Mount of Olives
Mount Of Olives
MOUNT OF OLIVES ( , Mat 21:1; Mat 24:3; Mat 26:30, Mar 13:3; Mar 14:26, Luk 19:37; Luk 22:39, Joh 8:1; and , Luk 19:29; Luk 21:37).One of the universally accepted holy sites around Jerusalem. It is to-day known as Jebel et-Tr (the mountain of the elevation or tower) by the Moslems, and as Jebel ez-Zeitn (the mount of olives) by native Christians and, indeed, also by Moslems. By the Jews, besides the above mentioned, the name mountain of light has also been given, from the fact that here used to be kindled the first beacon-fire to signalize through the land the appearance of each new moon.
The mount due east of Jerusalem forms the culminating height of a range which, separating itself from the central plateau near the village of Shaphat, runs for two miles, first S. and then S. W., and terminates beyond the village of Silwn at the Wady en-Nr. The beginning of the range has very generally been accepted as the Scopus (prospect) of Josephus, and the part running S. W.Batn el-Hawaconsiderably lower than the part east of the city and not higher than the Temple area itself, has by many been identified as the Mount of Offence. Although these have been described by some authorities as parts of the Mount of Olives, there seems no real reason for including them in the description, and to do so is confusing.
The natural boundaries of Olivet are to-day well defined by two ancient roads. To the N. a very ancient highway to Jericho, after traversing a deep bay* [Note: This open valley, in which to-day are many olives and also at least one ancient olive press, is an attractive site for Gethsemane (which see), though it must be admitted that tradition is all against it.] in the range, which from the city side seems to separate the range into two, crosses a low neck cutting off the northern part, now crowned by the house of Sir John Grey Hill, from the southern loftier massthe true Mount of Olives. To the S. the road which runs to Bethany forms a convenient if somewhat arbitrary division, cutting off Olivet from the so-called Mount of Offence and from other spurs to the south. To the W. the boundary is sufficiently plainly marked off by the deep valley of the Kidron, while to the E. [Note: Elohist.] there are indications (see Luk 19:29; Luk 24:50; cf. Act 1:12) for including within the limits the projecting spur on which Bethany stands. Probably the limits were never defined geographically, but the whole area was distinguished, as it is to some extent to-day, by its thick plantations of olives, figs, and palms,hence the names Bethphage (house of figs) and Bethany (house of dates). This fertility, though no doubt most constantly observed by the city dwellers, to whom the beautiful slopes, then as they do to-day, would appeal most refreshingly as viewed from the dirty, squalid streets, must also have held out to the tired and thirsty travellers, ascending the dry and dusty wilderness from the Jordan to the city, an enchanting prospect of coolness and refreshment. For this alone it would appear only reasonable to include the sites of the villages on the eastern side, with their abundant gardens, as an essential part of the Mount. There can be little doubt that in the days of Christ the hill was thickly spread with verdure over parts which to-day are given up to churches, hovels, and extensive cemeteries.
Viewing the mountain thus, two principal summits and two subsidiary spurs may be described. The N. summit is that known as Karem es-Sayud (the vineyard of the hunter), and also as the Viri Galili; it reaches a height of 2723 feet above the Mediterranean, and is separated from the S. mass by a narrow neck of land traversed to-day by the new carriage road. As far back as 530 this hill is spoken of as Galilee, and in the Acts of Pilate (about 350) a mountain near Jerusalem called Galilee is mentioned, It is said to have first received its name because the Galilaeans attending the feasts used to encamp there, or as Saewulf (1102) says, it was called Galilee because the Apostles, who were called Galilaeans, frequently visited there.* [Note: Attempts have been made to harmonize the accounts of the appearances of Jesus after His resurrection by supposing that this was the place where He appointed His disciples to meet Him. A recent discussion of the subject by Lepsius will be found in Das Reich Christi, Nos. 7 and 8 (1902).] The S. summit, of practically equal height, is the traditional Mount of the Ascension, and has for some years been distinguished by a lofty tower erected by the Russians. Here, too, Constantine erected his Church of the Ascension in 316 on the site where now stands its successor (erected 18345) of the same name. Here also is the Church of the Creed and the Paternoster Church, the latter a modern building on the site of one of that name destroyed long ago. Scattered over the summit is a modern Moslem villageKefr et-Trwhich combines with the noisy conduct of its rapacious inhabitants in spoiling the quiet beauty and holy associations of this sacred spot.
