"2019-04-20T22:44:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-20T19:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=54113"},"modified":"2022-11-12T23:27:47","modified_gmt":"2022-11-12T21:27:47","slug":"caleb-hebron-and-al-khalil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/caleb-hebron-and-al-khalil\/","title":{"rendered":"Caleb, Hebron And Al-Khalil"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Chapter 12, we introduced the subject of \u201conomastica,\u201d the study of proper nouns, which we illustrated via the Amorite city of Heshbon. The names that will concern us in this chapter are those of Caleb, erstwhile scout, and the city of Hebron, which was vouchsafed to him by Moses in reward for his steadfastness (Numbers 14:24).<\/span><\/p>\n

Caleb (Hebrew: K-L-B) is clearly related to the noun <\/span>kelev<\/span><\/i>, dog, an association that we might find less outlandish if we recall that many contemporary names have animal origins as well. For instance, Zoe (from the same Greek root that gives us zoo) is the equivalent of <\/span>Hava<\/span><\/i>\/<\/span>Haya<\/span><\/i> (animal), but back in Hebrew: <\/span>Ze`ev<\/span><\/i> is a wolf, <\/span>Dov<\/span><\/i> is a bear, <\/span>Devorah<\/span><\/i> is a bee, and <\/span>Zvi<\/span><\/i> is a deer. Perhaps coincidentally, the most striking conglomeration of animal names in the Bible occurs among the names of the scouts Caleb accompanied (Numbers 13), including: Gadi and Gadiel (kid), Susi (horse), and Gemali (camel). (If we stretch beyond Hebrew into Aramaic, we could add one more to that company: Nun, father of Joshua, means \u201cfish\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

Hebron, from the Hebrew root CH-B-R, implies attachment or friendship (which is a social attachment), and its origin probably lies in the social relationship of its four original inhabitants, on account of which it was first called Kiryat Arba (v. 14, and 15:13-14). However, unlike Heshbon (a name Hebron also resembles structurally), which was just given an Arabic sound (<\/span>Hisban<\/span><\/em>), Hebron was translated into Arabic in which <\/span>Khalil<\/span><\/em> means a companion. (There are sources in which its name is given, more specifically, as <\/span>Khalil Al-Rahman<\/span><\/em>, The Companion of the Compassionate, i.e., God.)<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, we have an example of how Muslim practice perpetuated a Jewish tradition. According to a Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 84:14), Hebron was so called because Abraham was regarded as a companion of God (<\/span>haver na\u2019eh<\/span><\/em>). Since he was already regarded as an ancestor of the Arabs and is recognized in the Qur\u2019an as a true prophet, they decided to honor him by calling his city after his pseudonym. Likewise, the Arabic name for the western gate of the Old City of Jerusalem\u2014<\/span>Sha`ar Yaffo<\/span><\/em> in Hebrew\u2014is <\/span>Bab al-Khalil<\/span><\/em>, Hebron gate.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":54114,"id":54114,"title":"jo14-hebron","filename":"jo14-hebron.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/jo14-hebron.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/caleb-hebron-and-al-khalil\/jo14-hebron\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"jo14-hebron","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":54113,"date":"2019-04-20 19:44:08","modified":"2019-04-20 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