Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text: Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground Plans and SectionsPierotti, Ermete
History
Jerusalem Explored, Volume 1—Text: Being a Description of the Ancient and Modern City, with Numerous Illustrations Consisting of Views, Ground Plans and Sections
Pierotti, Ermete
Jerusalem -- Antiquities; Jerusalem -- Description and travel
Though they are called the Tombs of the Prophets, the names of those who
have been buried there are not known; for the greater number and more
distinguished Prophets were not interred near Jerusalem. The
difficulties attending on this tradition are well put by M. Nau[700].
"They point out the place where, as they say, the Prophets are buried.
But what Prophets? Isaiah is buried elsewhere, under Mount Sion;
Jeremiah at Alexandria, whither his remains were removed by Alexander
the Great from Tahpanhes in Egypt; Baruch, his secretary, went to
Babylon to console his countrymen in their captivity, and lies there.
Ezekiel, after being cruelly martyred by being dashed against rocks over
which he was dragged by the Jews, or (as others say) by horses, to which
he had been fastened, was buried in the sepulchre of Shem and Arphaxad.
Daniel ended his days at Babylon, either by a natural death (according
to the common opinion), or (according to an ancient manuscript of the
Emperor Basil, preserved in the Vatican) by decapitation, together with
his three holy companions, at the hand of a certain Attalus. His remains
were removed from Babylon to Alexandria, and thence to Venice. Hosea was
buried at Behemot in the tribe of Issachar, Joel at Bethor, Amos at
Tekoah, Obadiah and Elisha at Sebaste, Jonah at Geth, Micah and Habakkuk
near Eleutheropolis, Nahum at Begabar. Thus the burial-places of the
greater number of the prophets are elsewhere: but still we may suppose
that some of the others may have been interred in these tombs; for
example, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi, and many others of the Messengers
of God, mentioned in Holy Scripture, who have not left any writings, as
Gad, Nathan, Ahijah the Shilonite, and others. It is enough for some of
these to be buried here, in order to give the place a claim to its name.
It is also possible that the Jews may have collected the remains of
their more distinguished Prophets, and placed them in these tombs on the
Mount of Olives." No more need be said to shew how slight are the
grounds for the traditional name. It is indeed possible that the words
of our Lord may refer to these tombs: "Woe unto you, Scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the Prophets, and
garnish the sepulchres of the righteous[701]." "Woe unto you! for ye
build the sepulchres of the Prophets, and your fathers killed
them[702]." Certainly I do not consider these tombs to be as ancient as
many others in the Valley of Kidron and Hinnom and on the north of the
city, which we shall presently examine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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