Feran, Egypt Mount Sinai, also called Jabal Musa by the local Bedouins, is the site traditionally identified as the Biblical Mount Sinai, and has been unofficially recognized as such by a majority of Jews, Christians and Muslims for many centuries. It is a place highly revered by all three faiths, and because of its out-of-the-way location in the southern Sinai Peninsula, … [Read more...]
RUINS OF PI-RAMESES
Tel el-Da’ba, Egypt The Land of Goshen in Egypt was home to the Israelite tribes from the arrival of Joseph and his brothers until their departure under Moses sometime around the 15th century BC. Little remains of their habitation in this empty region east of the Nile River Delta, though the handiwork of their centuries in bondage can be found in the multitude of ruins in … [Read more...]
TOMBS OF THE SONS OF JACOB
Several Locations, Isael & Lebanon In the closing chapters of the Book of Genesis, as the stories of the Patriarchs come to an end, great attention is spent on the fate of Joseph, who was raised up above his brothers in the service of Pharoh. It is known that his body was exhumed and solemnly returned to Canaan during the Exodus, and that he was buried in Shechem, … [Read more...]
ANCIENT SHECHEM & TOMB OF JOSEPH
Nablus, Palestine The Biblical city of Shechem, the modern-day city of Nablus, is one of the Holy Land’s oldest cities. It played a major role during several periods of ancient Israeli history, and is home to a number of lesser but very popular Biblical pilgrimage sites, the most important being the Tomb of Joseph. The other major site is Mount Gezrin, believed by both … [Read more...]
TOMB OF RACHEL
Bethlehem, Palestine The town of Bethlehem is so closely associated with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and the Christmas holiday that it is easy to forget the city’s Jewish heritage and the significant role that Bethlehem played in the Hebrew Bible. First and foremost it is the location of the Tomb of Rachel, the second wife of the patriarch Jacob and the mother of Joseph … [Read more...]
TOMB OF THE PATRIARCHS
Hebron, Palestine The Tomb of the Patriarchs, also known as the Cave of Machpelah, was the first great place of pilgrimage in ancient Israel, and one of the world’s oldest major religious shrines in general. According to a very old tradition, it is the place where the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried, along with their wives. The greatest of all patriarchal … [Read more...]
RUINS OF SODOM
Bab Edh-Dhra, Jordan The story of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah has long been considered allegorical, if not outright mythical, even among the most devoted of Bible scholars. The truth of this strange side story in the patriarchal histories is elusive. However, there is every reason to believe that Sodom and Gomorah and the other three Cities of the … [Read more...]
ABRAHAM’S WELL
Beersheba, Israel At some point between his sojourn in Shechem and his burial in Hebron, the patriarch Abraham resided for a time in the Canaanite settlement of Beersheba. The site known as Abraham’s Well, believed to be the one mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, still exists near where Abraham once lived. Beersheba subsequently played a series of minor roles in the history of … [Read more...]
ANCIENT HARAN & TOMB OF TERAH
Harran, Turkey The city of Haran in what is now southern Turkey is one of the world’s oldest major international transit centers. Located near the headwaters of the Euphrates River, virtually all overland traffic between Mesopotamia and the western regions of Canaan, Egypt and the Hittite Empire had to pass through Haran in ancient times. In the Bible, Haran is best known … [Read more...]
RUINS OF UR
Nasiriyah, Iraq Considering the reverence that both Jews and Muslims have for Abraham, it is unusual that so little attention has been given to the place of his birth. To be fair, it is only in the last two centuries that the site of Ur has been identified with any degree of certainty. Moreover, the place is nearly ten miles away from the nearest town and virtually devoid … [Read more...]
