(Genesis 12:1-3) Abraham with his wife and others left Haran for the
land of Canaan. When they had reached a point in that land known as
Sichem, the Lord appeared unto him and said: "Unto thy seed will I give
this land". Abraham builded an altar there, and the place has since been
known as Bethel, which means the house of God. Afterward Abraham dwelt
in the plains of Mamre, which is just above the present site of Hebron
in the southern part of Palestine. While there, God made a covenant with
him, saying: "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of
Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates".--Genesis 15:18.
[95]Thereafter, when Abraham was 99 years old, the Lord appeared unto
him and said: "I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will
multiply thee exceedingly, ... and thou shalt be a father of many
nations. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land
wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God." (Genesis 17:2,4,8) Some time
later, when Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, which was
pitched in the plains of Mamre, there stood before him three men,
messengers from Jehovah. In the plains of Mamre, a short distance above
the town of Hebron, still stands a very ancient oak tree. It is about
thirty feet in circumference.
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