מַכְפֵּלָה
makh.pe.lah
Machpelah
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Machpelah: A Biblical Place Name Machpelah (H4375) is a Hebrew proper noun appearing six times in the biblical text. Based on the lexicon data provided, it functions as a specific geographic designation rather than a common noun with variable meanings. The term is consistently used as a place name throughout its occurrences, indicating it refers to a fixed location rather than a concept or common object. The limited frequency of the term—appearing only six times—suggests it held particular significance to the biblical narrative despite its relative rarity. This concentrated usage pattern is typical of place names that served important functions within the historical or theological framework of the texts in which they appear. However, the lexicon data provided does not indicate the etymological root, geographical location, or contextual details that would illuminate why this particular site warranted repeated mention. Without additional lexical information about the word's etymology, associated meanings, or detailed usage contexts, a complete analysis of Machpelah's significance remains constrained. The data confirms only that it is a proper noun of Hebrew origin that maintained consistent reference across its six biblical appearances.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
6 total occurrences across the text
that he may sell me the cave of Machpelah, which he has, which is in the end of his field. For the full price let him sell it to me among you as a possession for a burial place.”
Genesis 23:17So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all of its borders, were deeded
Genesis 23:19After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 25:9Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre,
Genesis 49:30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place.
Genesis 50:13for his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, as a possession for a burial site, from Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre.