Mamre / Oaks of Mamre

Mamre is the site near Hebron where Abraham dwells and receives the three angelic visitors who announce Isaac's birth and the impending destruction of Sodom - a place of divine encounter and hospitality. Jasher 18 provides the extended account of Abraham entertaining the angels with a feast, Sarah's laughter at the promise of a son, and the subsequent departure of two angels toward Sodom. Mamre represents Abraham's settled life in Canaan and his open hospitality that contrasts sharply with Sodom's cruelty to strangers. Within the broader geographical and theological framework of these three ancient texts, Mamre / Oaks of Mamre serves as more than a mere physical location - it functions as a site where divine purpose intersects with human history. The pseudepigraphal traditions preserved in Enoch, Jubilees, and Jasher provide perspectives on this place that illuminate its spiritual significance beyond what other ancient sources record. Each visit, encounter, or event that occurs here contributes to the larger pattern of covenant geography that these texts trace from the primordial garden through the patriarchal wanderings to the settlement of the promised land.

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Region: Earth

Strongest connections in Ancient Text

The Book of Jasher 18

Key Chapters

The Book of Jasher 18 Abraham Entertains Three Angels, who eat with him. Sarah is promised a Son. The People of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of all the Cities of the Plain becom... 11 min read

Key Passages

Angels visit Abraham

The Book of Jasher 18:1-15

And Abraham rose and did all that God had ordered him, and he took the men of his household and those bought with his mo...

A¹nd Abraham rose and did all that God had ordered him, and he took the men of his household and those bought with his money, and he circumcised them as the Lord had commanded him.

² And there was not one left whom he did not circumcise, and Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin; thirteen years old was Ishmael when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. ³ And in the third day Abraham went out of his tent and sat at the door to enjoy the heat of the sun, during the pain of his flesh. ⁴ And the Lord appeared to him in the plain of Mamre, and sent three of his ministering angels to visit him, and he was sitting at the door of the tent, and he lifted his eyes and saw, and lo three men were coming from a distance, and he rose up and ran to meet them, and he bowed down to them and brought them into his house. ⁵ And he said to them, If now I have found favor in your sight, turn in and eat a morsel of bread; and he pressed them, and they turned in and he gave them water and they washed their feet, and he placed them under a tree at the door of the tent. ⁶ And Abraham ran and took a calf, tender and good, and he hastened to kill it, and gave it to his servant Eliezer to dress. ⁷ And Abraham came to Sarah into the tent, and he said to her, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes to cover the pot containing the meat, and she did so. ⁸ And Abraham hastened and brought before them butter and milk, beef and mutton, and gave it before them to eat before the flesh of the calf was sufficiently done, and they did eat. ⁹ And when they had done eating one of them said to him, I will return to thee according to the time of life, and Sarah thy wife shall have a son. ¹⁰ And the men afterward departed and went their ways, to the places to which they were sent. ¹¹ In those days all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and of the whole five cities, were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord and they provoked the Lord with their abominations, and they strengthened in aging abominably and scornfully before the Lord, and their wickedness and crimes were in those days great before the Lord. ¹² And they had in their land a very extensive valley, about half a day's walk, and in it there were fountains of water and a great deal of herbage surrounding the water. ¹³ And all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah went there four times in the year, with their wives and children and all belonging to them, and they rejoiced there with timbrels and dances. ¹⁴ And in the time of rejoicing they would all rise and lay hold of their neighbor's wives, and some, the virgin daughters of their neighbors, and they enjoyed them, and each man saw his wife and daughter in the hands of his neighbor and did not say a word. ¹⁵ And they did so from morning to night, and they afterward returned home each man to his house and each woman to her tent; so they always did four times in the year.

Did You Know?

Abraham sees three figures approaching and runs to meet them - exemplary hospitality.

Sarah laughs inside the tent and is overheard - demonstrating divine omniscience.

The meal Abraham prepares includes calf, curds, milk, and cakes - a lavish feast.

Two of the three visitors proceed to Sodom while one remains to speak with Abraham.

Abraham's intercession for Sodom begins at this site immediately after the meal.