Sacred Biblical Mountains - Part Two

Continued...

Mount Zion: Mountain of the Holy Temple

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call." ~ Joel 2:32

While not exactly classified as a "mountain", Mount Zion is a very steep hill that once housed the First and Second Jewish Temples and is located just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The term "Mount Zion" has been used to describe the "City of David", the "Temple Mount", and the "Western Hill". In a broader sense, the term has also been used for the entire "Land of Israel".

According to the Book of Samuel, this sacred mountain was the site of the Jebusite fortress, which was conquered by King David. It would later be renamed the "City of David" and referred to as the "stronghold of Zion".  

During the time of Simon the Hasmonean (2nd century B.C.), the current temple mount was not the highest mountain. The original Temple site was desecrated by the Greeks during the time of the Maccabees. Simon the Hasmonean decided to remove Mount Zion and he leveled the land and threw it into the Tyropoeon and Kidron Valleys. He filled up the valley with the earth and wanted to join the upper city with the Temple. The name Mt. Zion was then transferred to the western hill and soon thereafter the city expanded to the west. 

The historian, Josephus, from the tribe of Levi, was alive during the destruction of the Herod's Temple in 70 A.D. and gave a firsthand account of its demise in Wars of the Jews. It is probable that Josephus served in the Temple and was allowed access to the high court records of the Second Temple as the historian gave precise details about its location, as well as the size and proportions of the temple. Per Josephus, Mount Zion was located between David's Citadel and the Tyropoeon Valley. This explains why the original mountain cannot be seen today. What you see now is not what Josephus was talking about.  

A few survivors of Masada wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem and stated the temple and the city were completely destroyed. They claim the only thing left standing was Antonia Fortress, which was not considered a part of Jerusalem at that time because it was outside of the city. Today, a minority of scholars and theologians believe the Western Wall was actually a part of the fortress, not part of the original Temple Mount.

Modern scholars have found the name "Zion" was not used in ordinary writing, but instead was used in correlation with religious prophecy and in poetic context (such as the Psalms). Regardless of the term's meaning and the actual location of Mount Zion, the name holds a great deal of spiritual significance.  

"Now on the north side of the Temple was built a citadel (Fort Antonia), whose walls were square and strong and of extraordinary firmness. The kings of the Hasmonaean dynasty, who were also high priests before the time of Herod, called it the Tower. It [Fort Antonia] dominated the Temple." ~ Flavius Josephus, Historian

Mount of Olives: The Mountain of David, Solomon and Jesus

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." ~ Zechariah 14:4

Unlike the other sacred biblical mountains mentioned, the Mount of Olives location is not in dispute. It is located among three peaks of a mountain ridge which runs east of the Old City across the Kidron Valley and is situated in the middle. The mount was named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. Mount Scopus is to the north and the Mount of Corruption lies on the south side.   

Mount of Olives, first mentioned in connection with David's flight from Absalom (2 Samuel 15:30), is frequently referenced in the New Testament.  According to the Bible, Jesus spent time on the mount with his Disciples, teaching and prophesying. The Bible records Jesus visiting the Mount of Olives three times in the last week of His earthly life, and each time something of significance happened (Luke 19:29–30; 37; 41-44).  

An apocalyptic prophesy foretold by Zechariah (14:4) states Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives [during the End Times] and the mountain will split in two - one half shifting north; one half shifting south. In one of Ezekiel's visions, the ancient prophet witnessed the glory of the Lord depart from Jerusalem and come to rest "above the mountain east of it." (Ezekiel 11:23)  

The Masoretic Text records people will flee through the newly formed valley to a place called Azal. Pertaining to geographic and linguistic evidence, Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, a 19th century linguist and archeologist in Palenstine, theorized the valley directly adjacent to this landslide is Azal.  

According to Jewish historian, Flavis Josephus, the valley in the area of the King's Gardens was blocked up by landslide rubble during Uzziah's earthquake. Israeli geologist, D. Wachs, identified the remnant of a large landslide on the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to this area.  Today, the valley is known as Wady Yasul in Arabic and Nahal Etzel in Hebrew.  

Roman soldiers from the 10th Legion camped on the mount during the Seige of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot was first held on the Mount of Olives in ancient times. It became a traditional place for lamenting the Second Temple's destruction even unto our modern times. Immediately following Jesus' ascension, two angels appeared on the Mount of Olives and told the Disciples. "this same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11).

One last interesting fact about the mount: for over 3,000 years, the Mount of Olives has been used as a Jewish cemetery and holds approximately 150,000+ graves today. Over the generations, the Jews have led an effort to prevent the desecration of graves on the mount.

"Christians tend to associate the Mount of Olives with the Messiah's suffering, Jews tend to associate it with the Messiah's glory. When we dig deeper, we see both, together." ~ Mark Barnes, from the article, "Mount of Olives: The Suffering and the Glory of the Messiah" (2019)

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These sacred mountains of many faiths and religions [around the world] continue to be revered by a large percentage of mankind and have been extensively researched by both ancient and modern scholars, as well as the theologians.

Sacred Biblical Mountains - Part One

Sacred mountains are a central factor to various religions and produce many wonderful legends. In reference to biblical mountains, the peak is usually symbolic because it is believed [at the top] is the closest mankind can get to a Superior Being who resides somewhere in the universe.

