| |
Easton's Bible Dictionary
So called from the olive trees with which its sides are
clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem ( 1
Kings 11:7 ; Ezekiel
11:23 ; Zechariah
14:4 ), from which it is separated by the valley of Kidron. It is first mentioned
in connection with David's flight from Jerusalem through the rebellion of Absalom
( 2
Samuel 15:30 ), and is only once again mentioned in the Old Testament, in
Zechariah
14:4. It is, however, frequently alluded to ( 1
Kings 11:7 ; 2
Kings 23:13 ; Nehemiah
8:15 ; Ezekiel
11:23 ).
It is frequently mentioned in the New Testament ( Matthew
21:1 ; 26:30
, etc.). It now bears the name of Jebel et-Tur, i.e., "Mount of the Summit;" also
sometimes called Jebel ez-Zeitun, i.e., "Mount of Olives." It is about 200 feet
above the level of the city. The road from Jerusalem to Bethany runs as of old
over this mount. It was on this mount that Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem.
"No name in Scripture," says Dr. Porter, "calls up associations at once so sacred
and so pleasing as that of Olivet. The 'mount' is so intimately connected with
the private, the devotional life of the Saviour, that we read of it and look at
it with feelings of deepest interest and affection. Here he often sat with his
disciples, telling them of wondrous events yet to come, of the destruction of
the Holy City; of the sufferings, the persecution, and the final triumph of his
followers ( Matthew
24 ). Here he gave them the beautiful parables of the ten virgins and the
five talents (Matthew
25); here he was wont to retire on each evening for meditation, and prayer,
and rest of body, when weary and harassed by the labours and trials of the day
( Luke
21:37 ); and here he came on the night of his betrayal to utter that wonderful
prayer, 'O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless
not as I will, but as thou wilt' ( Matthew
26:39 ). And when the cup of God's wrath had been drunk, and death and the
grave conquered, he led his disciples out again over Olivet as far as to Bethany,
and after a parting blessing ascended to heaven ( Luke
24:50 , 24:51
; Acts
1:12 )."
This mount, or rather mountain range, has four summits or peaks:
(1) the "Galilee" peak, so called from a tradition
that the angels stood here when they spoke to the disciples ( Acts
1:11 );
(2) the "Mount of Ascension," the supposed site of that event, which was, however,
somewhere probably nearer Bethany ( Luke
24:51 , 24:52
);
(3) the "Prophets," from the catacombs on its side, called "the prophets' tombs;"
and
(4) the "Mount of Corruption," so called because of the "high places" erected
there by Solomon for the idolatrous worship of his foreign wives ( 1
Kings 11:7 ; 2
Kings 23:13 ; Vulg., "Mount of Offence"). |
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
"The Mount of Olives" occurs in the Old Testament in
( Zechariah
14:4 ) only. In ( 2
Samuel 15:30 ) it is called "Olivet;" in other places simply "the mount,"
( Nehemiah
8:15 ) "the mount facing Jerusalem" ( 1
Kings 11:7 ) or "the mountain which is on the east aide of the city." ( Ezekiel
11:23 ) In the New Testament the usual form is "the Mount of Olives." It is
called also "Olivet." ( Acts
1:12 ) This mountain is the well-known eminence on the east of Jerusalem,
intimately connected with some of the gravest events of the history of the Old
Testament and the New Testament, the scene of the flight of David and the triumphal
progress of the Son of David, of the idolatry-of Solomon, and the agony and betrayal
of Christ. It is a ridge of rather more than a mile in length, running in general
direction north and south, covering the whole eastern side of the city. At its
northern end the ridge bends round to the west so as to form an enclosure to the
city on that side also. On the north a space of nearly a mile of tolerably level
surface intervenes between the walls of the city and the rising ground; on the
east the mount is close to the walls, parted only by the narrow ravine of the
Kidron. It is this portion which is the real Mount of Olives of the history. In
general height it is not very much above-the city: 300 feet higher than the temple
mount, hardly more than 100 above the so-called Zion. It is rounded, swelling
and regular in form. Proceeding from north to south there occur four independent
summits, called -- 1, "Viri Galilaei:" 2, "Mount of Ascension;" 3, "Prophets"
--subordinate to the last and almost a part of it; 4, "Mount of Offence."
1. There remains the "Viri Galilaei," about 400 yards from
the "Mount of Ascension." It stands directly opposite the northeast corner of
Jerusalem, and is approached by the path between it and the "Mount of Ascension."
