Day 16
Tomb of Abraham (Click on pictures for larger view) Cave of Machpelah
cave access hole in Machpelah cenotaph of Isaac and pulpit
Hebron
So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD. Genesis 13:18
Hebron, a historic Old Testament town a half-hour south of Bethlehem, is often overlooked by the Christian pilgrim. And this is unfortunate.
It is true that there is no record of Jesus going there. But even though it is off the usual path for pilgrim buses, it would be a shame to miss it.
It is here in this Arab city that we find the magnificently impressive tomb of the Patriarchs and their wives, the ancestors of both Jews and Arabs. It was here that Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah
(Genesis 23:17-20) as a burial place for his aged wife Sarah. Here too, Abraham himself was buried, followed by his son Isaac with Isaac’s wife Rebecca, and by Abraham’s grandson Jacob and his wife Leah.
The monumental building, almost a kind of fort, which rises over the burial cave was built by Herod the Great (37-4 BC) from enormous blocks of stone. On top of this Justinian built a church in the sixth century and the Crusaders added Gothic vaulting in 1215. From 1267, when this imposing “Haram el-Khalil” (“Shrine of the Friend”) was captured by the Sultan Baibars and made into a mosque, only Moslems were allowed to enter.
Only after 1967 were the Jews allocated a place of prayer here. It must surely be the only place where Jews and Moslems pray almost side by side over the bones of their common ancestors.
The huge cenotaphs or tombs of Haram el-Khalil covered in brocade, are also protected with mausoleums. Through their doors and windows, the pious speak their prayers. But it is through an opening in the floor near the wall that the most pious Jews send down their vocal and written petitions directly into the deep cave of Machpelah. It is a bit unnerving for the staid Western visitor to see a woman bending over this opening to the cave and wailing aloud of her grief and her desires far down into the tomb of her ancestors.
It was from Hebron that Joseph set forth to find his brothers (Genesis 37:14). Here the thirty-year-old David was anointed King of Judah and here he lived until the capture of Jerusalem. His general killed Abnor, Saul’s general, at Hebron (2 Samuel 3:27) and David had the two men executed here who had murdered the last son of Saul (2 Samuel 4:7-11).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, Abraham left his country and his people at your call and came to Hebron. He left the gods and the superstition behind and set forth in faith. He became the ancestor of a mighty people. May all Jews, Moslems and Christians who adore you, the one and true God, learn to live side by side in peace. May Abraham, our common father in faith, be an example of the courage to risk and to believe in your son Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Amen
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