Teaching Team
Archaeology Part 2: The Tomb of Ezekiel
Archaeological and historical sites provide one with a fascinating and up-close glimpse of the world of antiquity. This series of posts provides a brief glimpse into the tombs of the prophets. These mysterious men and women helped bring Israel back to repentance and service of the one true God. For the second post in this series, I want to speak briefly about the traditional (but not necessarily archeological) tomb of Yechezkel HaNavi, A”H [Ezekiel the Prophet, peace be upon him].
The tomb is traditionally considered to be located in Kefil, a village in Iraq just outside of Baghdad. For several hundred years, this site has been considered the traditional location of Ezekiel HaNavi’s resting place. An interesting reference to this site being the tomb of Ezekiel HaNavi is found in The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. This book, written in the 12th century CE, contains the records of a Jewish man’s travels across the majority of the Eastern world. Concerning the traditional location of the tomb of Ezekiel HaNavi he states,
“Thence it is three parasangs to the Synagogue of Ezekiel, the prophet of blessed memory, which is by the river Euphrates. It is fronted by sixty turrets, and between each turret is a minor Synagogue, and in the court of the Synagogue is the ark, and at the back of the Synagogue is the sepulchre of Ezekiel.”
Benjamin goes on to further state another tradition that the tomb was built by “King Jeconiah, king of Judah, and the 35,000 Jews who came with him, when Evil-merodach brought him forth out of prison.”
The establishment of the modern state of Israel and the current state of affairs in the Middle East has unfortunately caused the pilgrimages to the traditional site of Ezekiel HaNavi’s tomb to decline. Nonetheless, some Jews, and surprisingly even some Muslims, make pilgrimages to the traditional site of the tomb to the present day.
(Credit: Brian R. Volunteer/ Researcher)
***Note:***Sections of The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela are taken from the edition translated by Marcus Nathan Adler (Oxford Univ. Press: London), 1907.
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Visitor Feedback:
I have been to this site. In 2003 while serving with the Marine Corps we were escorted by a local man of Al Hila to this site. it was an awesome experience. During this same trip we were escorted to an ancient zigguratt located near by thought to belong to Hammurabi or someone in his lineage. It was an awesome experience, I hope more people will be allowed to experience these places in the future.
Donnell | November 13, 2007 8:32 PM