Absalom’s Tomb
Fig. 2Absalom’s Tomb
A remarkable monument bearing this name makes a conspicuous figure in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, outside Jerusalem; and it has been noticed and described by almost all travelers. It is close by the lower bridge over the Kidron, and is a square isolated block hewn out from the rocky ledge so as to leave an area or niche around it. The body of this monument is about 24 feet square. The elevation is about 18 or 20 feet to the top of the architrave, and thus far it is wholly cut from the rock. The upper part of the tomb, which is about 20 feet high (the whole has therefore an elevation of about 40 feet), has been carried up with mason-work of large stones. There is a small excavated chamber in the body of the tomb, into which a hole had been broken through one of the sides several centuries ago.
The old travelers who refer to this tomb, as well as Calmet after them, are satisfied that they find the history of it in 2Sa 18:18, which states that Absalom, having no son, built a monument to keep his name in remembrance, and that this monument was called ‘Absalom’s Hand’that is, index, memorial, or monument. With our later knowledge, a glance at this and the other monolithic tomb bearing the name of Zecharias, is quite enough to show that they had no connection with the times of the persons whose names have been given to them. But tradition seems never to have become fully settled as to the individuals whose names they should bear, and to the present day the accounts of travelers have been varying and inconsistent.