Nature
Caves in the Bible
30 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.
Shelter and hiding
- Lot and his two daughters lived in a cave in the mountainsGen 19:30
The verses
Gen 19:30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
- Elijah spent the night in a cave at Horeb1 Kgs 19:8–9
The verses
1 Kgs 19:8–9So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- He wrapped his face in his cloak and stood at the cave’s mouth1 Kgs 19:13
The verses
1 Kgs 19:13When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Five kings hid in the cave at MakkedahJosh 10:16–17
The verses
Josh 10:16–17Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. And Joshua was informed: “The five kings have been found; they are hiding in the cave at Makkedah.”
- Joshua had large stones rolled against its mouthJosh 10:18
The verses
Josh 10:18So Joshua said, “Roll large stones against the mouth of the cave, and post men there to guard them.
- Afterward the stones stayed against the cave “to this day”Josh 10:27
The verses
Josh 10:27At sunset Joshua ordered that they be taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave in which they had hidden. Then large stones were placed against the mouth of the cave, and the stones are there to this day.
- Israelites hid in caves, thickets, rocks, cellars and cisterns1 Sam 13:6
The verses
1 Sam 13:6Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns.
- The Philistines: “The Hebrews are coming out of the holes”1 Sam 14:11
The verses
1 Sam 14:11So the two of them showed themselves to the outpost of the Philistines, who exclaimed, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they were hiding!”
- Obadiah hid a hundred prophets, fifty to a cave, with food and water1 Kgs 18:4, 1 Kgs 18:13
The verses
1 Kgs 18:4for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
1 Kgs 18:13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the LORD? I hid a hundred prophets of the LORD, fifty men per cave, and I provided them with food and water.
- Samson stayed in the cave at the rock of EtamJudg 15:8, Judg 15:11
The verses
Judg 15:8And he struck them ruthlessly with a great slaughter, and then went down and stayed in the cave at the rock of Etam.
Judg 15:11In response, three thousand men of Judah went to the cave at the rock of Etam, and they asked Samson, “Do you not realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?” “I have done to them what they did to me,” he replied.
- David took refuge in the cave of Adullam; about 400 men joined him1 Sam 22:1–2
The verses
1 Sam 22:1–2So David left Gath and took refuge in the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. And all who were distressed or indebted or discontented rallied around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
- Three chief men came to David at the cave of Adullam at harvest2 Sam 23:13, 1 Chr 11:15
The verses
2 Sam 23:13At harvest time, three of the thirty chief men went down to David at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
1 Chr 11:15Three of the thirty chief men went down to David, to the rock at the cave of Adullam, while a company of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim.
- Saul went into a cave where David hid; David cut off his robe’s corner1 Sam 24:3–4
The verses
1 Sam 24:3–4Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, where there was a cave, and he went in to relieve himself. And David and his men were hiding in the recesses of the cave. So David’s men said to him, “This is the day about which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do with him as you wish.’” Then David crept up secretly and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
- David came out of the cave and called after Saul1 Sam 24:8
The verses
1 Sam 24:8After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed facedown in reverence
- Two psalm headings: David “in the cave”Ps 57:1, Ps 142:1
The verses
Ps 57:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave. Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
Ps 142:1A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer. I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift my voice to the LORD for mercy.
- Outcasts lived among the rocks and in holes in the groundJob 30:6
The verses
Job 30:6so that they lived on the slopes of the wadis, among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
- Some hid in caves and holes in the groundHeb 11:38
The verses
Heb 11:38The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.
Burial caves
- Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the HittiteGen 23:9, Gen 23:17–20
The verses
Gen 23:9to sell me the cave of Machpelah that belongs to him; it is at the end of his field. Let him sell it to me in your presence for full price, so that I may have a burial site.”
Gen 23:17–20So Ephron’s field at Machpelah near Mamre, the cave that was in it, and all the trees within the boundaries of the field were deeded over to Abraham’s possession in the presence of all the Hittites who had come to the gate of his city. After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field at Machpelah near Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. So the field and its cave were deeded by the Hittites to Abraham as a burial site.
- Isaac and Ishmael buried Abraham thereGen 25:9–10
The verses
Gen 25:9–10His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite. This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried there with his wife Sarah.
- Jacob: Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and Leah lay in that caveGen 49:29–32
The verses
Gen 49:29–32Then Jacob instructed them, “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. The cave is in the field of Machpelah near Mamre, in the land of Canaan. This is the field Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is in it were purchased from the Hittites.”
- Jacob’s sons carried him from Egypt to MachpelahGen 50:13
The verses
Gen 50:13They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave at Machpelah in the field near Mamre, which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
- Lazarus’s tomb was a cave with a stone laid across the entranceJohn 11:38
The verses
John 11:38Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
- Jesus’ tomb was cut into the rock, a stone rolled across itMatt 27:60, Mark 15:46
The verses
Matt 27:60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Mark 15:46So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.
Sayings
Sources
From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain