The following is a list of burial places attributed to Abrahamic figures according to various religious and local traditions. The locations listed are based on locations mentioned in the text of the Bible or oral traditions of indigenous peoples. Many sites have been transmitted from generation to generation and there are historical accounts from travelers which state their existence.
Biblical figure | Place name and location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Adam | Judaism and Islam: Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron, West Bank Christianity: Chapel of Adam, Church of the Holy Sepulchre | | |
Eve | Judaism and Christianity: Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron, West Bank, Islam: Tomb of Eve, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | | |
Abel | Nabi Habeel Mosque, Zabadani Valley, Syria | ||
Seth | In Judaism: Tiberias, Israel In Islam: Bashshit, Palestine (top), | | |
Lamech | Islam: Tomb of Lamech, Mihtarlam, Afghanistan | Seen here | |
Noah | There are several Islamic sites that are claimed to be the Tomb of Noah:
| ||
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Esau, and Leah | Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron, West Bank | According to Jewish and Christian tradition, only Esau's head is buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs. According to legends, Ishmael was buried here as well.[ citation needed ] | |
Ishmael and Hagar | Islam: Hajr Ismail, Mecca, Saudi Arabia [2] | ||
Lot | Islam: Bani Na'im, near Hebron, West Bank | ||
Rachel | Rachel's Tomb, outside Bethlehem, West Bank | ||
Zilpah, Bilhah Jochebed, Zipporah, and Elisheva | Tomb of the Matriarchs, Tiberias, Israel | ||
Reuben | Nabi Rubin, Palmachim, Israel | During the Ottoman period, Arabs would gather each year at the Mamluk-era structure. Nowadays, infrequent Jewish visitors come to pray at the site. | |
Judah | Yehud, Israel [3] | ||
Simeon | Kibbutz Eyal, Israel. | ||
Asher and Naphtali | Tel Kedesh near Malkia, Israel | Seen here. | |
Gad | Prophet Jadur Shrine, Ain Al-Jadur, west of Salt, Jordan | The current mosque, built around the tomb, is a modern structure, which dates back to the year 1958. The site has fallen into disrepair and had even been looted as well. | |
Dan | Beit Shemesh, Israel [4] | ||
Qedar | Mausoleum of Prophet Qeydar, Zanjan, Iran | Qedar, the son of Ishmael, is believed by the Shi'ites to have been buried in Zanjan. The current mausoleum is a 14th-century reconstruction that has been renovated a few times. | |
Zebulun | Tomb of Zebulun, Sidon, Lebanon | Seen here | Currently a Shi'ite shrine which is still locked to the public. In the past, towards the end of Iyyar, Jews from the most distant parts of Palestine and the Jews who lived in Lebanon would make a pilgrimage to this tomb. [5] |
Joseph, Ephraim, and Manasseh | Judaism and Christianity: Joseph's Tomb, Nablus (Shechem), West Bank; Islam: Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron, West Bank, | Some others consider Joseph to have been buried next to the Cave of the Patriarchs, where a mediaeval structure known as the kalah (castle) is now located. Some archaeologists believe that the site in Nablus is only the tomb of a Sufi Muslim Shaykh named Yusuf, and not Joseph himself. | |
Benjamin | Kfar Saba, Israel | | Two structures 30 m away from each other (both pictured) are each claimed by Jews, Muslims and Christians as the authentic tomb. This site is questionable, however, because it is not located in the territory of the Tribe of Benjamin.[ citation needed ] |
Serah | Pir-i Bakran, near Esfahan, Iran [6] | ||
Moses | Mount Nebo (Jordan) Islam: Nabi Musa, West Bank, | According to the Bible, the exact place of Moses' grave remains unknown, in order to impede idolatry. | |
Aaron | Tomb of Aaron: Mount Harun near Petra, Jordan. | At 1350 meters above sea-level, it is the highest peak in the area; it is believed to be the place where Aaron died and was buried. A 14th-century mosque stands here with its white dome visible from most areas in and around Petra. | |
