Joschafat's grave

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Gable field above the entrance
The tomb of Absalom in the Kidron Valley , in the background the entrance to Joschafat's tomb

Joschafat's grave , also Joschafat's caves or gable grave, is an ancient tomb in the Kidron valley near Jerusalem. It was built in the 1st century AD after the neighboring so-called Absalom Tomb was carved out of the rock. Besides this striking monument, Joschafat's grave received little attention and is not mentioned in old pilgrimage reports.

Surname

Name giver is King Jehoshaphat of Judah . According to 1 Kings 22:51  LUT his tomb was located in the city of David as one of the tombs of the kings of Judah ; however, this no longer played a role since Byzantine times. The complex has been associated with King Joschafat since the end of the 15th century. Before the time of the Crusaders, Joseph (the father of Jesus), Simeon or King Manasseh were also mentioned.

description

To the north of Absalom's grave, steps lead to the entrance portal with a flat triangular gable and curved corner decorations. The tympanum is decorated with acanthus leaves , vines and fruits in a symmetrical arrangement. Behind it is the central, approximately 4 meter high main room with a rear chamber.

In Christian times the main room was used as a chapel. Around 1850, Titus Tobler saw the remains of frescoes.

The room branching off to the left (north) and other rooms branching off from it were ancient burial chambers, whose arched bench and sliding tombs were completely removed when a group of monks set up the Joschafat tomb for residential purposes. A room branches off to the right (south) from the main room, which opens up another room. A use as a grave is not recognizable here, it is assumed that these rooms were used to prepare the corpse for burial.

In the 18th and 19th centuries Jehoshaphat's grave was used by Sephardic Jews for both burials and as a geniza . Nahum Slouschz uncovered the Absalom grave in 1924 and also cleared the Joschafat grave, which was sunk in the rubble (against the religious protests of the Jewish communities).

literature

  • Max Küchler : Jerusalem. A handbook and study guide to the Holy City. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-525-50170-2 . Pp. 712-715.
  • Titus Tobler: The Siloah Spring and the Mount of Olives. With an artistic side dish. St. Gallen 1852. pp. 304-311.
  • Nahum Slouschz: The Excavations around the Monument of Absalom. In: Proceedings of the Jewish Palestine Exploration Fund 1 (1925), pp. 1-30.

Coordinates: 31 ° 46 ′ 38.2 ″  N , 35 ° 14 ′ 20 ″  E