The Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (Arabic: قبر النبيا Qubur El Anbiyya, lit. "Grave (of) The Prophets"; Hebrew: מערת הנביאים, "Cave of the Prophets") is an ancient burial site located on the upper western slope of the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. According to a medieval Jewish tradition also adopted by Christians, the catacomb is believed to be the burial place of

Haggai Haggai (; he, חַגַּי – ''Ḥaggay''; Koine Greek: Ἀγγαῖος; la, Aggaeus) was a Hebrew prophet during the building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and one of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the author of ...

, Zechariah and

Malachi Malachi (; ) is the traditional author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Tanakh. According to the 1897 ''Easton's Bible Dictionary'', it is possible that Malachi is not a proper name, as it simply mean ...

, the last three

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

prophets who are believed to have lived during the 6th-5th centuries BC. Archaeologists have dated the three earliest burial chambers to the 1st century BC, thus contradicting the tradition.

Burial chamber

The chamber forms two concentric passages containing 38 burial niches. The entrance to the large rock-cut burial cave is on the western side, where a staircase descends, flanked on both sides by a stone

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

. It leads into a large circular central vault measuring in diameter. From it, two parallel tunnels, wide and high, stretch some through the rock. A third tunnel runs in another direction. They are all connected by cross galleries, the outer one of which measures in length. Research shows that the complex actually dates from the 1st-century BCE, when this style of tombs came into use for Jewish burial. Some Greek inscriptions discovered at the site suggest the cave was re-used to bury foreign Christians during the 4th and 5th centuries CE. On one of the side walls of the vault, a Greek inscription translates:

Put thy faith in God, Dometila: No human creature is immortal!

Holy site

The site has been venerated by the Jews since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, and they often visited the site. In 1882, Archimandrite Antonine (Kapustin) acquired the location for the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

.19th Annual Conference of Judea and Samaria Studies
, ''ariel.ac.il'' (Hebrew) He planned to build a church at the site, which aroused strong protests by the Jews who visited and worshipped at the cave. The Ottoman courts ruled in 1890 that the transaction was binding but the Russians agreed not to display Christian symbols or icons at the site which was to remain accessible for people of all faiths.

External links

* (he)The Tombs of the Prophets
archive
/small> on the website of th
Israel Antiquities Authority

References

{{Cemeteries in Jerusalem Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century BC Archaeological sites in Jerusalem Burial monuments and structures Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi Jewish pilgrimage sites Shrines in Jerusalem Rock-cut tombs Ancient Jewish history Mount of Olives Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia Book of Haggai Book of Zechariah Book of Malachi Tombs in the State of Palestine