The Torah describes the purchase of this plot by Avraham from Ephron the Hittite as including "the field and the cave within it" (Bereishet 23:17).

The cave in which Sarah was buried is known as the Cave of Machpelah (the "double cave"). One explanation of the name is the nature of its structure, one level on top of another. A second reason for the name is the fact that four couples were eventually buried there – Adam and Chava, Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah, Yaakov and Leah.

The latter explanation is also the basis for the name Kiryat Arba ("the Town of Four"), which is associated with Chevron, the home of the Cave of Machpelah and its four buried couples.

© 1995-2024 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved.

Articles may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue or school newsletters. Hardcopy or electronic. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission in advance at [email protected] and credit for the source as Ohr Somayach Institutions www.ohr.edu