Honoring Relics

The Patriarchs commanded their sons to take their bones out of Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land. Their bones were buried in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. To this day, Jews go there to pray.

First-century Jews actively prayed at the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and frequently sought the intercession of the patriarchs. Historical, literary, and archaeological evidence demonstrates that early Christians directly carried on this tradition.

First-century Jewish thought held that the deceased righteous remained consciously alive and deeply relational.

Early Christians did not invent the practice of praying at graves or asking for the intercession of holy figures; they inherited it directly from Second Temple Judaism.