Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MACHPELAH

(Heb. maḵpēlâ)

A field with a cave located in the town of Hebron (Gen. 23:19). Abraham purchased this plot from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site for his wife Sarah (Gen. 23). He desired only the cave, but Ephron insisted that Abraham buy the field as well. Ephron’s actions most likely reflect Hittite law, which required an owner to be responsible for the legal obligations of the entire plot if only a portion of the land was sold. Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were also buried at Machpelah (Gen. 25:9; 49:29-31; 50:13).

Herod the Great (37-4 b.c.) constructed a fortresslike stone enclosure, the only complete Herodian edifice still standing, around the site. Today a Moslem mosque (used as a church when the Crusaders conquered the city in a.d. 1188) sits within Herod’s enclosure and on top of the cave. The most recent investigation of the cave took place in 1967, shortly after the Six-Day War, under the direction of Moshe Dayan.

Bibliography. M. R. Lehmann, “Abraham’s Purchase of Machpelah and Hittite Law,” BASOR 129 (1953): 15-18; N. Miller, “Patriarchal Burial Site Explored for First Time in 700 Years,” BARev 11/3 (1985): 26-43.

Stephen R. Miller

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

MACHPELAH

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)