Cave of the Patriarchs - Quiz
Cave of the Patriarchs
  • 1. What is the Cave of the Patriarchs known as in Biblical Hebrew?
A) Ibrahimi Mosque
B) City of the Four
C) Sanctuary of Ibrahim
D) Cave of Machpelah
  • 2. How far is the Cave of the Patriarchs from Jerusalem?
A) 19 kilometres
B) 30 kilometres
C) 12 kilometres
D) 50 kilometres
  • 3. Who is credited with purchasing the cave and adjoining field as a burial plot?
A) Jacob
B) Saladin
C) Abraham
D) Isaac
  • 4. From which era does the large rectangular enclosure standing over the cave date?
A) Byzantine era
B) Ayyubid era
C) Crusader era
D) Herodian era
  • 5. Who recaptured the mosque from Crusader control in 1188?
A) Samuel of Nehardea
B) Abba Arikha
C) Abraham ibn Ezra
D) Saladin
  • 6. In what year did a monk find bones inside the cave that he believed belonged to the patriarchs?
A) 1967 CE
B) 1188 CE
C) 1119 CE
D) 1968 CE
  • 7. What does the word 'Me'arat' mean in the context of Me'arat haMakhpela?
A) Multiplied
B) Cave of
C) Doubled
D) Twofold
  • 8. According to one of the Talmudic hypotheses, what does 'makhpela' imply regarding the chambers?
A) An infinite series of tunnels
B) Three circular rooms
C) A single vast hall
D) Two chambers, one above the other
  • 9. Which scholar argued that 'makhpela' refers to a 'cave within a cave'?
A) Isaac the Smith
B) Obadiah Sforno
C) Saadia b. Joseph
D) Moses Mendelssohn
  • 10. According to the text, what does Strong's Concordance derive 'makhpela' from?
A) The verb kaphal, meaning 'to double'
B) The Hebrew word for city
C) An ancient term for a tomb
D) A proper noun for a king
  • 11. What happened to the mosque after the Six-Day War of 1967?
A) It was converted into a Christian church
B) It was divided and half was repurposed as a synagogue
C) It was completely destroyed
D) It was closed to the public indefinitely
  • 12. Which city is the Cave of the Patriarchs located in?
A) Nehardea
B) Hebron
C) Jerusalem
D) Mamre
  • 13. According to the Genesis Rabbah 58 hypothesis, what does the cave 'double'?
A) The number of burial plots
B) The depth of the soil
C) The distance to the city center
D) The renown of those interred within
  • 14. What is the Ibrahimi Mosque also called?
A) City of the Four
B) The Herodian Enclosure
C) Cave of the Double
D) Sanctuary of Ibrahim
  • 15. Which of these pairs of figures was NOT included in Isaac the Smith's 'City of the Four Couples'?
A) Abraham and Sarah
B) Moses and Zipporah
C) Jacob and Leah
D) Adam and Eve
  • 16. At what age did Sarah die?
A) 175
B) 180
C) 127
D) 147
  • 17. Who is the only woman in the Bible whose exact age at death is mentioned?
A) Rachel
B) Rebecca
C) Leah
D) Sarah
  • 18. Where did Sarah die?
A) Egypt
B) Shechem
C) Kiryat Arba
D) Mamre
  • 19. Who owned the cave of Machpelah?
A) Zohar
B) Ephron
C) Abraham
D) Isaac
  • 20. How many shekels of silver did Abraham pay for the field?
A) 100
B) 400
C) 300
D) 500
  • 21. At what age did Abraham die?
A) 147
B) 180
C) 127
D) 175
  • 22. At what age did Isaac die?
A) 127
B) 180
C) 175
D) 147
  • 23. At what age did Jacob die?
A) 180
B) 127
C) 147
D) 175
  • 24. Where was Joseph buried?
A) Shechem
B) Machpelah
C) Egypt
D) Kiryat Arba
  • 25. What was the occupation of those who embalmed Jacob?
A) Priests
B) Servants
C) Hittites
D) Physicians
  • 26. Who was the father of Ephron?
A) Jacob
B) Abraham
C) Zohar
D) Isaac
  • 27. Which person is listed as being buried in Machpelah in Jacob's final words, despite the text not detailing her death?
A) Leah
B) Sarah
C) Rebecca
D) Rachel
  • 28. Where did Ephron the Hittite live?
A) Shechem
B) Mamre
C) Kiryat Arba
D) Egypt
  • 29. What was the primary reason Abraham wanted to buy the cave?
A) To graze his cattle
B) To build a house
C) To store his wealth
D) To bury his dead
  • 30. How do most historians categorize the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob narrative regarding the cave?
A) Scientific evidence
B) Historical fact
C) Mythological
D) Purely archaeological
  • 31. Which king built a large, rectangular enclosure over the cave between 31 and 4 BCE?
A) Alexander the Great
B) Herod the Great
C) Solomon
D) David
  • 32. How thick are the stone walls of the Herodian building?
A) 6 feet
B) 3 feet
C) 10 feet
D) 2 feet
  • 33. What feature did Herod's original building lack?
A) Stone walls
B) A roof
C) A foundation
D) A decorative entrance
  • 34. The Herodian building stands on an earlier structure potentially built during which period?
A) Roman Republic
B) Early Byzantine Empire
C) Persian Empire
D) Hasmonean dynasty
  • 35. In what year did David Ben-Shlomo lead an archaeological team to date pottery shards from the caves?
A) 1995
B) 2020
C) 2015
D) 1981
  • 36. To what century does the pottery found in the cave date, according to 2020 findings?
A) 4th century CE
B) 2nd century BCE
C) 8th century BCE
D) 13th century BCE
  • 37. What did the Byzantine rulers construct at the southeastern end of the enclosure?
A) An open amphitheater
B) A massive fortress
C) A simple basilica
D) A palace
  • 38. What language were the inscriptions found in 2015 written in?
A) Classical Greek
B) Ancient Hebrew
C) Jewish Palestinian Aramaic
D) Latin
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