Mamre

2023-07-16

Mamre is a plain in southern Israel in Hebron, also known as Kirjatharba. After coming out of Egypt, Abram settled there.

Now though Abraham was a sojourner in the land, he apparently made some connections while living in Mamre. Mamre is the name of the man who owned the plain: “And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram” (Genesis 14:13). Mamre and his brothers helped Abraham in the battles to help rescue his nephew Lot. “...the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion” (Genesis 14:24).

The LORD and His servants appeared to Abraham there when He told about the demise of Sodom and the surrounding cities. It was in the vicinity of where Sarah and Abraham would be buried. Being in Kirjatharba, giants would be nearby. Mamre and those with him would be men of valor to live in that area.

Since Abraham did spend a good amount of time there, Mamre and his brothers surely knew something of his faith in the LORD. They must have had some strong bond if they were willing to go fight Chedorlaomer and his allies. They must have understood that the Lord was with Abraham. Abraham would have had permission to dwell there, since the land would have belonged to Mamre.

Even though Abraham would inherit all the land in Canaan, the plain remained the plain of Mamre all that time. Abraham waited for the Lord to give him his inheritance.