Eleazar and Ithamar | Awarta, West Bank [7] | Due to the uncertain security situation, the Israel Defense Forces limits visits by Jews to one annual night close to the 5th of Shevat on the Hebrew calendar (around January–February). [ citation needed ] | |
Jethro | Nabi Shu'ayb, Hittin | Each year on April 25, the Druze gather at the site to discuss community affairs. [8] | |
Aholiab | Sujod, Southern Lebanon [9] | Located at 33.4428°N 35.5381°E. Destroyed after the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon. |
Biblical figure | Place name and location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Nun | Timnath-heres, attributed to Kifl Hares, Salfit Governorate, West Bank | ||
Joshua | Timnath-heres, attributed to Kifl Hares, Salfit Governorate, West Bank (pictured) Islam: An-Nabi Yusha’ bin Noon aka Prophet Joshua's Shrine, near As-Salt, Jordan. [10] | Thousands make the pilgrimage to his tomb on the annual commemoration of his death, 26th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. | |
Caleb | Timnath-heres, attributed to Kifl Hares, Salfit Governorate, West Bank | ||
Othniel Ben Kenaz | Tomb of Othniel Ben Kenaz in Hebron, West Bank [11] | ||
Shamgar | Tebnine, Lebanon [12] | Seen here | The tomb is also known by Shia Muslims as the tomb of Prophet Siddiq. [13] |
Deborah, Barak and Yael | Tel Kaddesh, Israel [14] | ||
Samson | Beit Shemesh, Israel [15] | ||
Elkanah | Kedita, Upper Galilee, Israel [16] | See here | |
Hannah and Samuel | Tomb of Samuel, West Bank. [17] Christianity: Tomb of Hannah, Horvat Hani, Israel [18] | Both Jewish and Muslim prayers are held at the tomb. Many religious Jews visit the tomb on the 28th of Iyar, the anniversary of Samuel the Prophet's death. | |
Eli | Shiloh, Samaria | According to Jewish tradition the Yahrzeit of Eli the Cohen is on י' באייר — the tenth day of Iyar. | |
Nathan and Gad | Halhul, Hebron Governorate, West Bank | The graves of Nathan and Gad are entombed in a mosque named after Jonah. | |
David | David's Tomb, Mount Zion, Jerusalem | 1 Kings 2:10 says that King David was buried in his own city; the City of David is on the southeastern hill of Jerusalem, Mount Zion is its western hill. The "tomb" is a Crusader-era cenotaph (symbolical, empty sarcophagus). The building dates to the 2nd century CE the earliest, and the tradition of David being buried here was created by Byzantine Christians well over a millennium after his supposed death. [19] The authentic tomb of David is probably a cave noted as 'T1' in a former Roman-era quarry outside of the modern city walls. [20] [21] | |
Absalom | Yad Avshalom, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem | Archaeologists have dated the tomb to the first century CE. Its association with Absalom only dates from the 12th century. [22] Currently it is not considered by any religious group to be the tomb of Absalom, due to its age (1000 years too recent) and the Bible (2 Samuel 18:17, which says Absalom's body was covered over with stones in a pit in the forest of Ephraim). | |
Abner ben Ner | Hebron, West Bank [23] | Rabbi Moses Basola visited the tomb in 1522. [24] Sefer Yihus ha-Tzaddiqim (Book of Genealogy of the Righteous), a collection of travel writings first published in 1561, mentions the tomb. [25] | |
Isaiah | Isaiah mausoleum, Esfahan, Iran (top) [26] or Nahal Dishon, Israel (bottom) | | |
Hushai | Yirka, Israel | ||
Elisha | Elisha's Tomb. Disputed between: near Mt. Carmel, West Bank or Kfar Yassif near Acre, Israel and Eğil, Turkey. [27] | Seen here | |
Huldah | Mount of Olives, Jerusalem | Seen here | |
Zedekiah | Cave of Zedekiah, Old City of Jerusalem [28] | ||
Ezekiel | Ezekiel's Tomb, Al Kifl, Iraq | Up till the mid-20th century, up to 5,000 Jews used to come to the tomb during Passover. [29] Many Muslims believe this tomb to be that of an unspecified personality named Dhul-Kifl. This site was protected under the control of Saddam Hussein, and renovated extensively in 2014. | |
