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. A Rabbinical tradition, which Jerome embodied in his commentary, interprets the name Kirjath-arba as signifying 'the city of the four'-namely, Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are alleged to be buried in its neighbourhood. But none of the fathers who preceded Jerome have mentioned this legend; and it is superfluous to add that it has no Scriptural foundation.
The same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. Hebron is generally regarded as a name of later origin, bestowed upon it after the conquest of Canaan by Caleb, who received that town and the neighbouring grounds as his allotted portion. But this, though a common, is an erroneous opinion; and satisfactory evidence will be produced afterward (see the note at Joshua 14:15; Judges 1:10) to prove that Kirjath-arba became the designation of the place after the time of the patriarchs, when, upon the expulsion of the Hittites, it fell into the possession of the Anakim, and that the Hebrews, who, on their entrance into the promised land, called it Hebron, only restored its original name - i:e., the Place of Alliance, founded on circumstances in the history of their great ancestor (Genesis 14:13).
Hebron was one of the most ancient cities in the world (Numbers 13:22). Robinson says that it stood in 'the vale of Hebron,' on the identical spot occupied by the modern town (El Khulil). But others, who have more leisurely and carefully reconnoitered the ground, conclude, from the traces of ruins still visible among the vineyards on the brow of the adjoining hill, Jebel Beilun, that the site of the ancient city must be sought for 'further to the north, if not on the hill at the western side of the wady' ('Tent and Khan').
It was not, however, in the town, but in the neighbouring grove at Mamre (Genesis 13:18), that Abraham's encampment was pitched. The clause "in the land of Canaan" is added, to show that Sarah died and was buried in the land of promise.
Abraham came to mourn for Sarah. ... Since Sarah had reached so advanced an age, and must have long
been exhibiting signs of gradual decay, it cannot be supposed that, at such a time, Abraham would remain with his flocks in the distant pasture lands around Beer-sheba, and leave his venerable partner alone at Hebron. We must assume that he had removed with his whole establishment some time before, to his favourite camping ground at Mamre. He came from his own tent to take his station at the door of Sarah's (Numbers 19:14). The corpse being laid near the open door, the mourners sat before it. The 'mourning' describes his conformity to the customary usage of sitting on the ground for a time (Isaiah 47:1); while the 'weeping' indicates the natural outburst of his sorrow, accompanied by his attendants with the vehement outcries, the beating of the breasts, and other violent gesticulations, which Orientals use in expressing grief. The two words, "mourn" and "weep for her," may be considered as indicating the natural sorrow for the loss of a wife, and the funeral usages in honour of the dead.