Sacred To

This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.

Palestine gathers three cities named in the Hebrew Bible, each holding a shrine venerated by more than one tradition that traces itself to it.

Hebron holds the Cave of the Patriarchs, Ma'arat HaMachpelah in Hebrew and the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslims, the double cave that Genesis 23 describes Abraham purchasing from Ephron the Hittite as a family burial ground, tradition holding it contains Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. Herod the Great built the enclosure over the site, the second holiest place in Judaism after the Temple Mount, venerated across all three faiths since Abraham is father to Isaac in the Jewish and Christian line and to Ishmael in the Islamic one.

Bethlehem is named as the home of David and in the prophecy at Micah 5, and the gospels of Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus there. The Church of the Nativity, built over a cave venerated as the birthplace and rebuilt under Justinian, is among the oldest churches still in use and is shared under a status quo arrangement between Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic custodians. Rachel's Tomb nearby is venerated in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition alike.

Jericho, among the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, holds its place here through the Book of Joshua's account of its walls falling after the Ark of the Covenant was carried around it for seven days, though excavation has not confirmed the biblical timeline. The New Testament sets the healing of Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus's story at Jericho, and the nearby Umayyad era Hisham's Palace, with its mosaic floor, reflects the city's continued significance into the early Islamic period.

All three carry a shrine two or more traditions still visit for reasons neither tradition invented alone.