Baruch ben Neriah | Reportedly in the Al-Nukhailah Mosque, Al-Kifl, Iraq | Exact location unknown. According to Jewish tradition, Baruch's tomb is located about 1-mile (1.6 km) away from Ezekiel's Tomb near a town called "Mashhad Ali" which there is no record of ever existing. However, there is a tomb within the Al-Nukhailah Mosque in Al-Kifl dedicated to Baruch. Corresponding with the earlier legend, it is located near to the Tomb of Ezekiel, which is also in the same building. | |
Hosea | Ancient Jewish cemetery of Safed, Israel [30] | ||
Amittai | Beit Ummar, near Hebron, West Bank | Mosque of Nabi Matta: The main mosque in Beit Ummar housing the tomb of Nabi Matta or Amittai, father of Jonah. Mujir ad-Din writes that Matta was "a holy man from the people of the house of the prophecy." Nearby Halhul houses the tomb of Jonah with the inscription reading "Yunus ibn Matta" or "Jonah son of Amittai", confirming that Matta is indeed the Arabic name for Amittai and the Beit Ummar tomb is dedicated to Amittai. In 1226, the Ayyubid sultan al-Mu'azzam built a mosque with a minaret under the supervision of Jerusalem governor Rashid ad-Din al-Mu'azzami. The Mamluks constructed some additions to the mosque and engraved several inscriptions on its surface. Also seen here. | |
Jonah | Judaism: Mashhad, Israel. (top) Islam: Halhul, near Beit Ummar, Hebron. (bottom) | | Masshad tomb can also be seen here. |
Micah | Kabul, Israel [31] or also at Jezzine, Lebanon | The shrine in Jezzine is also known as the tomb of a Prophet Misha. | |
Nahum | Al Qush, south of Dahuk, Iraq. | There are however two other sites mentioned in historical accounts: Elkesi, near Ramah in the Galilee and Elcesei in the West Bank [32] | |
Habakkuk | Some locate it at Huqoq, others at Kadarim, Israel. [33] [34] There is a shrine in Toyserkan, Iran as well. [35] | | |
Zephaniah | En-Nabi Safi, Southern Lebanon [36] | Seen here | The tomb is located inside a Muslim shrine, known by locals as the shrine of a Prophet Safi. |
Haggai, Malachi, and Zechariah | Tomb of the Prophets, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem [37] | ||
Biblical figure | Place name and location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Job | In Druzism: Chouf District, Lebanon (pictured). | Yaqut al-Hamawi recorded that it was located in Al-Shaykh Saad, while another tradition locates it at Salalah, Oman | |
Jesse and Ruth | Tomb of Jesse and Ruth, Hebron, West Bank | ||
Mordecai and Esther | Tomb of Esther and Mordechai, Hamedan, Iran | Persian Jews still make annual pilgrimage in honor of the Purim festival. | |
Daniel | Tomb of Daniel, Susa, Iran (pictured). There are however six other traditional sites including Kirkuk in Iraq and Samarkand in Uzbekistan | At the site in Kirkuk, the locals claim that Hananiah, Mishael, and Azaria are buried alongside Daniel. | |
Ezra | Ezra's Tomb, Al-'Uzayr, near Basra, Iraq | Preserved by Jewish caretakers until the middle of the 20th century. From that point, a local Muslim Iraqi took the responsibility of preserving the location. The area surrounding the tomb is used today as a place of Muslim worship although Hebrew inscriptions are still present in the room. Located where Tigris and Euphrates meet. | |
Zechariah ben Jehoiada | Tomb of Zechariah, Mount of Olives, Jerusalem |
Biblical figure | Place name and location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Augustus | Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome, Italy | ||
Caiaphas | Tomb of Caiaphas, Abu Tor, Jerusalem | Discovered by accident in 1990 and subsequently excavated by archaeologists. [38] [39] | |
Herod the Great | Herodium, Za'atara and Jannatah, West Bank | Discovered in 2007 by archaeologist Ehud Netzer after 35 years of searching. | |
Saint Andrew | Cathedral of Saint Andrew, Patras, Greece | ||
