Rachel's Tomb

Rachel's Tomb (Biblical Qǝbūrat Rāḥēl, Modern Qever Raḥel, Qabr Rāḥīl) is a site revered as the burial place of the Biblical matriarch Rachel. The site is also referred to as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque (Masjid Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ). The tomb is held in esteem by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The tomb, located at the northern entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, next to the Rachel's Tomb checkpoint, is built in the style of a traditional maqam, Arabic for shrine. The burial place of the matriarch Rachel had a matzevah erected at the site according to Genesis 35:20; the site was also mentioned in Muslim literature. Although the site is considered by some scholars as unlikely to be the actual site of the grave – several other sites to the north have been proposed – it is by far the most recognized candidate. The earliest extra-biblical records describing this tomb as Rachel's burial place date to the first decades of the 4th century CE. The structure in its current form dates from the Ottoman period, and is situated in a Christian and Muslim cemetery dating from at least the Mamluk period. The first historically recorded pilgrimages to the site were by early Christians. Throughout history, the site was rarely considered a shrine exclusive to one religion and is described as being "h

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