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Why didn't Jacob bury Rachel in Machpelah?

tonychanyt

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The cave of Machpelah was in Hebron.

Ge 35:

Bethlehem was 40 km away from Hebron. It would have taken 2 days to get there. Jacob buried Rachel on the way to Bethlehem out of practical considerations. Much later:

They buried Isaac in Machpelah.

Moreover, Ge 49:

31 there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
Joseph buried Jacob in Machpelah (Ge 50:12). All three pairs were buried in Machpelah.

Why didn't Jacob bury Rachel in Machpelah?

Rachel died of a sudden death while they were traveling near Bethlehem. It was expedient to bury her right there rather than taking the dead body over the next two days to bury her in Machpelah.

There was also a spiritual dimension to this. Jeremiah prophesied in 11:

15 Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
Ramah symbolized Bethlehem.

Herod killed the innocent children in Mt 2:

Why didn't Jacob bury Rachel in Machpelah?

Horizontally speaking, it was due to the practical necessity to bury her right away near Bethlehem. Vertically, God used it to prophesy Herod's massacre of the innocent children in Bethlehem after Jesus was born there.
 
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