Saint Bartholemew | Benevento Cathedral, Benevento, Italy or San Bartolomeo all'Isola, Rome, Italy (bottom) | | Both claimed to contain the relics of Saint Bartholomew. |
Saint James the Great | Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Santiago de Compostela, Spain | ||
Saint James the Less | Cathedral of St. James, Jerusalem (top) or Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy (bottom) | | |
Saint Philip | Hierapolis, Pamukkale, Turkey (top) or Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy (bottom) | | |
Saint Paul | Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Rome, Italy (top) or Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (bottom) | | Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran claims the skull of Paul. |
Saint Peter | St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City (top) or Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (bottom) | | Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran claims the skull of Peter. |
Saint Simon the Zealot and Saint Jude Thaddeus | St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City | According to legend, Saint Simon and Saint Jude are buried underneath the St. Joseph altar. | |
Jesus | There are several sites that are claimed to be the Tomb of Jesus:
| | Kirisuto no Haka claims to contain a relic of Jesus's younger brother, Isukiri (speculated to be Joses). |
Saint Thomas | St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai, India or Basilica of San Tommaso Apostolo, Ortona | | |
Saint Matthias | St. Matthias' Abbey, Trier, Germany |
Quranic figure | Place name and location | Image | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Muhammad | Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Medina, Saudi Arabia | under Green Dome | |
Hud | Jordan, or Qabr Nabi Hud, Hadhramaut, Yemen | Burial sites near the Zamzam Well or in the Umayyad Mosque are also claimed |
Joseph ben Caiaphas was the High Priest of Israel during the years of Jesus' ministry, according to Josephus. In the New Testament, the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John indicate he was an organizer of the plot to kill Jesus. He famously presided over the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus. The primary sources for Caiaphas' life are the New Testament, and the writings of Josephus. The latter records he was made high priest by the Roman procurator Valerius Gratus after Simon ben Camithus had been deposed.
Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary, also Tomb of the Virgin Mary (Hebrew: קבר מרים; or the Church of the Assumption, is a Christian church built around an ancient Judean rock-cut tomb in the Kidron Valley – at the foot of Mount of Olives, in East Jerusalem – believed by Eastern Christians to be the burial place of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Status Quo, a 250-year old understanding between religious communities, applies to the site.
Huldah is a prophetess mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in 2 Kings 22:14–20 and 2 Chronicles 34:22–28. After the discovery of a book of the Law during renovations at Solomon's Temple, on the order of King Josiah, Hilkiah together with Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah approach her to seek the Lord's opinion.
Catald of Taranto was an Irish monk.
The Tomb of Samuel, commonly known as Nebi Samuel or Nebi Samwil, is the traditional burial site of the biblical prophet Samuel, atop a steep hill at an elevation of 908 m (2,979 ft) above sea level, in the Palestinian village of Nabi Samwil, in the West Bank.
Bethany, locally called in Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya, is a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of Palestine, bordering East Jerusalem, in the West Bank. The name al-Eizariya refers to the New Testament figure Lazarus of Bethany, who according to the Gospel of John, was raised from the dead by Jesus in the town. The traditional site of the miracle, the Tomb of Lazarus, in the city is a place of pilgrimage.
