Reference: Cave
American
The geological structure of Judea is highly favorable to the formation of caves; and the whole region abounds with subterranean caverns of various dimensions, often giving rise to small rivulets. These were used as dwellings, places of refuge, and tombs. It was in a cave that Lot resided after the destruction of Sodom, Ge 19:30. Petra, in Idumea, was a city of caves, Nu 24:21; Song 2:14; Jer 49:16; Ob 1:3. In the vicinity of Hebron, the poor still live in caves while pasturing their flocks. Natural cavities were sometimes enlarged, and artificial ones made for refuge and defense, Jg 6:2; 1Sa 13:6; Isa 2:19; Jer 41:9. The caves of Machpelah, of Adullam, of Engedi, of Carmel and of Arbela, still exist. See SEPULCHRE.
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And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock;
And the hand of Mid'ian prevailed over Israel; and because of Mid'ian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves and the strongholds.
My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the precipice, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
And they shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he shall arise to terrify the earth.
And the pit into which Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain by the side of Gedaliah was the one which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain.
Thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart, hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill. Though thou shouldest make thy nest high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; he that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
Easton
There are numerous natural caves among the limestone rocks of Syria, many of which have been artificially enlarged for various purposes.
The first notice of a cave occurs in the history of Lot (Ge 19:30).
The next we read of is the cave of Machpelah (q.v.), which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth (Ge 25:9-10). It was the burying-place of Sarah and of Abraham himself, also of Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob (Ge 49:31; 50:13).
The cave of Makkedah, into which the five Amorite kings retired after their defeat by Joshua (Jos 10:16,27).
The cave of Adullam (q.v.), an immense natural cavern, where David hid himself from Saul (1Sa 22:1-2).
The cave of Engedi (q.v.), now called 'Ain Jidy, i.e., the "Fountain of the Kid", where David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe (1Sa 24:4). Here he also found a shelter for himself and his followers to the number of 600 (1Sa 23:29-24:1). "On all sides the country is full of caverns which might serve as lurking-places for David and his men, as they do for outlaws at the present day."
The cave in which Obadiah hid the prophets (1Ki 18:4) was probably in the north, but it cannot be identified.
The cave of Elijah (1Ki 19:9), and the "cleft" of Moses on Horeb (Ex 33:22), cannot be determined.
In the time of Gideon the Israelites took refuge from the Midianites in dens and caves, such as abounded in the mountain regions of Manasseh (Jg 6:2).
Caves were frequently used as dwelling-places (Nu 24:21; Song 2:14; Jer 49:16; Ob 1:3). "The excavations at Deir Dubban, on the south side of the wady leading to Santa Hanneh, are probably the dwellings of the Horites," the ancient inhabitants of Idumea Proper. The pits or cavities in rocks were also sometimes used as prisons (Isa 24:22; 51:14; Zec 9:11). Those which had niches in their sides were occupied as burying-places (Eze 32:23; Joh 11:38).
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And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which was opposite to Mamre -- the field that Abraham had purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca his wife; and there I buried Leah.
and his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah which Abraham had bought along with the field, for a possession of a sepulchre, of Ephron the Hittite, opposite to Mamre.
And it shall come to pass, when my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand, until I have passed by.
And he saw the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Firm is thy dwelling-place, and thy nest fixed in the rock;
And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave where they had been hid, and laid great stones before the cave's mouth, which remain to this very day.
And the hand of Mid'ian prevailed over Israel; and because of Mid'ian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves and the strongholds.
And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brethren and all his father's house heard it, and they went down thither to him. And every one in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one of embittered spirit collected round him; and he became a captain over them; and there were with him about four hundred men.
And David's men said to him, Behold the day of which Jehovah said to thee, Behold, I will give thine enemy into thy hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good to thee. And David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe secretly.
and it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water);
And there he went into a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
My dove, in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the precipice, Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
And they shall be brought together, as an assemblage of prisoners for the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
He that is bowed down shall speedily be loosed, and he shall not die in the pit, nor shall his bread fail.
Thy terribleness, the pride of thy heart, hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill. Though thou shouldest make thy nest high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith Jehovah.
their graves are set in the sides of the pit, and his assemblage is round about his grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.
The pride of thy heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; he that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I will send forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
Jesus therefore, again deeply moved in himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
Hastings
The soft limestone hills of Palestine abound in caves, natural and artificial; and these must have attracted attention from a very early period. The aboriginal race of Horites were cave-dwellers, and the excavation at Gezer has revealed remains of a probably analogous race in W. Palestine. Lot (Ge 19:30) and David (1Sa 22:1 etc.) dwelt for a time in caves; and their use as places of hiding and refuge is illustrated by many passages, e.g., Jos 10:16; Jg 6:2; 1Ki 18:4 etc. Caves were also used, at all periods in the history of Palestine, for sepulture, as in the case of Machpelah (Ge 23). Probably the most remarkable series of caves yet discovered in Palestine are the great labyrinths tunnelled in the bills round Beit Jibrin; one of these, in Tell Sandahannah, contains sixty chambers, united by doors and passages, and groups containing fourteen or fifteen chambers are quite common in the same hill. Another artificial cave near Beit Jibrin contains a hall 80 ft. high and 400 ft. long; it has now fallen in. Other groups of caves, only less extensive, occur in various parts of Palestine on both sides of the Jordan. Little or nothing is known about the history of these great excavations; no definite information about their origin has yet been yielded by them, so far as they have been scientifically explored.
R. A. S. Macalister.
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And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And these five kings fled, and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.
And the hand of Mid'ian prevailed over Israel; and because of Mid'ian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves and the strongholds.
And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brethren and all his father's house heard it, and they went down thither to him.
Smith
Cave.
The most remarkable caves noticed in Scripture are, that in which Lot dwelt after the destruction of Sodom,
the cave of Machpelah,
cave of Makkedah,
cave of Adullam,
cave od Engedi,
Obadiah's cave,
Elijah's cave in Horeb,
the rock sepulchres of Lazarus and of our Lord.
Mt 27:60; Joh 11:38
Caves were used for temporary dwelling-places and for tombs.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Lot went up from Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he feared to dwell in Zoar. And he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
So the field of Ephron, which was at Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all its borders round about,
And Jehovah discomfited them before Israel, and smote them with a great slaughter at Gibeon; and he chased them on the way of the ascent of Beth-horon, and smote them up to Azekah and Makkedah.
And David departed thence, and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And his brethren and all his father's house heard it, and they went down thither to him.
And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet; and David and his men were abiding in the recesses of the cave.
and it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of Jehovah, that Obadiah took a hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and maintained them with bread and water);
And there he went into a cave, and lodged there. And behold, the word of Jehovah came to him, and he said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn in the rock; and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, went away.
Jesus therefore, again deeply moved in himself, comes to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.