Cave of Machpelah (miarat hammakpelah): Jewish Tradition and Archeology of Holy Graves in Hebron

Abstract

The history of Biblical Israel is impressive. Although most of the attention of historians and archaeologists is focused on Jerusalem, it should be remembered that the first piece of the Promised Land acquired was a field and a cave in Hebron. Also, here was the first capital of the kingdom of David located, which was moved to Jerusalem after winning the campaign against the Jebusites. Although the topic of Machpelah cave seems quite common, it should be admitted that Polish biblical literature is quite poor in this respect. This article first of all focuses on a short exegesis of excerpts from the Book of Genesis on the subject, then deals with the terminology, which is crucial in understanding the topic. The text sheds new light on Jewish Kabbalah, which in a very interesting way draws on the tradition of Machpelah, very deeply rooted in Judaism. The last point is the archaeological approach, which, although it does not have the possibility of scientific activities in today’s sepulchral complex of Biblical patriarchs, brings some interesting facts from the past, stimulating the imagination and creating an incredible atmosphere around one of the most mysterious sacred objects in the world.