Cave of the Patriarchs

The Cave of the Patriarchs is considered to be the spiritual center of the ancient city of Hebron. It lies in the southwest part of the West Bank, in the heart of ancient Judea. It is called in Hebrew Me-arat Hamachpelah (מערת המכפלה): "The Cave of the 'double' caves or tombs", because (according to Jewish tradition) its hidden twin caves are considered to be the burial place of four "pairs" of important Biblical couples: (1) Adam and Eve; (2) Abraham and Sarah; (3) Isaac and Rebekah; (4) Jacob and Leah.

Related Topics:
Hebron - West Bank - Judea - Hebrew - Cave - Tomb - Adam - Eve - Abraham - Sarah - Isaac - Rebekah - Jacob - Leah

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The caves are contained within a stone building dating to the times of Herod the Great.

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The Muslims later turned part of the building into a mosque which they refer to as the Ibrahimi Mosque (or 'Sanctuary of Abraham', Arabic: ????? ?????????? {{Audio|ArIbrahimiMosque.ogg|Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi}}).

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