caves along the Upper Jordan.
afterwards inhabited, like the tombs of Thebes (Robfai- son's Researches, ii, 529). Other excavations occur at . Deir Dubb&n (ii, 858) ; others in the Wady leading to Santa Hanneh (ii, 895). *' In the mountains of KAl'at Ibn Ma'an, the natural caverns have been united by passages cut in the rocks, in order to render them more commodious habitations. In the midst of these cav- erns several cisterns have been built; the whole would afford reAige for 600 men" (Burckhardt's Travels, p. 881). Almost all the habitations at Om-keis (Gadara) are caves (Burckhardt, p. 278). An extensive system of caves exists between Bethlehem and Hebron (Irby and Mangles, p. 108).
2. ScnpiKral Notices.— (l,) The first mention of a cave in Scripture relates to that into which Lot and his two daughters retired from Zoar, after the destruction of Sodom and Gromorrah (Gen. xix, 80). It was some cavern in the mountains of Moab, but tradition has not fixed upon any of the numerous hollows in that vagion. See Zoar.
(2.) The next is the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, which Abraham purchased of the sons of Heth (Gen. xxv, 9, 10). There Abraham buried Sarah^ and was himself afterwards buried; there also Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were bur- ied (Gen. idix, 81 ; 1, 18). The cave of Machpelah is said to be under the Mohammedan mosque at Hebron, surrounded by a high wall called the Haram ; but even the Moslems are not allowed to descend into the cav- ern (Benj. of Tudela, Early Trav. p. 86 ; Stanley, p. 149). The tradition that this is the burial-place of the patriarchs is supported by an immense array of evi- dence (Robinson, Researches^ ii, 488-440). See Mach- pelah.
(8.) The situation of the cave at Makkedah, faito which the five kings of the Amorites retired upon their defeat by Joshua, and into which their carcasses were ultimately cast, is not known (Josh, x, 16, 27). It is thought by many that the cave of Makkedah can hardly be the one to which tradition has assigned the name (Irby and Mangles, p. 93); for, though it is not necessary to suppose that the cave was close to the town of Makkedah, yet the situation of the great cav- erns both at Beit Jibrin and at Deir Dubban in neither caae agrees with that of Makkedah as given by Euse- bius, ei^^t miles fh>m Eleutheropolis (Reland, p. 885 ; Robinson, ii, 852, 897 ; Stanley, p. 211). See Makkb-
DAH.
(4.) The cave of Adnllam, to which David retired to avoid the persecutions of Saul (1 Sam. xxii, 1, 2), and in which he cut off the skirt of Saul's robe (1 Sam. xxiv, 4). This, according to tradition, is an immense natural cavern at the Wady Khureitun, which passes beloiv the Frank mountain. The site assigned by £u- sebius to Adullam, 10 m. £. of Elen- theropolis, agrees littie with that of this cave, which in some respects agrees with the Scripture narrative better than the neighborhood of Deir Dubban, as- signed to it by Mr. Stanley (see 1 Sam. XX, 6, and particularly xxii, 8, 4; Jo- sephus. Ant, vi, 12, 8; Reland, p. 549; Irby and Mangles, p. 108; Robinson, ii, 175 ; Stanley, p. 259). See Adul-
LAX.
(5.) The cave at Engedi, which af- forded a retreat to David and his fol- lowers (1 Sam. xxiii, 29 ; xxiv, 1), can be clearly identified. The place is now called 'Ain Tidy by the Arabs, which means the same as the Hebrew, name- ly, ♦♦The Fountain of the Kid." ♦» On all sides the country is full of caverns, which might serve as lurking-places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day. The whole scene is drawn to the life*' (Robinson,
CAVE
168
CAVE
H, 208 ; oomp. Lynch, Narrative^ p. 284 ; Sttnlej, p. 296). See En-^edi.
(6.) The cave in which Obadiah concealed the proph- ets (1 Kings xviii, 4) cannot now be identified, but it was probably in the northern part of the country, in which abundant instances of caves fit for such a pur- pose might be pointed ont. See Obadiah.
(7.) The site of the cave of Elijah (1 Kings xix, 9), as well as that of the ** cleft" of Moses on Mount Horeb (Exod. xxxiii, 22), is also obviously indeterminate; for, though tradition has not only assigned a place for the former on Jebel Miisa, and consecrated the spot by a chapel, there are caves on the competing summit of Serblil to one or another of which it mifsht with equal probability be transferred (Stanley, p. 49 ; Robinaon, i, 158; Bnrckhardt, p. 608). See Hobrb. The cave of Elijah is pretended to be shown at the foot of Mount Sinai, in a chapel dedicated to him ; and a hole near the altar is pointed ont as the place where he lay (Rob- inson, i, 152). See also Carmbl.
(8.) In the New Test, are mentioned the rock sepul- chres of Lascarus (John xi, 88) and Christ (Matt, xxvii, 60) ; the former still shown with little probability by the monks at Bethany (see Robinson, ii, 100), and the latter a disputed question. See Galvabt.
Besides these special caves there is fluent men- tion in 0. T. of caves as places of refhge. Thus the Israelites are said to have taken refiige from the Phil- istines in "holes" (1 Sam. xiv, 11), to which the name of the scene of Jonathan's conflict, Miikhm^s (Mich- mash), sufficiently answers (Stanley, p. 204 ; Robin- son, ii, m ; Irby, p. 89). So, also, in the time of Gid- eon, theyhad taken refuge from the Midianites in dens, and caves, and strongholds, such as abound in the mountain regbn of Manasseh (Judg. vi, 2 ; see Stan- ley, p. 841).