Difference between revisions of "Machpelah"

<p> [[Machpelah]] ( ''Mak-Pç'Lah'' ), ''Double Cave.'' A field in Hebron containing the cave which Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite as a burial-place for his family. A full account of the negotiations, carried on after the oriental forms still prevalent, is given in &nbsp;Genesis 23:1-20. That cave became the burial-place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah. &nbsp;Genesis 23:19; &nbsp;Genesis 25:9; &nbsp;Genesis 49:29-32; &nbsp;Genesis 50:12-13. The name does not occur except in the book of Genesis. The cave Machpelah is one of the Bible sites which are positively known. It was situated on the western slope of a hill in Hebron, the town lying for the most part to the south and west. Within an enclosure is a mosque, which was probably erected in the time of Justinian as a Christian church. Visitors are rigidly excluded, but by a special firman of the sultan the Prince of [[Wales]] was admitted in 1862, and others have since entered it. Of the cave itself there is no trustworthy account. [[Captain]] [[Warren]] was told that it had not been entered for 600 years. The [[Moslems]] have a superstition that whoever attempts to enter it will be struck dead, and their fanaticism causes them to prohibit any one from making the attempt. It is thought to be possible that the embalmed body of Jacob may still be preserved in the cave, as [[Egyptian]] mummies have been found of as early a date. </p>

<p> The tract containing the field and cave in the end of Ephron's field, which Abraham bought as his burying ground from Ephron and the sons of [[Heth]] (&nbsp;Genesis 23:9); his only possession in the land of promise. All ancient versions translated Machpelah "the double cave," from '''''Kaphal''''' , "to divide or double". [[Either]] there were two entrances or two receptacles for bodies. [[Gesenius]] derives it from a root, "portion." A mosque now covers it. The sacred precinct ( '''''Harem''''' ) is enclosed by a wall, the oldest in Palestine. The masonry is more antique than the S.W. wall of the haram at Jerusalem; one stone is 38 ft. long, 3 1/4 ft. deep. The beveling is shallow, and at latest belongs to the age of Solomon; Jewish ancient tradition ascribes it to David. It lay near Hebron. (See [[Hebron]] .) The sepulchers of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and [[Leah]] are shown on the mosque floor; but the real sepulchers are in the cave below the floor; the cave opens to the S., and the bodies were laid with their heads to the N. </p>