A History of the Jewish Nation Author:Edward Henry Palmer Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: appear to have been given without any authority, either traditionally or otherwise, so that the interest attaching to them is merely archseological. Of the ce... more »lebrated tombs not situated in Jerusalem, the most important are that of Joseph, in the Vale of Sychem, near the modern city of Nablous; .that of Rachel, on the road between Bethlehem and Hebron; and that of Mach- TOMB OP RACHEL. pelah, which, next to the Holy Sepulchre, possesses the greatest interest to the religious world, for it is the tomb of Abraham, the father of the faithful, and is venerated alike by Jew, Christian, and Mohammedan. The cave is jealously guarded by the Mohammedans, and no authentic accounts of its interior have ever been given. Of its existence there is, however, no doubt, and, were scientific explorers allowed to penetrate into its recesses, it is farfrom improbable that the actual tombs of the patriarchs— nay, perhaps the very mummy of Jacob himself, embalmed after the fashion of the Egyptians—might be brought to light. The walls of the enclosure by which it is surrounded are built of massive masonry, dating, there is little doubt, as far back as the time of Solomon himself; they are deservedly reckoned amongst the most noble and interesting of the antiquities of Palestine. The tomb of Rachel and the cave of Machpelah are, perhaps, the best identified sites in the Holy Land, and authenticated by the most ancient and continuous traditions. After the death of Sarah, Abraham took another wife, Keturah, by whom he had many sons. These were the founders of tribes and families and nations, and are often to be recognised in th, later history as coming in contact from time to time with the Jews; but only Isaac, the child of the promise, and Abraham's son by his Meso- potamian wife, was permitted...« less