MAMRE
(a) The city, or more probably the district of Hebron (Gen. 23:19; 35:27) west of Machpelah (Gen. 23:17). Abraham dwelt for a long time in the oak forest of Mamre near Hebron (Gen. 13:18; 14:13; 18:1, etc.).
In the time of Josephus there was a terebinth that was designated as Abraham’s tree, about six furlongs (more than 1 km) from Hebron (Wars 4:9, 7); in the 4th century one was displayed at Ramet el-Khalil, two Roman miles north of Hebron.
Constantine left him within the walls of a basilica. The remains of this building are called “Abraham’s House.” The tree, which is currently called “Abraham’s oak”, already had this name in the 16th century.
It is an oak, the “Quercus pseudococcifera”. The circumference of the trunk, at the base, reaches almost 8 m.; The diameter of the layer exceeds 28 m. (Thompson). This oak stands about 2.5 km west-northwest of modern Hebron.
(b) Amorite chief who lived in Mamre; With Eshcol and Aner, his brothers, he helped Abraham rescue the captives and loot taken by Chedorlaomer (Gen. 14:13, 24). It is possible that he was named after the district over which he exercised authority.