whose prowess and skill in battle had been fully proved in the subjugation of so difficidt a tract (Stanley, S. and Pal. p. 327)" (Kitto). " The connection with Benjamin may perhaps have led to the selection by Abner of Ma- hanaim, which lay on the boundary between (Jad and Manasseh, as the residence of Ishbosheth (2 Sam. ii, 8) ; and that with Judah may have also influenced David to go so far north when driven out of his kingdom" (Smith).
2. A descendant of the preceding, son of Ammiel, re- sidmg at Lo-debar, who maintained the lame son of Jonathan until provision was made for him by David's care (2 Sam. ix, 4, 5), and afterwards extended his hos- pitality to the fugitive monarch himself (2 Sam. x^^i, 27). B.C. 1037-1023. Josephus calls him the chief of the country of Gilead {Ant. vii, 9, 8). See David.
Ma'chirite (Numb, xxvi, 29). See Machir, 1.
Mach'mas (WaxiJ-dg), 1 Mace, ix, 73 ; elsewhere MiciiJiAsii (q. v.).
Machnad'ebai (Heb. Mahiadbay', '^D'^Sa^, perh. ichat is like the liberal-? other copies read '^57^r'"?, Mahnadlay' ; Sept. MaxvaSaajiov v. r. Maxa^va^ov ; Vulg. Mechnedebai), an Israelite of the sons of Bani who divorced his Gentile wife after the exile (Ezra x, 40). B.C. 459.
Machpe'lah {W^h.Makpelcth', ilberTO, probably a portion, but, according to others, double, and so the Sept, (^(TrXowcVulg. duplex), the name of the plot of ground in Hebron containing the cave Avhich Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite for a family sepulchre (Gen. xxiii, 9), where it is described as being located in one extrem- ity of the field, and in ver. 17 it is stated to have been situated " before Mamre," and to have likewise contain- ed trees. See IMamre. The only persons mentioned in Scripture as buried in this cemeterj' are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives Sarah, Kebekah, and Leah (Gen. xxiii, 19 ; xxv, 9 ; xlix, 30 ; 1, 13). '• Bej'ond the passages already cited, the Bible contains no mention either of the name Machpelah or of the sepulchre of the patriarchs. Unless this was the sanctuary of Jehovah to which Absalom had vo^ved, or pretended to have vow- ed, a pilgrimage, when absent in the remote Geshur (2 Sam. XV, 7), no allusion to it has been discovered in the records of David's residence at Hebron, nor yet in the struggles of the Maccabees, so many of whose bat- tles were fought in and around it" (Smith). " It is a re- markable fact that none of the sacred writers refer to this celebrated tomb after the burial of Jacob, though it was unquestionably held in reverence by the Jews in all ages. Josephus, in his short notice of the burial of Sarah, says that 'both Abraham and his descendants built themselves sepulchres at' Hebron {Ant. i, 14), and in another passage he states that the monuments of the patriarchs 'are to this very time shown in Hebron, the structure of which is of beautiful marble, wrought after the most elegant manner' ( War, iv, 9, 7). Jerome men- tions the mausoleum of Abraham at Hebron as standing in his day {Onomast. s. v. Arboch); and in the Jerusa- lem Itinerary, a work of the 4th centurj-, it is described as a quadrangular structure built of stones of Avonderful beauty {Itin. Ilieros. ed.Wessel. p. 599). It is also men- tioned by Antoninus IMartyr in the beginning of the 7th centurj' {/tin. 30) ; by Arculf towards its close {Ear- ly Travels in Pal, Bohn, p. 7) ; by Willibald in the 8th {ih. p. 20) ; by Saswulf in the r2th («6. p. 45) ; and by numerous others (see Eitter, Pal. und Syr. iii, 237 sq.). From these notices, it appears to be certain that the venerable building which stiU stands is the .same which Josephus describes. Hebron lies in a narrow vaUey which runs from north to south between low ridges of rock}' hdls. The modern town is buUt partly in the bottom of the vale and partly along the lower slope of the eastern ridge. On the hill-side, above the latter section of the town, rise the massive walls of the Haram, forming the one distinguishing feature of Hebron, con-
MACHPELAH
621
MACHPELAH
TSvisi£')Mu''M''i'
Motquc at Hebron.
ppicuous from all points. The building is rectangular, about 200 feet long by 115 wide, and 50 high. The walls are constructed of massive stones varying from 12 to 20 feet in length, and from 4 to 5 in depth. Dr. Wilson mentions one stone 38 feet long and 3 feet 4 inches in depth, of ancient workmanship {Lands of the Bible, i,36G). The edges of the stones are grooved to the depth of about two inches, so that the whole wall has the appearance of being formed of raised panels, like the Temple-wall at Jerusalem. See Masonry. The exte- rior is further ornamented with pilasters, supporting without capitals a plain moidded cornice. The build- ing is thus unique; there is nothing like it in Syria. The style of its architecture, independent even of the historical notices above given, proves it to be of .Jewish origin ; and it cannot be much, if at all, later than the days of Solomon. The interior of this massive and most interesting building was described about fifty years ago by a Spaniard, who conformed to Islamism and assumed the name of Ali Bey (Travels, i, 232). The Eev. J. L. Porter was assured when at Hebron, and subsequently by a moUah of rank who had visited the tombs of the patriarchs, that there is an entrance to the cave, which consists of two compartments, and that the guardian can on special occasions enter the outer one {HandbooJc, p. GO). With this agree the statements of M. Pierotti, of Benjamin of Tudela, who gives a description of the caves {Itin. by Asher, p. 76 sq.), and of others (Wil- son, Lands of the Bible, i, 3G4 sq.). We cannot doubt that the cave of Machpelah, in which the patriarchs were buried, is beneath this venerable building, and that it has been guarded with religious jealousy from the earliest ages ; consequently, it is quite possible that some remains of the patriarchs may still lie there. Ja- cob was embalmed in Egypt, and his body deposited in this place (Gen. 1,2-13). It may still be there perfect as an Egyptian mummy. The ^Moslem traditions and the cenotaplis within the Haram agree exactly Avith the liiblical narrative, and form an interesting commentary on Jacob's dying command — 'And he charged them . . . bury me with my fathers ... in the cave which is in the field of Jlachpelah. which is before Mamre. . . . There theij buried Abraham, and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac, and Eebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah' ((ien. xlix, 29-31). There also they buried Jacob. Now within the inclosure are the six cenotaphs only, while the belief is luiiversal among the jNIoham- medans that the real tombs are in the cave below. Pro-