Abraham And Ishmael At Makkah And Qibla
Chapter 11 of my book: https://a.co/d/2ThosTG
Abraham And Ishmael At Makkah And Qibla
Surah 2
(122) O children of Israel, remember my favour wherewith I have favoured you, and that I have preferred you before all nations; (123) and dread the day wherein one soul shall not make satisfaction for another soul, neither shall any compensation be accepted from them, nor shall any intercession avail, neither shall they be helped. (124) Remember when the Lord tried Abraham by certain words, which he fulfilled: God said, Verily I will constitute thee a model of religion unto mankind; he answered, And also of my posterity; God said, My covenant doth not comprehend the ungodly.
Commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali on (124)
Quote The Israelites’ contention was that prophethood should always remain in the house of Israel, and that the promised prophet of Deut.18 : 18 should be an Israelite. In this section they are told that the covenant was made, not with Israel but with Abraham and Ishmael, that therefore the seed of Ishmael and Isaaac were equally to be blessed.
The Jewish and Christian contention that the covenant made with Ishmael was simply of a temporal nature is groundless; on the other hand, the following arguments show that the covenant included both Ishmael and Isaac.
(1) The promise to bless Abraham and his seed was given long before either Ishmael or Isaac was born: I ‘And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. . . . And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12 : 2,3).
(2)The promise given to Abraham regarding the multiplicity of his seed is the same as that given to Hagar regarding Ishmael when she conceived him: “ And he brought him forth abroad, and said,“Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Gen. 15 : 5). And the angel of the Lord said unto her (i.e. Hagar), I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude’’ (Gen. 16 : IO).
(3) The covenant was made again with Abraham after Ishmael was born, while Abraham had no hope of another son, nor was there a Divine promise that a son should be born to him from Sarah, the promise contained in Gen. 15 : 4 , ‘ But he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir” having been fulfilled in the birth of Ishmael. This promise is contained in Gen. 17 : 2-6 : “And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. , . , And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.”,
(4) The covenant was renewed with Ishmael after Isaac was promised : ‘And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation ” (Gen. 17 :20). It should also be noted that God’s hearing Abraham with regard to Ishmael refers to Abraham’s prayer in Gen. 17: 18: (‘ 0 that Ishmael might live before thee,” and shows that Ishmael was righteous in the sight of God.
(5) The nature of the promise made to Ishmael does not differ materially from that made to Abraham: they are both to be blessed, both to be made fruitful, the seed of both is to be multiplied exceedingly, princes and kings are promised among the descendants of both of them, and both are promised to be made a great nation. Nothing is said regarding Abraham that is not said regarding Ishmael.
(6) The covenant on the part of Abraham’s seed was kept by the children of Isaac as well as of Ishmael. According to Gen.17:10: This is My covenant which ye shall keep between Me and you and thy seed after thee: Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” Now, circumcision has been a characteristic of the Israelites as well as of the Ishmaelites. Hence God’s covenant was with both these nations.
(7) The fulfilment of the covenant on the part of God has also been true with regard to both nations. “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God”(Gen. 17 : 8). Now, if the covenant was only with Isaac’s children, the promise of an everlasting possession failed with the advent of Islam, so that even God could not keep His promise. But the fact is that the land of Canaan continues to remain as an everlasting possession in the hands of the seed of Abraham, for as soon as the Israelites or their representatives, the Christians, were deemed unfit to have the holy land in their possession because of their unrighteousness, that holy land was given to the Arabs, who were Ishmaelites, and to this day it remains in the hands of the Muslims, who are the true representatives of the house of Ishmael. Unquote
The Biblical Account
Genesis 17
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
3 Abram fell on his face. God talked with him, saying, 4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. 7 I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are travelling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”
9 God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin. It will be a token of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout your generations, he who is born in the house, or bought with money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. 13 He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. 14 The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.”
15 God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her. Yes, I will bless her, and she will be a mother of nations. Kings of peoples will come from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, “Will a child be born to him who is one hundred years old? Will Sarah, who is ninety years old, give birth?” 18 Abraham said to God, “Oh that Ishmael might live before you!”
