The Death of Abraham
Altogether, Abraham lived a hundred and seventy-five years.
Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite,
the field Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. Genesis 25:7
Hebron, Abraham’s home according to the Bible.
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Hebron contains the most ancient site in Jewish history, second only in importance to the Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem. It is a tomb named Machpelah, tomb of the patriarchs. The Bible says that Abraham purchased a cave to bury his wife Sarah, and an adjoining field. Abraham was considered a “friend of God” in Arabic, Al Khalil, literally “the friend of God”.
The word Hebron is derived from the Hebrew word haver, meaning friend. Abraham resided here when he arrived in Canaan and King David was anointed here, where he reigned for seven years. Isaac was born in Hebron, as was Jonah, and Arab legend has it that the stone foundations were laid by King Solomon himself.
Abraham insisted on paying the going rate for the site. He, his wife Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and wives Rebecca and Leigh are all buried here. Only Jacob’s wife is missing. She died bearing Benjamin in Bethlehem. The bible says Sarah lived 127 years and died in Kiriath Arba – that is Hebron – in the land of Canaan. Genesis 23 Now Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said “I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so that I can bury my dead”. The Hittites replied to Abraham, “You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you”. Abraham said “Sell me the cave of Machpelah which belongs to him and is at the end of his field. Ask him to sell it to me for the full price of a burial site among you”.
The Bible says that Abraham was offered the site free of charge, but he insisted on paying the full price of 400 shekels in silver. When the time came, he buried his wife Sarah in the cave. Simon found it amazing that shekels were still the currency of Israel today. Throughout the Byzantine, Arab, Marmaluke and Ottoman empires, this whole area had been the scene of war and unrest.
Given this history, the wisdom of going there was discussed by the group. Einar and Simon were by now on their fourth visit to the area and fairly confident. It was decided they would go. A building built by Herod 2000 years ago now covers the cave. The walls are 50 to 60 feet high and said to resemble the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The shrine is at present used as a mosque and the building consists of three rooms containing richly decorated cenotaphs. These are covered in green tapestries, worked with inscriptions and verses. It is believed that they stand exactly above the tombs.
Many violent incidents have occurred in this place. In May 1980, six Jewish students were killed and twenty wounded, by Palestinians. In February 1994, 29 Muslim worshippers were killed and a further 129 wounded, when a Jewish gunman opened fire in the building. The bullet marks can be seen today. Suffice to say, the general mood of the group was one of caution!
Here then lie Abraham, Isaac, Sarah and Jacob. Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man full of years, and he was gathered to his people.His sons Issac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, the field Abraham had brought from the Hittite. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. There are other significant sites of religious and historical interest at Hebron, including the tombs of Othniel. Buried here are Ben Kemaz, 1st judge of Israel, Avner Ben-ner, general and confidante to Kings Saul and David. Also there are Ruth and Jesse, great grandmother and father to King David respectively.
This article is taken from the film
Our Search for Real Discoveries DVD
In this documentary Simon's team return to Sodom and Gomorrah for a closer look. They also search for Admah and Zoar the surrounding towns.
THIS documentary DVD IS AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON HERE
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