Day 3 - September 29, 2026
This morning we had an incredible and chaotic experience at the Machpelah - burial caves of the patriarchs. The Jewish celebration of Sukkot meant that the Muslim half of this shared space was taken over for the festival and used as an extended synagogue and the atmosphere was festive. Abraham bought this land with its caves from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah are all believed to be buried here. Herod enclosed and covered the open air paving of this area in a style exactly as the expansion of Temple Mount. Normally a visit to the Muslim half of this building is tense and uncomfortable: women have to cover themselves with capes and hoods and talking is a minimum. Today there was music and dancing and unbelievable crowds!
Another site in Hebron important to Abraham’s history and Gods plan of salvation is Mamre. Genesis 13:18 Abram settles in Hebron at the oaks of Mamre and builds an altar to the Lord. Long memory of this site was preserved by Herod who built an enclosure wall in the style of the temple and the Machpela. Constantine’s mother in law Eutropia insisted on removal of pagan altars that had been erected during early Roman times and established a church. The remains of the church are still here and some of the herodian stones are still here. There is a paved area in front of the church that some speculate could be the site of the original altar.
We then traveled further south into the Negev and the fortress city and ruins of Arad. Our guide pointed out that when Joshua and Caleb were scouting the land of Canaan, the city of Arad was already a ruin and they would have seen the old city walls. The hilltop fortress was built in the 10th c BC era of David and Solomon.
From Arad, we traveled further south and west to Tel Be’er Sheva, another Old Testament site. There is an amazing water management/ cistern system here that is open to walk through.
On the way back to Jerusalem we stopped in the Elah valley to get a feel for the topography and importance of the west - east valleys through the Shephala. Also discussed David and his early steps toward assuming the mantle of kingship.
Have a wonderful evening! PB and Margery
The Machpelah - burial caves of the patriarchs. Normally a tensely shared space with a mosque on one side and a synagogue on the other. For the celebration of Sukkot, the Jewish community is allowed to take over the entire space with a very festive atmosphere!