19 God said, “No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son. You shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this set time next year.”
22 When he finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham. 23 Abraham took Ishmael his son, all who were born in his house, and all who were bought with his money: every male among the men of Abraham’s house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the same day, as God had said to him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 25 Ishmael, his son, was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. 26 In the same day both Abraham and Ishmael, his son, were circumcised. 27 All the men of his house, those born in the house, and those bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.
Observation
The commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali serves well to show what a Muslim understands by such verses. It also shows the scholar’s cherry picking. Clearly Ishmael was not included in the covenant. Circumcision was for “all the men of his house, those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner”, and so if Maulana’s logic prevailed then all the men circumcised would be partakers of the covenant. It is Sarah, changed from Sara (v15), who is the deciding factor, not Abraham who was the father of several sons. Isaac son of Sarah was the inheritor of God’s blessing, not Ishmael son of Hagar nor any other offspring of Abraham.
Genesis 25
Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah. 2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba, and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. 4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. 5 Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac, 6 but Abraham gave gifts to the sons of Abraham’s concubines. While he still lived, he sent them away from Isaac his son, eastward, to the east country. 7 These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which he lived: one hundred seventy-five years. 8 Abraham gave up his spirit, and died at a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was gathered to his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is near Mamre, 10 the field which Abraham purchased from the children of Heth. Abraham was buried there with Sarah, his wife. 11 After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac, his son. Isaac lived by Beer Lahai Roi.
12 Now this is the history of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. 13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to the order of their birth: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their villages, and by their encampments: twelve princes, according to their nations. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred thirty-seven years. He gave up his spirit and died, and was gathered to his people. 18 They lived from Havilah to Shur that is before Egypt, as you go toward Assyria. He lived opposite all his relatives
Surah 2
(125) And when we appointed the holy house of Makkah to be a place of resort for mankind, and a place of security; and said, Take the station of Abraham for a place of prayer; and we covenanted with Abraham and Ismaíl, that they should cleanse my house for those who should compass it, and those who should be devoutly assiduous there, and those who should bow down and worship
Commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali on S2(125)
Quote Moreover, the story of Ishmael and Hagar’s casting forth is substantially true, though the description of it given in Genesis, viz. Abraham’s sending her forth with bread and a bottle of water, as if she were going to settle in the next village, cannot be accepted as true, Sarah could not be satisfied with such expulsion of her rival. The Arab tradition representing Abraham as coming with Hagar and Ishmael to the place where Mecca now is, is quite independent of the Bible statement, and the two taken together justify us in drawing the conclusion as to the truth of the old Arab tradition . Moreover, the situation of Mecca on a well-recognized ancient route from Syria to Yemen and the visits from the deserts of Syria to that “Ancient House ” corroborate this conclusion. Thus there is not the least reason to reject the popular tradition as a fable, and the facts recorded in the Quran are borne out by all considerations Unquote
The Biblical Account
Genesis 21
Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. 2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4 Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. 6 Sarah said, “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.” 7 She said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age.”
8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, mocking. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this servant and her son! For the son of this servant will not be heir with my son, Isaac.”
11 The thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight on account of his son. 12 God said to Abraham, “Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your servant. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be named through Isaac. 13 I will also make a nation of the son of the servant, because he is your child.” 14 Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a container of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder; and gave her the child, and sent her away. She departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. 15 The water in the container was spent, and she put the child under one of the shrubs. 16 She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, “Don’t let me see the death of the child.” She sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice, and wept. 17 God heard the voice of the boy.
The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Get up, lift up the boy, and hold him with your hand. For I will make him a great nation.”
19 God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the container with water, and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy, and he grew. He lived in the wilderness, and as he grew up, he became an archer. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran. His mother got a wife for him out of the land of Egypt.
Observation
Abraham did not accompany Hagar and Ishmael .
