The door of the tomb is very small, and consists of a single stone of great thickness, turning on its own pivot from one side. On passing through the little portal, the visitor is introduced into a small arched chamber, in which are seen the graves of several rab- bis, some of which may contain the bodies of the first rebuilders of the tomb, after the destruction of the original one by Timour. A second door, of very con- fined dimensions, is at the end of this vestibule, by which the entrance is made into a large apartment on bands and knees, and under the concave stand two sarcophagi, made of very dark wood, curiously and richly carved, with a line of Hebrew inscription run- ning round the upper ledge of each. Other inscrip- tions, in the same language, are cut on the walls, while one of the most ancient, engraved on a white marble slab, is let into the wall itself. This slab is traditionally alleged to have been preserved from the ruins of the edifice destroyed by Timour, with the sar- cophagi in the same consecrated spot. This last in- scription is as follows: "Mordecai, beloved and hon- ored by a king, was great and good. His garments were as those of a sovereign. Ahasuerus covered him with this rich dress, and also placed a golden chain around his neck. The city of Susa (or Shushan) re- joiced at his honors, and his high fortune became the glory of the Jews." The inscription which encom- passes the sarcophagus of Mordecai is to the following effect: " It is said by David, Preserve me, O God! I am now in thy presence. I have cried at the gate of heaven that thou art my God, and what goodness I have received from thee, O Lord ! Those whose bod- ies are now beneath, in this earth, when animated by thy mercy, were great; and whatever happiness was bestowed upon them in this world came from thee, O God! Their griefs and sufferings were many at the first, but they became happy, because they always called upon thy name in their miseries. Thou liftedst me up, and I became powerful. Thine enemies sought to destroy me in the early times of my life; but the shadow of thy hand was upon me, and covered me as a tent from their wicked purposes. — Mordecai." The following; is the inscription carved round the sarcoph- agus of Esther: " I praise thee, O God, that thou hast created me. I know that my sins merit punishment, yet I hope for mercy at thy hands ; for whenever I call upon thee, thou art with me; thy holy presence secures me from all evil. My heart is at ease, and my fear of thee increases. My life became, through thy goodness, at the last, full of peace. <> God! do not shut my soul out from thy divine presence. Those
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whom thou lovest never feel the torments of he',!. Lead me, O merciful Father, to the life of life, that 1 may be filled with the heavenly fruits of Paradise.— Esther" (Ker Porter's Travels, ii, 88 sq.). See Es- ther.
Ecbatana, or Hamadan, is not without other lo- cal traditions connected with sacred history. On the mountain Orontcs, or Elwund, the bocky of a son of King Solomon is pretended to be buried, but what son is not mentioned. It is a large square platform, a little raised, formed by manual labor out of the native rock, which is ascended by a few rugged steps, and is assuredly no covering of the dead. It is a very an- cient piece of workmanship, but how it came to be con- nected with a son of the Jewish monarch does not ap- pear. The Jewish natives of Hamadan arc credulous as to the reputed story, and it is not unlikely that it was originally a mountain altar to the sun, illustrating what we often read in Scripture respecting the idola- trous sacrificial worship in "high places." The na- tives believe that certain ravines of the mountain pro- duce a plant which can transform all kinds of metal into gold, and also cure every possible disease. They admit that no one had ever found it, but their belief in its existence is nevertheless unshaken. They also have a fabulous legend respecting a stone on the side of this mountain, which reminds the English reader of the celebrated story of AH Baba and the Forty Thieves in the Arabian Nights. This stone contains an inscription in cabalistic characters, unintelligible to every one who has hitherto looked on it; hut it is believed that if any person could read the characters aloud an effect would be produced which will shake the mountain to its centre, it being the protecting spell of an immense hidden treasure ; and these characters once pronounced, would procure instant admittance from the genii of this subterranean cavern, and the wealth it contains would be laid at the feet of the for- tunate invoker of this golden " Sesame !" See Ecba- tana.
Historj' mentions another Ecbatana, in Palestine, at the foot of Mount Carmel, toward Ptolemais, where Cambyses died (Herodot. iii, G4 ; Plin. v, 19). It is not mentioned by this or any similar name in the He- brew writings. (See Poland, Pahtst. p. 745.)