Garo Nalbandian

The 2,000-year-old Tomb of the Patriarchs, erected by King Herod to mark the traditional burial site of the Biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, is the most visited shrine in Hebron. The Book of Genesis records that Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah in Hebron as a tomb for himself and his family. But what most modern-day visitors don’t realize is that the city of Hebron of the Biblical period lies not at Herod’s shrine but a thousand yards to the west. In the accompanying article, Jeffrey R. Chadwick describes what excavators have discovered at this important Biblical site.