. 49:31), and here, by his own request, Jacob was
buried. (Gen. 50:13.) Joshua, the successor of Moses, "utterly
destroyed" Hebron (Joshua 10:37), and afterwards gave it to Caleb, to
whom it had been promised by Moses forty-five years before. (Joshua
14:6-15.) Here Abner was slain (2 Samuel 3:27), and the murderers of
Ishbosheth were put to death. (2 Samuel 4:12.)

The most interesting thing about the town is the "cave of Machpelah,"
but it is inaccessible to Christians. Between 1167 and 1187 a church was
built on the site, now marked by a carefully guarded Mohammedan mosque.
It is inclosed by a wall which may have been built by Solomon. We were
allowed to go in at the foot of a stairway as far as the seventh step,
but might as well have been in the National Capitol at Washington so far
as seeing the burial place was concerned. In 1862 the Prince of Wales,
now King of England, was admitted. He was accompanied by Dean Stanley,
who has described what he saw, but he was permitted neither to examine
the monuments nor to descend to the cave below, the real burial chamber.
As the body of Jacob was carefully embalmed by the Egyptian method, it
is possible that his remains may yet be seen in their long resting place
in this Hebron cave. (Gen. 50:1,2.)

Turning back toward Jerusalem, we came to Bethlehem late in the
afternoon, and the "field of the shepherds" (Luke 2:8) and the "fields
of Boaz" (Ruth 2:4-23) were pointed out. The place of greatest interest
is the group of buildings, composed of two churches, Greek and Latin,
and an Armenian convent, all built together on the traditional site
of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Tradition is here contradicted by
authorities partly on the ground that a cave to which entrance is made
by a flight of stairs would probably not be used as a stable. This
cave is in the Church of St. Mary, said to have been erected in 330 by
Constantine. Descending the stairs, we came into the small cavern, which
is continually lighted by fifteen silver lamps, the property of the
Greeks, Latins, and Armenians, who each have an interest in the place.
Beneath an altar, in a semi-circular recess, a silver star has been set
in the floor with the Latin inscription: "_Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus
Christus Natus est._" An armed Turkish soldier was doing duty near this
"star of Bethlehem" the evening I was there. The well, from which it is
said the "three mighty men" drew water for David, was visited. (2 Samuel
23:15.