Surah 2
(126) And when Abraham said, Lord, make this a territory of security, and bounteously bestow fruits on its inhabitants, such of them as believe in God and the last day; God answered, And whoever believeth not, I will bestow on him little; afterwards I will drive him to the punishment of hell-fire; an ill journey shall it be! (127) And when Abraham and Ismaíl raised the foundations of the house, saying, Lord, accept it from us, for thou art he who heareth and knoweth: (128) Lord, make us also resigned unto thee, and of our posterity a people resigned unto thee, and show us our holy ceremonies, and be turned unto us, for thou art easy to be reconciled, and merciful. (129) Lord, send them likewise an apostle from among them, who may declare thy signs unto them, and teach them the book of the Qurán and wisdom, and may purify them; for thou art mighty and wise.
(142) The foolish men will say, What hath turned them from their Qibla, towards which they formerly prayed? Say, Unto God belongeth the east and the west: he directeth whom he pleaseth into the right way. (143) Thus have we placed you, O Arabians, an intermediate nation, that ye may be witness against the rest of mankind, and that the apostle may be a witness against you. (144) We appointed the Qibla, towards which thou didst formerly pray, only that we might know him who followeth the apostle, from him who turneth back on the heels; though this change seem a great matter, unless unto those whom God hath directed. But God will not render your faith of none effect; for God is gracious and merciful unto man. (145) We have seen thee turn about thy face towards heaven with uncertainty, but we will cause thee to turn thyself towards a Qibla that will please thee. Turn, therefore, thy face towards the holy temple of Makkah; and wherever ye be, turn your faces towards that place. They to whom the scripture hath been given, know this to be truth from their Lord. God is not regardless of that which ye do. (146) Verily although thou shouldest show unto those to whom the scripture hath been given all kinds of signs, yet they will not follow thy Qibla, neither shalt thou follow their Qibla; nor will one part of them follow the Qibla of the other. And if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, verily thou wilt become one of the ungodly. (147) They to whom we have given the scripture know our apostle, even as they know their own children; but some of them hide the truth, against their own knowledge. (148) Truth is from thy Lord, therefore thou shalt not doubt.
(149) Every sect hath a certain tract of heaven to which they turn themselves in prayer; but do ye strive to run after good things; wherever ye be, God will bring you all back at the resurrection, for God is almighty. (150) And from what place soever thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; for this is truth from thy Lord; neither is God regardless of that which ye do. (151) From what place soever thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the holy temple; and wherever ye be, thitherward turn your faces, lest men have matter of dispute against you; but as for those among them who are unjust doers, fear them not, but fear me, that I may accomplish my grace upon you, and that ye may be directed. (152) As we have sent unto you an apostle from among you, to rehearse our signs unto you, and to purify you, and to teach you the book of the Qurán and wisdom, and to teach you that which ye knew not:
Commentary by Maulana Muhammad Ali on verse (149)-(150)
Quote The meaning is that Allah intends to make all Muslims as one people, therefore He requires all to turn to one direction, to set one goal before them, and to have one centre to turn to wherever they may be. The unity of the giblah among the Muslims really stands for their unity of purpose as being a nation which strives after one goal, and forms the basis on which rests the brotherhood of Islam ; hence the saying of the Prophet : Do not call those who follow your giblah unbelievers. But that noble lesson is now almost lost to the Muslims.