There are many religion-based traditions centered around sacred mountains, such as:  Mount Ararat in the Abrahamic religions and Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. Other mountains are related to famous events, such as: Mount Sinai in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In other cases, divine mountains can be purely mythical, such as: Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Then you have Mount Kailash, which is believed to be the residence of the Hindu gods, Shiva and Parvati (which are sacred to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism). Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna, were also considered revered as [they lay claim to being] the abode of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.  

The following will focus on four different sacred mountains that are well-known throughout the world. Part One includes Mount Ararat and Mount Sinai. Part Two will include Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives.

Mountains of Ararat: Mountain of Noah's Ark

"At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat." ~ Genesis 8:3-4  

For thousands of years many religious scholars have proclaimed Mount Ararat, located in present-day Turkey, is where Noah's ark came to rest, yet other biblical theologians point out Ararat is a large mountain range and Mt. Ararat is not necessarily the actual mountain in question. Since the Middle Ages the mountain range of Ararat has been identified as the resting place of Noah's ark, known as Masis. This sacred range corresponds to the ancient Assyrian mountain of Urartu, which was located east of Shinar (aka: Chaldaea or Babylonia).

According to the 1st century A.D. historian, Flavius Josephus, and quoting earlier historians such as, Berossus, Mnaseas and Nicolaus of Damascus, Josephus writes in his Antiquities of the Jews, "... the ark rested on the top of a certain mountain in Armenia... over Minyas, called Baris."

In the Latin Vulgate, Jerome of Stridon translated Genesis 8:4 to read, "... and the ark rested... on the mountain of Ararat." However, after the Second Vatican Council in 1962, the toponym is amended to the "mountains of Ararat".

The early Syrian tradition places the ark on Mount Judi in what is the southeastern section present-day Turkey in the Sirnak Province. Yet this particular association slowly faded after the Middle Ages and is now confined to Quranic tradition.

According to the Book of Jubilees, the holy mountain in question came to rest on the peak of Lubar, a mountain in the range of Ararat. 

In his book, Historie of the World (1614 A.D.), Sir Walter Raleigh implies in several chapters that in ancient times the mountains of Ararat included not only those of Armenia (east of Turkey), but also all of the taller mountain ranges extending into eastern Asia. Raleigh noted that since Armenia is not actually located east of Shinar, the ark must have landed somewhere in the Orient.

While the majority of scholars cannot pin-point the exact location of where Noah's ark landed, they do agree it was somewhere in the mountain range of Ararat.

"There is no doubt of the antiquity of the tradition of this (Mount Ararat) being (as it is sometimes termed) the "Mother of the World". ~ Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature-1894

Mount Sinai: Mountain of Moses

"Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire." ~ Exodus 19:17-18

Mount Sinai, located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, is considered by the Abrahamic religions to be the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. The mountain was traditionally known as Mount Horeb in Judaism and Christianity and referred to as Jabal Musa (Mount Moses) in Islam. The sacred mountain is near the present-day city of Saint Catherine in south Sinai Peninsula. It is surrounded on all sides by higher peaks in the mountain range Jabal al-Lawz which extends into Saudi Arabia.   

According to Acts 7:29-30, Moses fled from Egypt as a young man and lived in the area of Mt. Sinai. It was here, in the same place, that God instructed Moses to return after bringing the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt (Exodus 3:12).

Early Christians identified Mount Serbal, the fifth largest mountain in Egypt, as the holy landmark’s location. This mountain is situated in Wadi Feiran in southern Sinai. 

The historian, Josephus, reported in his writings that Mt. Sinai was the highest mountain in the area where Moses once lived. And the philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, said this same sacred mount was located east of the Sinai Peninsula and south of Palestine.

There is no concrete archaeological evidence that the 7,500-foot Mount Sinai is the holy peak mentioned in the Biblical account. However, as early as the 3rd century A.D., Christian recluses living in the Sinai’s remote wilderness began to identify this particular mount as Moses' mountain, even locating what they believed to be the burning bush near the base of the mountain. 

In 337 A.D., Empress Helena, the mother of Constantine [the emperor who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire in 313], made a pilgrimage to the site and ordered a chapel to be built around the bush. By the 6th century, when the complete departure of the Romans brought lawlessness to the region, the monastic community sought help from Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. The Byzantine emperor sent architects and masons, who from 527 to 565 built a fortified monastery complex, with 60-foot-high granite walls, to protect the community and its chapel. Justinian also sent men, most likely from Macedonia, to serve as guards. These Christians, over generations, intermarried with the indigenous Bedouin tribes and gradually converted to Islam and became known as the Jabaliya (“of the mountain”) tribe. The Prophet Muhammad visited the monastery in the 7th century and blessed it with a promise "that it would be cherished by Muslims for all time". Muhammed was convinced the monastery sat at the foot of Moses' mountain. Today, the monastery is home to a group of Greek Orthodox monks.

A small minority of scholars believe Mount Sinai is not in Egypt at all, but instead is located in Saudi Arabia. They believe that Moses traveled that way during the exile from Egypt. Another opinion, held by Emmanuel Anati - a modern archeologist - concludes that the holy landmark mountain is located at Har Karkom in Israel due to the biblical art found within the 2700-foot ridge.

While Mount Sinai’s exact location is disputed among many, it remains one of the most sacred mountains in biblical literature.

"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code; it contained many statutes . . . of universal application-laws essential to the existence of men in society, and most of which have been enacted by every nation which ever professed any code of laws." ~ President John Quincy Adams

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