Genesis 23:2

And Sarah died in Kirjatharba,.... Which was so called, either, as Jarchi says, from the four Anakims or giants that dwelt here, Joshua 15:13; or else, as the same writer observes, from the four

And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. Sarah in Kirjath-arba - i:e., the city of Arba; an Anakite chief.

Kirjath-arba, or, the city of Arba; so called probably from a giant or great man called Arba, who lived and ruled in those parts. See 15:13. It is objected against this scripture, that this city was not called Hebron till Joshua’ s time, ; but this is a mistake, Joshua doth not say so, but only that the name of Hebron before, ( or in old time), as this very particle is rendered, , and elsewhere. So the sense is, the most ancient name of it was Kirjath-arba. Nor doth Joshua there give any account or reason of this change of the name at that time, or upon that occasion, as the sacred writers used to do in such cases, but rather supposeth that Hebron was the name of it before he came thither; and how long before that time he doth not express. Abraham came into Sarah’ s tent, to weep for her, according to the laudable custom of all ages and nations, to manifest their sense of God’ s hand upon them, and of their own loss. See , &c.

Genesis 23:2 And Sarah died in Kirjatharba; the same [is] Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.Ver. 2. And Sarah died.] The Jews would persuade us that the devil represented to her the offering of Isaac, whereat she took sick and died. This is but a mere conceit of theirs; for Abraham then dwelt at Beersheba, now at Hebron. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah.] So she was the first that we read of mourned for at death; and it is mentioned as an honour to her. Solon’ s Mors mea ne careat lachrymis , is to be preferred before Ennius’ s Nemo me decoret lachrymis . It is one of the dues of the dead, to be lamented at their funerals; and the want of it is threatened as a curse in many scriptures. It is a practice warranted by the best in all ages; and mourn we may in death of friends, so we mourn (1.) in truth, and not feignedly; (2.) in measure, and not as men without hope. For the first, how grossly did Tiberius dissemble at the death of Augustus, and at the funeral of Drusus! Whereupon Tacitus makes his note, Vana et irrisa vero et honesto fidem adimunt . So when Julius Caesar wept over Pompey’ s head, presented to him in Egypt, they that saw it, laughed in their sleeves, and held them no better than crocodile’ s tears. So the mourning that Nero and his mother made over the Emperor Claudius, whose death they had conspired and effected, was deep dissimulation. This is no less hateful, than to mourn heartily, but yet immoderately, is unlawful. Here Jacob forgat himself, when so overgrown with grief for his Joseph, and Rachel for the rest of their children, that they would not be comforted. So David for his Absalom: Alexander the Great for his friend Hephestion; when he not only clipped his horses’ and mules’ hair, but plucked down also the battlements of the walls of the city, &c. The soldiers of Pelopidas were no less excessive, when for grief of his death they would neither unbridle their horses, nor untie their armour, nor dress their wounds. Something here may be yielded to nature, nothing to impatience. Immoderate sorrow for losses past hope of recovery is more sullen than useful. Our stomach may be bewrayed by it, not our wisdom. The Egyptians mourned seventy days for Jacob: Joseph (who had more cause, but with it more grace) mourned but twenty days. God flatly forbade his people those heathenish customs, of shaving their heads and cutting their flesh, in token of mourning for the dead. We read in the gospel of minstrels and people making a noise at the terming-house, as they call it. And the Jews that were comforting Mary, when they saw her rise up hastily and go forth, followed her, saying, "She goeth unto the grave to weep there".

(2) Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron.—This was a very ancient city, built seven years before Zoan in Egypt (Numbers 13:22), probably by a tribe of Semites on their way to the Delta. It lies upon the very border of the Negeb of Judah, about twenty-two miles south of Jerusalem. Originally it was named Kirjath-arba, and though Arba is called “the father of Anak” (Joshua 15:13), yet the literal meaning City of Four (arba being the Hebrew numeral four), coupled with the fact that Hebron means alliance (Genesis 13:18), suggests that its building was the result of the union of four families; and afterwards, from the name of the city, Arba may have been often used as a proper name. At the conquest of Palestine there were descendants of Anak still dwelling there, and apparently they had restored the old title, but were expelled by Caleb (Joshua 15:14), who took it as his possession, and seems to have given its name to a grandchild, as a memorial of his victory (1 Chronicles 2:42). It is still an important town, with a population of 17,000 Moslems and about 600 Jews. Abraham came to mourn.—At this period Abraham was in quiet possession of several headquarters, and apparently was himself at Beer-sheba when Sarah died at Hebron, where probably he had left Isaac in charge of his mother and the cattle.

Verse 2. Sarah died in Kirjath-arba] Literally in the city of the four. Some suppose this place was called the city of the four because it was the burial place of Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; others, because according to the opinion of the rabbins, Eve was buried there. with Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah. But it seems evidently to have had its name from a Canaanite, one of the Anakim, probably called Arba (for the text, Joshua 14:14, does not actually say this was his name,) who was the chief of the four brothers who dwelt there; the names of the others being Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. See Judges 1:10. These three were destroyed by the tribe of Judah; probably the other had been previously dead. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah] From verse 19 of the preceding chapter Genesis 22:19 it appears that Abraham had settled at Beer-sheba; and here we find that Sarah died at Hebron, which was about twenty-four miles distant from Beersheba. For the convenience of feeding his numerous flocks, Abraham had probably several places of temporary residence, and particularly one at Beer-sheba, and another at Hebron; and it is likely that while he sojourned at Beersheba, Sarah died at Hebron; and his coming to mourn and weep for her signifies his coming from the former to the latter place on the news of her death.

2. Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron)] Cf. Genesis 35:27 (P). Kiriath-arba means “the city of four,” probably four confederate tribes. It was the earlier name of Hebron, which itself may mean “Confederation.” The two names are mentioned in Judges 1:10. In Joshua 14:15; Joshua 15:13, where the early name is also mentioned, Arba is regarded as a proper name. For Hebron as one of the dwelling-places of Abraham, see Genesis 13:18. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah] As if, at the time of Sarah’s death, Abraham had been residing in some different place. He came to “mourn”; and this word refers to the Oriental solemnity of wailing for the departed.

2. Sarah died in Kirjath-arba — To this place Abraham had again brought his family after his residence in Beer-sheba. Genesis 22:19.