18051 - Hebron; Haram el-Khalil - Cave of the Patriarchs

(530) According to the statements of its inhabitants, Hebron is a town of greater antiquity not only than any other in the country, but even than Memphis in Egypt, being reckoned to be two thousand three hundred years old. (531) They further relate that it was there that Abraham, the progenitor of the Jews, took up his abode after his migration from Mesopotamia, and from here that his posterity went down into Egypt. (532) Their tombs are shown in this little town to this day, of really fine marble and of exquisite workmanship.

(transl. Thackeray, LCL)

Hence, from this Terebinth, it is 2 miles to Hebron, where there is a tomb of wondrous beauty, square and made of stone, in which are laid Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Sarah, Rebecca and Leah.

(transl. Di Segni)

Not far out of Hebron — three hundred yards off, at the place called Abramiri — is the House of Jacob, where a church without a roof has been built.

(transl. Wilkinson)

Further on she mounted up to Hebron, which is ‘Kiriath-arba’, the City of the Four Men <cf., e.g., Josh. 14:15>, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and Adam the Great, who was buried there according to the Book of Joshua, son of Nun, as the Hebrews say, though most people believe that the fourth is Caleb <cf., e.g., Josh. 14:13–14>, whose tomb is to be seen on the side (of the tombs of the patriarchs).

(transl. Di Segni)

- - - From the Terebinth it is four miles to the Double Cave, the patriarchs' resting-place. From the Double Cave it is two miles to Hebron - - -

(transl. Wilkinson)

From Bethlehem it is twenty-four miles to the Oak of Mamre, the resting-place of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Sarah and also of Joseph's bones. The basilica has four porticoes and no roof over the central court. Down the middle runs a screen. Christians come in on one side and Jews on the other, and they use much incense. On the day following Christ's Birthday the people of this area celebrate the Deposition of Jacob and David with much devotion, and Jews from all over the country congregate for this, too great a crowd to count. They offer much incense and lights, and give presents to those who minister there.

(transl. Wilkinson)

THE VALLEY OF MAMRE AND THE TOMBS OF THE FOUR PATRIARCHS

9. (1) On the east of Hebron is a field, facing the Double Cave of Mamre, which Abraham bought from Ephron to possess it.

10. (2) In the valley containing this plot holy Arculf made a pilgrimage to the place of the Tombs of the Arbe (the Four Patriarchs), Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Adam the First Man. (3) They are buried with their feet to the south (not east, as is usual in other parts of the world) and their heads to the north. (4) Round the place where they are buried runs a low wall in a rectangle. (5) Adam, the First of Creation, was told by God the Creator. as soon as he had sinned, "Dust thou art, and to dust thou shall go" <Gen. 3:19>. He is buried not far to the north of the other three, at one end of the rectangular stone enclosure. His is not an honourable burial in a rock-cut stone tomb like the rest of his offspring, but he is buried in the earth, covered with earth, dust himself and turned to dust, and awaits the resurrection with all his offspring. And such a burial fulfils the sentence which God uttered on him. (6) The Three Patriarchs follow the example of their first parent, and rest beneath humble dust. All the Four have tombs surmounted by small monuments constructed of dressed stones laid in such a way as to form a shape like a church, corresponding with the length and breadth of each tomb. (7) The three tombs belonging to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are grouped together. They are protected by three monuments of the shape we have described, and made, as has been said, of hard white stones. Adam's tomb also has a superstructure. but it is of darker-coloured stone, and is less well-made. (8) Arculf also saw in this place the tombs for their three wives, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. They are buried in the ground, and their monuments are humbler and smaller. (9) One finds this small field containing these Tombs of the Patriarchs one stade to the east of the wall of ancient Hebron, (10) a city which is said to have been founded earlier not only than the cities of Palestine, but even earlier than any of those in Egypt. Even so it is in a sad state of ruin today. (11) So much for our description of the Tombs of the Patriarchs.

(transl. Wilkinson)

Furthermore Hebron is located in the fields of a plain, and is twenty-two miles away from Aelia. In a valley one stade to its east it has the double cave where a rectangular wall surrounds the Tombs of the Patriarchs. Their heads are facing north, and they are built in the manner of a basilica for each patriarch with white engraved stones. But Adam lies in a humbler and cheaper monument, not far from them at the end of the north wall. And one can also see the tombs of their three wives, less ecorated and smaller.

(transl. Wilkinson)