Who was Machpelah in the Bible?
Machpelah was a cave located near Hebron in Canaan, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Genesis 23:9, 17-19). Machpelah appears in 6 verses of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Machpelah?
Machpelah was a cave located near Hebron in Canaan, which Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place for his wife Sarah (Genesis 23:9, 17-19). The field and the cave were deeded to Abraham as a possession for a burying place (Genesis 23:20). Abraham himself was later buried in the cave of Machpelah by his sons Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 25:9-10). The cave also became the burial place for Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah (Genesis 49:30-31), as well as Israel (or 'Jacob') (Genesis 50:13). The cave of Machpelah served as a significant burial site for the patriarchs and their wives, and it represented the Israelites' connection to the land of Canaan.
Definition text: STEPBible · Tyndale House Cambridge. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Lightly edited for length and formatting.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
Where does Machpelah appear in the Bible?
Machpelah is referenced in 6 verses. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- Genesis 23:9
- Genesis 23:17
- Genesis 23:19
- Genesis 25:9
- Genesis 49:30
- Genesis 50:13
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Machpelah.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Machpelah?
Machpelah appears in 6 verses, all of them in Genesis.
Which books of the Bible mention Machpelah?
Just one: Genesis.
Where can I read every verse about Machpelah?
This page lists 6 of them. Protos carries all 6, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.
