View source for Tomb of Benei Hezir

{{Short description|Tomb in Jerusalem}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name               = Tomb of Benei Hezir
| native_name        = קבר בני חזיר
| image              = Hezir tomb.JPG
| alt                =
| caption            = Benei Hezir tomb (western facade)
| map_type           =
| map_size           = 220
| map_dot_label      = Tomb of Benei Hezir
| coordinates        = {{Coord|31|46|35.21|N|35|14|20.87|E|display=inline,title}}
| location           = [[Kidron Valley]], [[Jerusalem]]
| type               = Burial tomb
| built              = 2nd century BCE
| condition          = Partially preserved
| ownership          = Public
| management         = [[Israel Antiquities Authority]]
| public_access      = Yes
}}
The '''Tomb of Benei Hezir''' ({{langx|he|קבר בני חזיר}}), previously known as the '''Tomb of Saint James''', is the oldest of four [[Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel|monumental rock-cut tombs]] that stand in the [[Kidron Valley]], adjacent to the [[Tomb of Zechariah]] and a few meters from the [[Tomb of Absalom]]. It dates to the period of the [[Second Temple]]. It is a complex of burial caves. The tomb was originally accessed from a single rock-cut stairwell which descends to the tomb from the north. At a later period an additional entrance was created by quarrying a tunnel from the courtyard of the monument known as "the Tomb of Zechariah". This is also the contemporary entrance to the burial complex.
==Architecture==
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = View in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Tomb of Absalom and Tomb of Zechariah, Kidron Vallery, Jerusalem) RCIN 2700926.jpg
| caption1 = 1862 CE
| width1 = 260
| image2 = Jerusalem, 1988 - panoramio (13).jpg
| caption2 = 1988 CE
| width2 = 303
| footer = Two panoramas, 126 years apart, from right to left [[Tomb of Zechariah]], the Tomb of Benei Hezir and Tomb of Absalom.
}}
The facade of the tomb is a classical [[distyle in antis]] with two pillars between two pilasters above which there is undecorated architrave containing an engraved a Hebrew inscription.  Above the [[architrave]] is a Doric frieze and a cornice. The tomb's architectural style is influenced by [[Architecture of ancient Greece|ancient Greek architecture]] (two pillars with [[Doric order|Doric]] [[Capital (architecture)|capitals]]) as well as Nabataean influence in architecture and decorative elements (Nabataeanising was fashionable among some Judaean families),<ref>Knauf: The Nabataean connection of the Benei Ḥezir. From Hellenism to Islam, 345–351.</ref> without [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|ancient Egyptian architectural]] influences.
==History==
[[File:Benei Hezir Tomb inscription.jpg|thumb|The inscription listing who are buried here]]
[[Image:Bnei Hazir tomb PA180072.JPG|right|thumb|208px|Detail of the surviving (southern) half of the [[loggia]]]]
[[File:Tombe Du St. Jacquesch De ... -309 LACMA M.2008.40.265.jpg|thumb|1870 photo by [[Felix Bonfils]] showing the Tomb of Benei Hezir to the left of the [[Tomb of Zechariah]].]]
The tomb dates to the second century BCE, the Hellenistic period and the time of the [[Hasmonean]] monarchy in [[Jewish history]]. Architecturally the so-called Tomb of Zechariah postdates the complex, and the Tomb of Absalom is considered to have been erected even later. The tomb is effectively a burial cave dug into the cliff. It contains a Hebrew inscription, which makes it clear that this was the burial site of a [[Kohen|priestly]] family called Benei Hezir, lit. "sons [descendants] of Hezir". The inscription reads:
<blockquote>זה הקבר והנפש שלאלעזר חניה יועזר יהודה שמעון יוחנן בני יוסף בן עובד יוסף ואלעזר בני חניה כהנים מבני חזיר &mdash; This is the grave and the ''Nefesh'' (burial monument) of Eliezer Hania Yoazar Yehuda Shimon Yochanan Benei (sons of) Yosef Ben (son of) Oved Yosef and Elazar Benei (sons of) Hania, Kohanim of the Hezir family.</blockquote>
==Name==
[[File:Tomb of St. James, Valley of Jehosaphat-Jerusalem April 1839 LCCN2002717455.tif|thumb|In [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]]' ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]'', it was titled the "Tomb of St. James"]]
The name Hezir appears twice in the Bible (see below). The inscription on the monument mentions the "sons of Hezir", meaning: the descendants of Hezir. The Hebrew term is ''bnei Hezir'', usually written in English as Benei Hazir. The common misspelling ''Hazir'' is clearly wrong, since that means ''pig'' in Hebrew.
In the 19th century Westerners still identified the monument with the tomb of [[James, son of Alphaeus|St. James]] the Apostle.
==Benei Hezir family==
The tomb's inscription reveals that the cave was used by several generations of the Benei Hezir family.  As well, it indicates that this was a wealthy family, able to afford a burial cave in the Kidron Valley.  In the [[Hebrew Bible]] there are two mentions of men with the name of Hezir. One was the founder of the 17th [[Priestly divisions|priestly division]] ({{bibleverse|1 Chron.|24:15}}); the other one was among the leaders who set their seal to the covenant with [[Nehemiah]] ({{bibleverse|Neh.|10:20}}). It is not known if there is a relation between the family buried here and the biblical Hezirs.
==Nefesh==
The inscription mentions a ''nefesh'' (נפש : literally meaning ''soul''), which is also a designation for a magnificent structure built on or alongside the tomb. It has been proposed that the Tomb of Zechariah, a solid rock-hewn object which stands by the entrance, and is thought to date from a similar period to the inscription,<ref>Rachel Hachlili, ''Jewish Funerary Customs, Practices and Rites in the Second Temple Period'' (2005), page 30</ref> is actually this ''nefesh''.<ref>Samuel Rocca, ''Herod's Judaea'', (2008), page 365</ref> Another option is that the additional facade to the north of the Doric ''dystilos-in-antis'' was the original ''nefesh''. Although it did not survive, it is possible to reconstruct the upper part of the above-mentioned facade as a Nabataean tower with a decorative door and window; similar monuments can be seen in [[Petra]].
{{Commons|Bnei Hazir tomb}}
==See also==
*[[Rock-cut tombs in ancient Israel]]
*[[Aboud|Mokata 'Abud]]
*[[Khirbet Kurkush]]
*[[Deir ed Darb|Deir ed-Derb]]
*[[Jason's Tomb]]
*[[Tomb of Absalom]]
==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBuiNgPMZzg&t=58s The history of Benei Hezir]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Jewish mausoleums]]
[[Category:Mount of Olives]]
[[Category:Rock-cut tombs]]
[[Category:Tombs in Israel]]