Cave of the Patriarchs
series of caves located in the heart of the old city of Hebron
The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah (Biblical Hebrew: מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה, romanized: , lit. 'Cave of the Double') and to Muslims as the Ibrahami Mosque (Arabic: المسجد الإبراهيمي, romanized: al-Masjid al-ʾibrāhīmī), or Sanctuary of Ibrahim (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي, romanized: ), is a series of caves situated in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot. The site is considered a holy place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era. During Byzantine rule of the region, a Christian basilica was built on the site; the structure was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque following the Muslim conquest of the Byzantines. By the 12th century, the mosque and its surrounding regions had fallen under Crusader-state control, but were retaken in 1188 by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who again converted the structure into a mosque. In 1119 CE, a monk found bones inside the cave, believing them to be the bones of the patriarchs.
During the Six-Day War of 1967, the entire Jordanian-ruled West Bank was seized and occupied by the State of Israel, after which the mosque was divided, with half of it repurposed as a synagogue. In 1968, special Jewish services were authorized outside the usual permitted hours on the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement.
Etymology of "Makhpela"
Amoraic proposals
The etymology of the Biblical name for the site, Me'arat haMakhpela, is uncertain.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cave of the Patriarchs” as series of caves located in the heart of the old city of Hebron. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as series of caves located in the heart of the old city of Hebron. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q204200. VIAF identifies the subject as 154801351. The Library of Congress control number is n82235950. Authority coordinates are 31.525, 35.111. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1188, 1119, 1967 and 1968.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Cave of the Patriarchs” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.