The Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (} ; "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 (; ; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem, east of and adjacent to Old City of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive, olive ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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

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

, Zechariah and

Malachi Malachi or Malachias (; ) is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh. It is possible that ''Malachi'' is not a proper name, because it means "messenger"; ...

, the last three

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' 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 ...

. 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, and they often visited the site. In 1882, Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin acquired the location for the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

.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 Palestine Hellenistic architecture