The Tomb of Simeon the Just or Simeon the Righteous is an ancient tomb in Jerusalem. According to scholarly consensus, based on an in situ inscription, it is the 2nd-century CE burial site of a Roman matron named Julia Sabina. However, according to a medieval Jewish tradition, is believed to be the burial place of Simeon the Just and his students. It is located adjacent to the Cave of the Minor Sanhedrin in the Shimon HaTzadik settlement within the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
The Tomb of Lazarus is a traditional Christian pilgrimage in the al-Eizariya suburb of Jerusalem Governorate, Palestine. It is located on the southeast slope of the Mount of Olives, some 2.4 km east of the city limits of Jerusalem. The tomb is the purported site of a miracle recorded in the Gospel of John in which Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
Dalton is a moshav near Safed in northern Israel under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council. It was founded by immigrants from Tripoli in Libya in 1950 under the leadership of Hapoel HaMizrachi.
The Al-Khanqah as-SalahiyyaMosque is an Islamic place of worship located in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, north of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was named after Saladin, who endowed it. As the name indicates, the complex was originally a khanqah, a place for gatherings of Sufi Islamic adherents, including dervishes. The complex today comprises the mosque as well as a school, a public sitting room, rooms for military officers, a dining room for wayfarers, small rooms for guards, and a very small room for Saladin’s spiritual retreat.
The Tombs of the Kings are a rock-cut funerary complex in East Jerusalem believed to be the burial site of Queen Helene of Adiabene, hence: Helena's Monuments. The tombs are located 820 m (2,690 ft) north of Jerusalem's Old City walls in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood
Givat HaMivtar is an Israeli settlement and a neighborhood in East Jerusalem established in 1970 between Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. It is located on a hill where an important battle took place in the Six Day War. Archaeological excavations have revealed important ancient Jewish tombs in the region. Givat Hamivtar was one of the first "Build Your Own Home" neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
The Caiaphas ossuary is one of twelve ossuaries or bone boxes, discovered in a burial cave in south Jerusalem in December 1990, two of which featured the name "Caiaphas".
Tombs of the Sanhedrin, also Tombs of the Judges, is an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedria. Built in the 1st century CE, the tombs are noted for their elaborate design and symmetry. They have been a site for Jewish pilgrimage since the medieval period. The popular name of the complex, which has the most magnificently carved pediment of ancient Jerusalem, is due to the fact that the number of burial niches it contains is somewhat close to that of the members of the ancient Jewish supreme court, the Great Sanhedrin, namely 71.
Sheikh Badr Cemetery is an 8 dunams Jewish burial ground in west-central West Jerusalem. It was established as a temporary burial ground during the 1948 Arab siege of Jerusalem. Most of its military and civilian graves were transferred to Mount Herzl and Har HaMenuchot, respectively, in late 1950. The cemetery continued to accept burials up until the official opening of Har HaMenuchot in November 1951.
The Shaare Zedek Cemetery is a small Jewish burial ground located behind the first Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Originally used by the hospital as farmland for grazing milk cows, the area was converted into a temporary cemetery during the Arab siege of Jerusalem in 1948. Approximately 200 burials were conducted here between March and October of that year. Most graves were transferred to permanent cemeteries after the war, but a handful remain, notably those of several prominent Jerusalem rabbis and the founding director of Shaare Zedek Hospital, Dr. Moshe Wallach.
The church of Saint Mary of the Latins was a church building in the Old City of Jerusalem in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The tomb of Shimon bar Yochai, or Kever Rashbi, on Mount Meron is the traditional burial place of the 2nd-century Mishnaic rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. A place of pilgrimage since the late 15th century, it is today the second-most-visited Jewish site in the world after the Western Wall with as many as two million annual visitors.
Qision was an ancient settlement in Upper Galilee, now an archaeological site in northern Israel, featuring the ruins of the settlement, including a public building, possibly an ancient synagogue, alongside an inscription dedicated to the Roman emperor Septimius Severus and his family commissioned by the local Jewish community.
This is the hijr of Ishmael, or the house of Ishmael (Bayt Ismail), where he buried his mother Hagar and where he himself is buried.