The Raymer enterprise., 1915-01-21

mentioned in the Bible
Inc palace OF Solomon, where he received the
Ieeh Vi aheha, Is building concerning which
s'"' interest Is naturally felt II WIS 'built of
~. ''uais oil Lebanon. < When the stories of Her.
oH palace are unearthed IL Is not Imurobah,a TIA,
beneath these may be found the cedars of soIo
mon building, for in those times they had habft
ot building on the ruins of their predecessors
notable Instance of a Biblical site of eytraor.
aihary interest from which investigators are a.,
ufely excluded is the tomb of Abraham and tho
hebfe" ratriarchs at Hebron in Palestine I, was
mere that Abraham. the forefather OF all the Israel
ies' h"elt with his family as the book Of Genesis
tells us.
before he died Abraham bought the cave of
Maohpelah from Ephron the Hittte as a burial
place Tor himself and his family Genesis III. The
site OF the cave of Hebron has been known from
time immemorial. II was known In early Chris
tan times, and in the days of the Savior No con.
iusioh mas ever arisen as to its position such as
mas occurred in the case of other Bible sites
The cave Of Machpelah is situated within an
inclosure called the Ilaram, formed by a gigantic
Herodian wall Above the cave stands a church
built by the crusaders in llS7 but since converted
into mosque and for many centuries in the pos.
session OF the Turks.
In the cave we're buried Abraham. his wife, sa.
fah his son, Isaac: the latter's wife Rebekah:
Jacob, son OF Isaac Leah wife Of Jacob, and 10.
seph, son OF Jacob and Rachel In the mosque
above the cave are monuments In the form OF
tnmbs to Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah Jacob. Leah and
Joseph, but they do not inclose The actual bones
These are presumably In the cave below The
Mohammedans venerate the Hebrew patriarchs.
although they oppress their descendants
Ordinarily Christians and Hebrews >are not
even allowed 10 enter the Haram surrounding the
mosque, Occasionally Christians OF great infIu.
ence such as the king of Englands heir have
been permitted to enter the mosque
Recently photographs we're taken for the
first time Of the six cenotaphs or memorial tombs
of the patriarchs Within the mosque. These are
reproduced in a recent report OF the Palestine
exploration fund which gives some very inter
esting Information about the building
IN the church pavement" says the Rev A. b.
Grmaldi In this article, ARE three movable slabs
which give acesss by ladder or rope to the cave
But two are fastened up, and not even Mosems
are allowed To enter by the third 1t is used TO
throw down written petitions to Abraham: and
looking down. the floor is seen to be covered as
with snowhakes
when King George Y then prince Of Walesl
visited the mosque a light was let down. and the
rocky sides WIRE seen and doorway entering
out OF this auteChamhcr into the tomb cave itself
With the granting Of freedom 10 the inhab
tants Of Palestine the representatives OF religion
and science viii be able to enter this mysterious
cave and disclose its couteHts 10. the world
Around Hebron center all the interesting
events OF the patriarehal age recorded in the
Bible Here Abraham prepared to sacrifice his
own son. Isaac In obedience to the will Of God
Jacob lrb red seven years for Rachel and Esau
sold his b bright Irr a mess OF pottage From
here JostEb started on his fateful journey TO
Egypt
remarkably interesting relic affected BY the
war is he monastery Of ST Catherine. on Mount
Sinai. shnNn in oi Of the accompanying photo
graphs This occupies the traditional spot where
the Lord delivered the ten commandments to
Moses
In the library Of this monastery was recently