Machpelah
“Double or portion”
Summary
Machpelah was the cave and field near Hebron purchased by Abraham from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site for his family, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were interred.
☩The Purchase
When Sarah died at the age of 127, Abraham negotiated with the sons of Heth to purchase a burial site. The cave of Machpelah belonged to Ephron the Hittite and was located at the end of his field 'before Mamre.' Abraham paid 400 shekels of silver for the field and the cave within it, making it his only territorial possession in the promised land. The manner of negotiation described in Genesis closely mirrors land transactions practiced in the ancient Near East, with the public nature of the sale before the city gate serving as legal witness.
☩Patriarchal Burials
The cave became the ancestral tomb for the patriarchs and matriarchs. Abraham buried Sarah there, and was himself later buried by Isaac and Ishmael. Subsequently, Isaac and Rebekah were interred in the same cave, as were Jacob and Leah. Jacob's dying charge to his sons specifically requested burial at Machpelah, recounting that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah were already buried there. After Jacob's death in Egypt, Joseph and his brothers carried his embalmed body to Canaan to fulfill this request.
☩The Modern Site
The site traditionally identified as Machpelah is enclosed by a massive rectangular wall in Hebron, measuring approximately 200 feet by 115 feet, constructed of enormous limestone blocks. Some stones measure up to 38 feet in length. The architectural style resembles the ancient Temple walls in Jerusalem, leading scholars to date the enclosure to the Herodian period or earlier. Jewish tradition attributes the structure to David or Solomon. A mosque now occupies the site, and access has historically been restricted, though visitors have occasionally been permitted to enter. The cave beneath the structure has rarely been explored, but reports suggest it contains multiple chambers. The site remains sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike as the burial place of Abraham.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Machpelah," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Machpelah," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Machpelah," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "MACHPELAH," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. VII (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 5.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Machpelah," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).