Thus the chief reason given for appointing one qiblah for all Muslims, wherever they may be, is that this should be an ostensible sign of their unity of purpose, the reason why that honour is given to the Kaaba being given in v. 152 . It may be added that the Ka’ba has never been supposed by any Muslim to possess any Divine attribute, nor is any petition or prayer ever addressed to it, and hence the strange conclusion drawn by some Christian writers, that the honour thus given to the Ka’ba is a remnant of the pre-Islamite Arab polytheism or idolatry, is unworthy of serious attention. Even the idolatrous Arabs never worshipped the Ka’ba, though they had placed idols in it which they worshipped. It should also be borne in mind that the famous black stone was not one of the Arab idols, nor can the kissing of it in performing the pilgrimage be looked upon as a remnant of idolatry. That stone stands only as a monument: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head-stone of the corner” (Pa. 118 : 22). Ishmael was looked upon as rejected, and the covenant. was considered to have been made with the children of Isaac or Israelites, yet it was that rejected stone, for which the black stone at Ka’ba, the place where Ishmael was cast, stands as a monument, that was to become the “head-stone of the corner.” The black stone is unhewn, so it is the stone that was “ cut out of the mountain without hands” (Dan.2:45). Jesus Christ made this clear in the parable of the husbandmen, when he plainly told the Israelites that the vineyard (i.e. the kingdom of God) would be taken away from them and given to “ other husbandmen,” i.e. to a non-Israelite people, immediately giving indication of that people in the words: “Did ye never read in the Scripture, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner 7” (Matt. 21:42), and again emphasized his object in the words: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof `` (Matt. 21:43), thus showing that he was referring to a rejected nation. Hence if the black stone is kissed, it is not kissed as an idol or as a god, but as a monument of the reception of a nation which was to become the corner-stone in the Divine kingdom. Unquote
The Biblical Account
Acts 4
5 In the morning, their rulers, elders, and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and as many as were relatives of the high priest. 7 When they had stood Peter and John in the middle of them, they inquired, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9 if we are examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 may it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands here before you whole in him.11 He is ‘the stone which was regarded as worthless by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.’ Psalm 118:22 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved!”
Observation
Jesus Christ is the rejected cornerstone, not Ishmael nor Muhammad or Islam.
Surah 2
(152) As we have sent unto you an apostle from among you, to rehearse our signs unto you, and to purify you, and to teach you the book of the Qurán and wisdom, and to teach you that which ye knew not: (153) therefore remember me, and I will remember you, and give thanks unto me, and be not unbelievers.
(154) O true believers, beg assistance with patience and prayer, for God is with the patient. (155) And say not of those who are slain in fight for the religion of God, that they are dead; yea, they are living: but ye do not understand. (156) We will surely prove you by afflicting you in some measure with fear, and hunger, and decrease of wealth, and loss of lives, and scarcity of fruits: but bear good tidings unto the patient, (157) who, when a misfortune befalleth them, say, We are God’s, and unto him shall we surely return. (158) Upon them shall be blessings from their Lord and mercy, and they are the rightly directed. (159) Moreover Safá and Marwah are two of the monuments of God: whoever therefore goeth on pilgrimage to the temple of Makkah or visiteth it, it shall be no crime in him, if he compass them both. And as for him who voluntarily performeth a good work; verily God is grateful and knowing. (160) They who conceal any of the evident signs, or the direction which we have sent down, after what we have manifested unto men in the scripture, God shall curse them; and they who curse shall curse them. (161) But as for those who repent and amend, and make known what they concealed, I will be turned unto them, for I am easy to be reconciled and merciful. (162) Surely they who believe not, and die in their unbelief, upon them shall be the curse of God, and of the angels, and of all men; (163) they shall remain under it forever, their punishment shall not be alleviated, neither shall they be regarded.
Contradiction
Surah 2(149)-(151) contradicts the following verse.
Surah 2
(177) It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards the east and the west, but righteousness is of him who believeth in God and the last day and the angels, and the scriptures, and the prophets; who giveth money for God’s sake unto his kindred, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, and for redemption of captives; who is constant at prayer, and giveth alms and of those who perform their covenant, when they have covenanted, and who behave themselves patiently in adversity, and hardships, and in time of violence; these are they who are true, and these are they who fear God
Remembering is not prophesying.
Plus did Abraham build the Kaaba?
The Quran says that Abraham did so in S2(122)-(127). It also mentions that Solomon was engaged in a lot of construction work. So who did ?
Surah 34
12 And (We made) the wind (subservient) to Solomon, which made a month’s journey in the morning and a month’s journey in the evening, and We made an abundance of molten brass to flow for him. And of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord; and whoever turned aside from Our command from among them, We made him taste of the chastisement of burning.
13 They made for him what he pleased of fortresses and images, and bowls (large) as watering-troughs and cooking-pots that will not move from their place; give thanks, O people of David! And very few of My servants are grateful.