A small spur running S. is sometimes known as the Hill of the Prophets, on account of the interesting old Tomb of the Prophetsa sepulchre generally believed, until recently, [Note: According to Father Vincent and M. Clermont-Ganneau, it is not Jewish, but belongs to the 4th or 5th cent. a.d. (see PEFSt, 1901, pp. 309317).] to have been originally Jewishwhich is situated there; and the other somewhat isolated spur to the S. E. [Note: Elohist.] , on which stands the wretched, half-ruined village of el-Azaryeh, on the site of Bethany, should, for reasons given, be included in the Mount.
Along the W. slopes facing the city lies the reputed Garden of Gethsemane (part, too, of the Mount, cf. Luk 22:39; see Gethsemane) of the Latins and its Greek rival; and a little higher up the hill to the S. the great Russian Church of St. Magdalene. The greater part of the slopes of the S. W. part of the hill is filled with a vast number of graves, those from the valley bottom till a little above the Bethany road being Jewish, while higher up are some Christian cemeteries. The Jews have a strong sentiment about being buried on this spot, the slopes of the Valley of Jehoshaphat being traditionally, with them and with the Moslems, the scene of the resurrection and final judgment.
Traversing this side of the Mount are three steep paths, all probably ancient. The most evident and important is the N. one, which continues the line of the path from the St. Stephens Gate and the Tomb of the Virgin. It runs along the depression between the two summits, and is the direct route for travellers crossing the Mount from or to Bethany. Too steep for riding, it is essentially the short cut for the pedestrian. The second path, still steeper, branches off from this just above the Garden of Gethsemane, and after passing the traditional scene of the lamentation of Jesus over the city, leads to-day to the Russian tower and buildings. It is the path of the modern pilgrim. The third, more gradual in ascent, starts from the Garden of Gethsemane and ascends the hill through Russian property in a S. direction, passing near the Tomb of the Prophets. Whether the first or second of these lies most in the direction of our Lords frequent passages from the city to the Mount of Olives and to Bethany, it is difficult to say, but it can hardly be supposed that He came by such a path on the morning of His triumphal entry into the city. The only likely course for the highroad of Roman times must have been in the general direction of the present Bethany and Jericho road; and, as Dean Stanley has suggested, the most natural site for the scene of the lamentation over the city is the point where this highroad crosses the S. W. shoulder of the Mount and the first full view of the city is obtained. A viaduct appears to have connected the Mount with the Temple hill, probably on the site of one of the two bridges which to-day span the dry torrent bed of the Kidron.
The Mount of Olives in the days of Christ must have presented rural fertility, verdure, and quiet very grateful to country visitors to the great metropolis; fresh mountain breeziness in contrast to the closeness and foulness of the city atmosphere, and a view of the beloved and sacred city in which all that was sordid was lost, and only the beauty and grandeur remained. This view is, when the historical associations are taken into consideration, probably the most fascinating in the Holy Land. It is seen at its best about the hour of sunset. In its essential details it is one on which the eyes of Christ must frequently have rested.
To the immediate W. is the Holy City, separated from the onlooker by the deep Valley of Jehoshaphat; just within the wall lies the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aksa mosque, and in the open space of the great Temple area figures of people may be discerned moving about. Beyond this enclosure lie, pile above pile, the domed houses of the modern city, interspersed with the minarets, the synagogue domes, and the church towers of the followers of the three great Semitic religions: most prominent of all are the two domes and the massive tower which go to make up the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Far to the W. lie the battlements of the so-called Tower of David, and behind that, on the horizon, the W. mountains of Judaea shut off the distant sea. The roar of the city is deadened, but the fresh breeze carries the chiming of many bells, the blast of a military bugle or the roar of a salute from the barracks, reminding the onlooker that it is no dead city of the far past he is looking at. Somewhat to the N. the eye passes from the close-packed streets of the Moslem and Christian quarters, past the long line of the N. wall, to the many buildings of the newer Jerusalem, chiefly mean Jewish houses, but among them many handsome buildings like the great French Hospice, the Russian Cathedral, or the Abyssinian Church. Here lies all that is progressive and of promise for the days to be. Beyond again, against the sky line to the N., rises the outline of Nebi Samwl crowning the height of Mipeh.
