Tel Hebron, also known as Tell er-Rumeida in Arabic, is located on a spur 936 meters above sea level within modern Hebron. Both the Hebrew name Hebron and the Arabic name (Al-Khalil) derives from words for “friend.” This site features a spring and overlooks a fertile valley, making it a significant location throughout history. Hebron has traditionally served as the center of the Judean Highlands south of Jerusalem, also known as Mount Hebron (Jabal al-Khalil). It is one of the traditional capitals of the central highlands along with Jerusalem and Shechem.
Hebron holds a central place in the biblical narratives of the Patriarchs and King David, with names such as Kiryat Arba (possibly meaning “city of four” clans or quarters) and Mamre. Today, Tel Hebron is an archaeological park, adorned with agricultural terraces and ancient olive trees. At its summit stands the monastery of Deir al-‘Arba’in (Monastery of the Forty), traditionally believed to be the tomb of Ruth and Jesse, the ancestors of King David.
Archaeological evidence shows that Hebron has been inhabited intermittently over the last 6,000 years. Notably, it was a fortified settlement during the Early and Middle Bronze Ages and the Iron Age.
Hebron in the biblical tradition
Hebron is traditionally known as the residence and burial place of the Patriarchs. Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah are believed to be buried in the Cave of Machpelah, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23). Hebron was later a Canaanite city inhabited by the sons of Anak, possibly linked to an Amorite tribal unit called Y’nq. In the tradition of the conquest of Canaan, Hebron was captured by the Israelites three times: once by Joshua (Joshua 10:36-37), once by the tribe of Judah (Judges 1:10), and once by Caleb (Joshua 14:13-15), whose descendants settled in the region alongside Levites. King David was crowned in Hebron, ruling there for seven years before moving to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 2:3-4, 5:5). His son Absalom later rebelled against him there.
Research history
In the 1920s, European researchers William F. Albright, A. E. Mader, and Felix M. Abel identified Tel Rumeida with biblical Hebron. Spanning around 70 dunams, the site was first excavated between 1964-1966 by an American expedition led by P. C. Hammond. From 1984-1986, the Judean Hills Survey Expedition, headed by Avi Ofer of Tel Aviv University, conducted further excavations. In 1998, Yuval Peleg excavated the site on behalf of the IDF Staff Officer of Archaeology. Broad salvage excavations were carried out in 1999 by Emanuel Eisenberg of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and later in 2014 by Eisenberg and David Ben-Shlomo of Ariel University, prior to the opening of the park.
Bronze Age Hebron: A Canaanite kingdom of Hebron?
The earliest phases of Hebron date to the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze I periods (6th-4th millennia BC). Hebron likely served as a tribal center until it became a fortified city with a thick wall in the Early Bronze Age III (2900-2500 BC). Like much of the region, it was abandoned during the Intermediate Bronze Age (2500-2000 BC).
The city was rebuilt in the 17th-16th century BC, in the later stages of the Middle Bronze Age, possibly becoming the capital of a kingdom. It featured a “cyclopean” wall, named for its large boulders, similar to those found in Shechem, Shiloh, Jericho, and Gezer. This wall served Hebron’s inhabitants for a thousand years. A significant find from this period is a Cuneiform tablet describing cultic activities, listing animals offered as sacrifices, and found alongside bones and ashes. The tablet also lists four Amorite and Hurrian personal names and the word “king.”
Contrary to previous beliefs, Hebron was not abandoned during the Late Bronze Age, though it likely declined. In 1998, a large burial cave with the remains of 53 individuals, mostly dated to the 13th century BC, provided evidence of continued settlement.
Iron Age Hebron: A Judahite city of the Calebites
The Iron Age I period aligns with the narrative describing the settlement of the Calebites. During the 11th-10th centuries BC, the Middle Bronze Age “cyclopean wall” was reused. Ofer claimed this period marked the peak of Hebron. It was suggested that the “cyclopean walls” inspired the legend of the “giants” (Anakites). Only a few scattered remains have been dated to the Iron Age IIA (10th and 9th centuries BC).
Later excavations revealed that in the late 8th and 7th centuries BC, Hebron was an important administrative center of the Kingdom of Judah. The wall was reinforced, possibly by King Hezekiah, in preparation for Assyrian campaigns, and later, perhaps under Josiah, as Hebron faced threats from the south and east. A limestone seal reading “To Shepatyahu (son of) Samak” was found, likely belonging to a local official. Several “LMLK” jars, with the city name stamped on their handles, were found across the site. Hebron is one of the four places mentioned in these inscriptions, discovered throughout the Kingdom of Judah.
Tel Hebron after the destruction of Jerusalem
By the end of the Iron Age, around the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and Judah in 587 BC, Hebron declined. Tel Hebron was abandoned, and it is likely that from the Persian or Hellenistic periods onward, the city’s center moved from the spur to the lower valley, where modern Hebron’s Old City is located. The region was transferred to the Idumeans from the east. A Persian administrative center was built 5 km north of Tel Hebron at Jebel Nimra, likely replacing Hebron’s central position.
In the 1st century BC, the Hasmoneans under Judas Maccabeus, captured Hebron from the Idumeans and the tel was resettled as a suburb of the new city in the valley. Hebron thrived during the Roman period, evidenced by the remains of ritual baths. It was destroyed twice during the Jewish rebellions. Josephus mentioned the “tombs of the patriarchs” there. The mound continued to serve as a suburb of Hebron in late antiquity and the Middle Ages. The Monastery of Deir al-‘Arba’in, whose early stages date to the Byzantine era, was constructed on top of the mound. It became a place of pilgrimage.
Sources:
Avi Ofer. Hebron. In Stern, E. (ED). 1993. Encyclopedia of Archeological Excavations in the Holy Land. Vol 2. Pp 606-609. The Israel Exploration Society. Carta. Jerusalem.
Emanuel Eisenberg and David Ben-Shlomo (eds). 2017. The Tel Hevron 2014 excavations: final report. Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology. Ariel.
Biblical Hiking Map