Sa'ir
| Sa'ir | |
|---|---|
| Other transcription(s) | |
| • Arabic | سعير |
| • Also spelled | Sa'eer (official) Saiour (unofficial) |
 Sa'ir
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| Coordinates: 31°35′04″N 35°08′43″E / 31.58444°N 35.14528°ECoordinates: 31°35′04″N 35°08′43″E / 31.58444°N 35.14528°E | |
| Palestine grid | 163/110 |
| Governorate | Hebron |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Head of Municipality | Hakim Shlalda |
| Area | |
| • Jurisdiction | 117,000 dunams (117.0 km2 or 45.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Jurisdiction | 18,045 |
| Name meaning | blazing flame, hell. |
Sa'ir (Arabic: سعير, also spelled Saeer, Seir, or Si'ir) is a Palestinian town in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) northeast of Hebron. Nearby localities include Beit Fajjar and al-Arroub to the north, Beit Ummar to the northwest, Halhul to the west and Beit Einun and ash-Shuyukh to the south. The Dead Sea is just east of Sa'ir's municipal borders. In the 2007 census Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of over 18,045.
It has municipal jurisdiction over 117,000 dunams, 6,000 of which is built-up area and 11,715 of which is cultivated. The main economic activities in Sa'ir are agriculture and the Israeli labor market, although the latter has been adversely affected as a result of the Israeli restrictions following the Second Intifada in 2000-04. Olives are the major cash crop.
According to the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), Sa'ir "was established on the town of Saeer (صعير) or Saiour (صعيور)", and during the Roman era the town was known as "Sior". The Book of Joshua (15:54) mentions a town in this area called Tsi`or (ציער, also transliterated Sior or Zior). The Hebrew name is related to a root meaning "small".
Byzantine ceramics have been found. The Palestine Exploration Fund's Survey of Western Palestine (SWP), wrote that: "The tomb of El 'Ais (Esau), south of the village, is in a chamber 37 feet east and west by 20 feet north and south, with a Mihrab on the south wall. The tomb is 12 feet long, 3 1/2 feet broad, 5 feet high, covered with a dark green cloth and a canopy above. An ostrich egg is hung near. North of the chamber is a vaulted room of equal size, and to the east is an open court with a fig-tree, and a second cenotaph rudely plastered, said to be that of Esau's slave. Rock-cut tombs exist south-west of this place."
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