Turning S. the spectator sees the bare slopes south of the city walls, once thickly covered with the houses of the poor, terminating in the two deep valleys of Kidron and Hinnom, while on the opposite slope some of the houses of Silwn may be distinguished. Far to the S. in a gap in the hills lies the convent of Mar Elias on the road to Bethlehem; and to its left a crater-shaped hillthe Herodiumthe burial-place of Herod the Great.
As the eye passes gradually E. [Note: Elohist.] over the wilderness of Judaea, it is caught by the still beauty of the Dead Sea lying nearly 4000 feet below, but in the clear atmosphere looking very near, while behind lies the long level line of the beautiful hills of Moab. More in the foreground a few houses of Bethany appear, and behind them the village of Abu Dsinhabited by the hereditary robbers of the Jericho road. Northward of the great lake, beyond a vista of tumbled hills and parched valleys, lies the Jordan Valley, through the centre of which may be traced, by a serpentine line of green, the course of the famous river itself. Eastward of this the line of Moab is continued N. as the mountains of Gilead, with their one distinct summitJebel shaalmost directly E. [Note: Elohist.] of the onlooker.
Gospel incidents connected with the Mount of Olives.Although, with the single exception of Joh 8:1, all the incidents expressly connected with the Mount of Olives belong to the Passion week, there can be no doubt (Luk 21:37) that this quiet spot was one beloved and frequented by the Master. Here He withdrew from the city for rest and meditation (Joh 8:1) and for prayer (Mat 26:30 etc). Once we read of His approach to the Mount from the Eastern side unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives (Mar 11:1 || Mat 21:1 || Luk 19:29). Over a part of the Mount He must have made. His triumphal progress to the city (Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19), and on this road He wept over Jerusalem (Luk 19:40-44). During the whole of that week in the daytime he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out and abode in the Mount that is called of Olives (Luk 21:37)the special locality on the Mount being Bethany (Mat 21:17, Mar 11:11). Crossing over from Bethany, Jesus illustrated His teaching by the sign of the withering of the barren fig-tree (Mat 21:18-19 || Mar 11:12-14; Mar 11:20-22), and on the slopes of this hill, with the doomed city spread out before them, Christ delivered to His disciples His wonderful eschatological discourse (Mat 24:3 f. || Mar 13:3 f.). Then here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, occurred the Agony, the Betrayal, and the Arrest (Mat 26:36-56, Mar 14:26-52, Luk 22:39-53, Joh 18:1-12). Lastly, on the Mount, not on the summit where tradition places it, but near Bethany, occurred the Ascension (Luk 24:50-52, Act 1:12).
To these incidents where the Mount of Olives is expressly mentioned may be added the scene in the house of Martha and Mary (Luk 10:38-42), the raising of Lazarus (John 11), and the feast at the house of Simon (Mat 26:6-13, Mar 14:3-9, Joh 12:1-19); for, as has been shown, Bethany was certainly a part of the Mount of Olives.
Literature.PEF [Note: EF Palestine Exploration Fund.] Mem., Jerusalem volume; papers by Schick and others in the Quarterly Statements (PEFSt [Note: EFSt Quarterly Statement of the same.] ); Groves, art. Mount of Olives in Smiths DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] ; R. Hofman, Galila auf dem Oelberg, Leipzig, 1896; Porter in Murrays Handbook to Palestine; Robinson, BRP [Note: RP Biblical Researches in Palestine.] vol. i. (1838); Stanley, SP [Note: P Sinai and Palestine.] ; Socin and Benzinger in Baedekers Palestine and Syria; J. Tobler, Siloahquelle und Oelberg, 1852; Vincent (Pre), The Tombs of the Prophets in Revue Biblique, 1901; C. Warren, art. Mount of Olives in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible .
E. W. G. Masterman.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Mount of Olives
See OLIVES, MOUNT OF; JERUSALEM.