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 will go up from Zoar and will dwell in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he will fear to dwell in Zoar; and he will dwell in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And he will see the Kenite, and he will take up his parable, and say, Strong thy dwelling, and put thy nest in the rock.
And the hand of Midian will be strong upon Israel: from the face of Midian the sons of Israel made to them clefts which are in the mountains, and caves and fastnesses.
My dove in the refuges of the rock, in the biding of the steep mountain: cause me to see thy form, cause me to hear thy voice; for thy voice is sweet and thy form becoming.
And they shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the caverns of the dust, from the face of the fear of Jehovah, and from the splendor of his majesty in his rising to terrify the earth.
And the pit where Ishmael cast there all the corpses of the men whom he struck by the hand of Gedaliah was that which king Asa made from the face of Baasha king of Israel: Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the wounded.
Thy terror deceived thee, the pride of thy heart, thou dwelling in the asylums of the rock, holding the height of the hill: if thou shalt make thy nest high as the eagle, from thence will I bring thee down, says Jehovah.
The pride of thy heart deceived thee, dwelling in the refuges of the rock, the height his seat; he said in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the earth?
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 will go up from Zoar and will dwell in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he will fear to dwell in Zoar; and he will dwell in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And his sons Isaak and Ishmael will bury him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, which is at the face of Mamm; The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth: there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaak and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
And his sons will take him up to the land of Cannon, and they will bury him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for the possession of a grave, from Ephron the Hittites before Mamra.
And it was in the passing by of my glory, and I put thee in a cavern of the rock; and I hedged in with my hand upon thee till I passed by.
And he will see the Kenite, and he will take up his parable, and say, Strong thy dwelling, and put thy nest in the rock.
And these five kings will flee and will hide in a cave in Makkedah.
And it will be at the time of the going down of the sun Joshua commanded, and they will take them down from the trees and cast them into the cave where they were hid there; and they will put great stones upon the mouth of the cave till this self-same day.
And the hand of Midian will be strong upon Israel: from the face of Midian the sons of Israel made to them clefts which are in the mountains, and caves and fastnesses.
And David will go from thence and he will escape to the cave Adullam: and his brethren and all the house of his father will hear, and they will go down to him there. And there will gather to him every man being pressed and every man which to him a creditor, and every man bitter of soul; and he will be for chief over them: and there will be with him about four hundred men.
And David's men will say to him, Behold the day of which Jehovah spake to thee, Behold, I give thine enemy into thy hand, and do to him as it will be good in thine eyes. And David will rise and cut off the wing of the upper garment which is to Saul, secretly.
And it will be in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, and Obadiaha will take a hundred prophets, and hide fifty men in a cave, and he nourished them with bread and water.)
And he will go there into a cave and lodge there; and behold, the word of Jehovah to him, and he will say to him, What to thee here Elijah?
My dove in the refuges of the rock, in the biding of the steep mountain: cause me to see thy form, cause me to hear thy voice; for thy voice is sweet and thy form becoming.
And they gathered a collection of the bound into the dungeon. and they were shut up into a shutting up, and after many days they shall be reviewed.
He being bowed down hastened to be loosed, and he will not die in the pit, and his bread shall not fail.
Thy terror deceived thee, the pride of thy heart, thou dwelling in the asylums of the rock, holding the height of the hill: if thou shalt make thy nest high as the eagle, from thence will I bring thee down, says Jehovah.
Whose graves were given in the thighs of the pit, and her convocation will be round about her grave; all of them wounded, fallen by the sword, who gave terror in the land of the living.
The pride of thy heart deceived thee, dwelling in the refuges of the rock, the height his seat; he said in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the earth?
Also thou by the blood of thy covenant I sent forth thy bound ones from the pit no water in it
Then Jesus again being heavy in himself, comes to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was laid 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.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Lot will go up from Zoar and will dwell in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he will fear to dwell in Zoar; and he will dwell in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And these five kings will flee and will hide in a cave in Makkedah.
And the hand of Midian will be strong upon Israel: from the face of Midian the sons of Israel made to them clefts which are in the mountains, and caves and fastnesses.
And David will go from thence and he will escape to the cave Adullam: and his brethren and all the house of his father will hear, and they will go down to him there.
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 will go up from Zoar and will dwell in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he will fear to dwell in Zoar; and he will dwell in a cave, he and his two daughters.
And Ephron's field will stand, which is in Machpelah, which is before the face of Mamra, the field and cave which are in it, and every tree which is in the field, which lsin all the bounds round about
And Jehovah will discomfit them before Israel, and will strike them a great blow in Gibeon, and will pursue them the way of the ascent of the house of Horon, and he will strike them even to Azekah and even to Makkedah.
And David will go from thence and he will escape to the cave Adullam: and his brethren and all the house of his father will hear, and they will go down to him there.
And he will come to the sheepfolds upon the way, and there a cave; and Saul will come in to cover his feet: and David and his men dwelling in the sides of the cave.
And it will be in Jezebel's cutting off the prophets of Jehovah, and Obadiaha will take a hundred prophets, and hide fifty men in a cave, and he nourished them with bread and water.)
And he will go there into a cave and lodge there; and behold, the word of Jehovah to him, and he will say to him, What to thee here Elijah?
And put it in his new tomb, which he quarried in the rock: and having rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, he departed.
Then Jesus again being heavy in himself, comes to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was laid upon it.