(Later editions replace ‘fortresses’ with ‘synagogues’)
(Maulana Muhammad Ali)
Observation
Why would Solomon build another temple? And why would Allah allow Solomon to build the temple in Jerusalem if the proper place of worship was in Saudi Arabia? And of course, the other basic question: why take the Jews to the land of Canaan to possess it? Why not Saudi Arabia? Bear in mind that Ishmael was rejected and Abraham sent him and his mother away. The biblical scriptures record that Abraham lived in tents and sojourned through the land of Canaan because YAHWEH had told him to do so (Genesis 12). It was Solomon who built the temple for the first time in Jerusalem, not in Saudi Arabia (1 Kings 5).
Abraham was a sojourner and he built several altars to YHWH at various places but never a temple. These quranic verses are not a confirmation of the biblical scriptures.
Journeys Of Abraham
Genesis 12
Now Yahweh said to Abram, “Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as Yahweh had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, Lot his brother’s son, all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they went to go into the land of Canaan. They entered into the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time, Canaanites were in the land.
7 Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.”
He built an altar there to Yahweh, who had appeared to him. 8 He left from there to go to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to Yahweh and called on Yahweh’s name. 9 Abram traveled, still going on toward the South.
10 There was a famine in the land. Abram went down into Egypt to live as a foreigner there, for the famine was severe in the land.
Genesis 13
Abram went up out of Egypt—he, his wife, all that he had, and Lot with him—into the South. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3 He went on his journeys from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4 to the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first. There Abram called on Yahweh’s name.
12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against Yahweh.
14 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever. 16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.”
18 Abram moved his tent, and came and lived by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to Yahweh.
Genesis 18
1 Yahweh appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day
Genesis 20
1 Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.
Genesis 21
27 Abraham took sheep and cattle, and gave them to Abimelech. Those two made a covenant. 28 Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 29 Abimelech said to Abraham, “What do these seven ewe lambs, which you have set by themselves, mean?”
30 He said, “You shall take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that it may be a witness to me, that I have dug this well.” 31 Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because they both swore an oath there. 32 So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his army, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. 33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God. 34 Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines many days.
Genesis 23
Sarah lived one hundred twenty-seven years. This was the length of Sarah’s life. 2 Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. 3 Abraham rose up from before his dead and spoke to the children of Heth, saying, 4 “I am a stranger and a foreigner living with you. Give me a possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.”
17 So the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in all of its borders, were deeded 18 to Abraham for a possession in the presence of the children of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city. 19 After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre (that is, Hebron), in the land of Canaan. 20 The field, and the cave that is in it, were deeded to Abraham by the children of Heth as a possession for a burial place.
The Biblical Lord's Chosen Place Of Worship Was Elsewhere
Deuteronomy 12
These are the statutes and the ordinances which you shall observe to do in the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 You shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods. You shall destroy their name out of that place. 4 You shall not do so to Yahweh your God. 5 But to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there. 6 You shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, your vows, your free will offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock there. 7 There you shall eat before Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which Yahweh your God has blessed you. 8 You shall not do all the things that we do here today, every man whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you haven’t yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which Yahweh your God gives you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan and dwell in the land which Yahweh your God causes you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies around you, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then it shall happen that to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to Yahweh. 12 You shall rejoice before Yahweh your God—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Be careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which Yahweh chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
1 Kings 5
Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David. 2 Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until Yahweh put his enemies under the soles of his feet. 4 But now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side. There is no enemy and no evil occurrence. 5 Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house for my name.’ 6 Now therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is nobody among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son to rule over this great people.” 8 Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you specify to me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and you will receive them. You will accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.”
10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his desire. 11 Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat for food to his household, and twenty cors of pure oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12 Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together. 13 King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labour. 15 Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains; 16 besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people who laboured in the work. 17 The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone. 18 Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
John 4
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, will you worship the Father. 22 You worship that which you don’t know. We worship that which we know; for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah comes, he who is called Christ. When he has come, he will declare to us all things.”
26 Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who speaks to you.”
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