Is the Kaaba mentioned in the Bible?

Answer 1

Another answer from our community:

The Qur'ân talks about Bakkah (the older name of Makkah) being the first house of worship appointed for mankind. It also addresses this place as Mother of the Settlements.

The Bible seems to mentions about the valley of Baca in connection with the pilgrimage. Below is the quote from Psalms 84 (NIV):

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob.

9 Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.

10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

12 O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

The original Hebrew text can be translated as "Valley of the Balsam Tree" or "Valley of the Weeper". The following verse then mentions the site is in Zion, which is nowhere near the site of interest of the Muslims.

Hence, the Bible appears to mention the Kaaba, but upon closer examination, one will realize that the place that is mentioned is not the Kaaba. Besides, if Moses, Abraham and all the prophets are Muslim as the Qur'an claims, the bible (at least the Torah, which is supposed to be the book which the prophets have recorded everything from God) would have mentioned the Kaaba several times, but that is the only seeming reference to the cube. If you are to argue that God made a mistake all along, then what makes you think He will not be wrong this time?

Answer 2

No. The Kaaba is a sacred building in Mecca. Prior to the advent of Islam, it was a place of pagan worship of such considerable importance that even Christians and Jews came to Mecca to worship there. It may not have existed at the time the Bible was written.