The Cave of Mechpelah.... (3)

Continued on the same topic of the Cave of Machpelah dated on 3/12, Friday...

What does the bible in Genesis tell us about these holy sites that are so important and so contentious to both Jews and Arabs? To get a clear picture about this, we need to go back to the time when Sarah died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Cannan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to sweep over her. After mourning, he spoke with his neighbor, the Hittites, whether he can buy a property from them that he can use as the burial site for his beloved wife. If you can recall, Hittites are the sons of Cannan, of which Ham is the father. They are Hamites and cursed by Noah due to his own fault. He became drunk and lay uncovered inside this tent. Ham, the father of Cannan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. So, to a greater degree, Hittites and Shemites are cousins.

Although the bible did not tell us the reasons as to why Abraham specifically picked the cave of Machpelah near Mamre from the Hittite, Ephron, son of Zohar, for burying Sarah, Ephron sold him the whole field (the cave is in it) for 400 shekels of silver in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of the city. Mamre is at today's Hebron in the land of Cannan. So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site.

When Abraham died at the age of 175, his sons Isaac and Ismail also 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. In fact, the cave of Machpelah is the first property Abraham bought ever. But when did Abraham move to Hebron? This story is actually in Genesis 13. When Abraham and Lot parted company, because of quarreling between Abraham and Lot, as well as between his herdsmen and Lot's. Lot chose the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. Abraham lived in the land of Cannan. After the Lord had said to him, "Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I'm giving it to you.", Abraham moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the Lord.That's actually the first time Abraham entered the city of Hebron. Of course, at the ancient time, there is no city per se, at least, the way we understood it today.