Machpelah
Machpelah, a cave near Hebron purchased by Abraham as a burial place for Sarah and later used for other patriarchs.
The name Machpelah means “double”
PlaceOld Testament1 book6 verses
Summary
A location first mentioned at Genesis 23:9; only referred to as Machpelah (מַכְפֵּלָה).
Location
- Identified as
- Cave of the Patriarchs
- Certainty
- Widely agreed (100% of scholarship)
- Coordinates
- 31.525° N, 35.111° E
Events
Dates are approximate
- Death of Abrahamc. 1821 BC
Glossary entries
Alternative names
- מַכְפֵּלָהMachpelah
Mentions
- …to sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence for full price, so that I may have a burial site.”
- So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over
- After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.
- His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
- The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
- They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.