The Cave of the Patriarchs called by Muslims the Ibrahim’s Mosque or Sanctuary of Abraham is a burial chamber for the early biblical Patriarchs (Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). The Arabic name of the complex reflects the prominence given to Abraham, revered by Muslims as a Quranic prophet and patriarch through Ishmael.
The compound, situated beneath a large rectangular Herodian era structure located in the heart of the ancient city of Hebron in the Judean hills.
The shrine is the world’s most ancient Jewish site and considered the second holiest site for Jews (after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) and is also venerated by Christians and Muslims who maintain that the site is the burial place that houses the tombs of the patriarchs are all believed to be buried there.:
(1) Adam and Eve;[1]
(2) Abraham and Sarah;
(3) Isaac and Rebekah;
(4) Jacob and Leah.
Sarah being the first to be buried there; later, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob. According to Midrashic sources, the Cave of the Patriarchs also contains the head of Esau, and according to some Islamic sources it is also the tomb of Joseph.The only matriarch missing is Rachel, who was buried near Bethlehem where she died in childbirth. According to the Bible’s Book of Genesis, Chapter 23, Abraham purchased the cave and the adjoining field from Ephron the Hittite, to bury his wife Sarah there some 3700 years ago. This uniquely impressive building which is composed of series of subterranean chambers is the only one that stands intact and still fulfills its original function after thousands of years.