2. Of these the central one -the "Mount of Ascension"--is the most important.
Three paths lead from the valley to the summit-one on the north, in the hollow
between the two crests of the hill another over the summit, and a third winding
around the southern shoulder still the most frequented and the best. The central
hill, which we are now considering, purports to contain the sites of some of the
most sacred and impressive events of Christian history. The majority of these
sacred spots now command little or no attention; but three still remain, sufficiently
sacred--if authentic--to consecrate any place. These are--
(1) Gethsemane, at the foot of the
mount;
[GETHSEMANE]
(2) The spot from which our Saviour ascended on the summit;
(3) The place of the lamentation of Christ over Jerusalem, halfway up. Of these,
Gethsemane is the only one which has any claim to be authentic. |
3. Next to the central summit, on the southern side is
a hill remarkable only for the fact that it contains the "singular catacomb" known
as the "Tombs of the Prophets," probably in allusion to the words of Christ. (
Matthew
23:29 )
4. The most southern portion of the Mount of Olives is that usually known as the
"Mount of Offence," Mons Offensionis . It rises next to that last mentioned. The
title "Mount of Offence," or "Scandal," was bestowed on the supposition that it
is the "Mount of Corruption" on which Solomon erected the high places for the
gods of his foreign wives. ( 2
Kings 23:13 ; 1
Kings 11:7 ) The southern summit is considerably lower than the centre one.
|
The presence of a number of churches and other edifices must have rendered the
Mount of Olives, during the early and middle ages of Christianity, entirely unlike
what it was in the time of the Jewish kingdom or of our Lord. Except the high
places on the summit, the only buildings then to be seen were probably the walls
of the vineyards and gardens and the towers and presses which were their invariable
accompaniment. But though the churches are nearly all demolished, there must be
a considerable difference between the aspect of the mountain now and in those
days when it received its name from the abundance of its olive proves. It does
not now stand so pre-eminent in this respect among the hills in the neighborhood
of Jerusalem. It is only in the deeper and more secluded slope leading up to the
northernmost summit that these venerable trees spread into anything like a forest.
The cedars commemorated by the Talmud sad the date-palms implied in the name Bethany
have fared still worse; there is not one of either to be found within many miles.
Two religious ceremonies performed there must have done much to increase the numbers
who resorted to the mount. The appearance of the new moon was probably watched
for, certainly proclaimed, from the summit. The second ceremony referred to was
the burning of the red heifer. This solemn ceremonial was enacted on the central
mount, and in a spot so carefully specified that it would seem not difficult to
fix it. It was due east of the sanctuary, and at such an elevation on the mount
that the officiating priest, as he slew the animal and sprinkled blood, could
see the facade of the sanctuary through the east gate of the temple.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ol'-ivz, (har ha-zethim (Zechariah 14:4), ma'aleh ha-zethim,
"the ascent of the mount of Olives" (2 Samuel 15:30 , the King James Version "the
ascent of (mount) Olivet"); to oros ton elaion, "the Mount of Olives" (Matthew
21:1 ; 24:3 ; 26:30 ; Mark 11:1 ; 13:3 ; 14:26 ; Luke 19:37 ; 22:39 ; John 8:1),
to oros to kaloumenon elaion, "the mount that is called Olivet" (Luke 19:29 ;
21:37 ; in both references in the King James Version "the mount called (the mount)
of Olives"), tou elaionos (Acts 1:12, English Versions of the Bible "Olivet" literally,
"olive garden")):
Olivet comes to us through the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Oliverum,
"an oliveyard."
1. Names
Josephus frequently uses the expression "Mount of Olives" (e.g. Ant, VII, ix,
2; XX, viii, 6; BJ, V, ii, 3; xii, 2), but later Jewish writings give the name
har ha-mishchah, "Mount of Oil"; this occurs in some manuscripts in 2 Kings 23:13,
and the common reading har ha-mashchith, "Mount of Corruption," margin "destruction,"
may possibly be a deliberate alteration (see below). In later ages the Mount was
termed "the mountain of lights," because here there used to be kindled at one
time the first beacon light to announce throughout Jewry the appearance of the
new moon.
To the natives of Palestine today it is usually known as Jebel et Tar ("mountain
of the elevation," or "tower"), or, less commonly, as Jebel Tur ez zait ("mountain
of the elevation of oil"). The name Jebel ez-zaitun ("Mount of Olives") is also
well known. Early Arabic writers use the term Tur Zait, "Mount of Oil."
2. Situation and Extent
The mountain ridge which lies East of Jerusalem leaves the central range near
the valley of Sha'phat and runs for about 2 miles due South. After culminating
in the mountain mass on which lies the "Church of the Ascension," it may be considered
as giving off two branches: one lower one, which runs South-Southwest, forming
the southern side of the Kidron valley, terminating at the Wady en Nar, and another,
higher one, which slopes eastward and terminates a little beyond el-'Azareyeh
(modern Bethany). The main ridge is considerably higher than the site of ancient
Jerusalem, and still retains a thick cap of the soft chalky limestone, mixed with
flint, known variously as Nari and Ka'kuli, which has been entirely denuded over
the Jerusalem site (see JERUSALEM, II, 1). The flints were the cause of a large
settlement of paleolithic man which occurred in prehistoric times on the northern
end of the ridge, while the soft chalky stone breaks down to form a soil valuable
for the cultivation of olives and other trees and shrubs. The one drawback to
arboriculture upon this ridge is the strong northwest wind which permanently bends
most trees toward the Southeast, but affects the sturdy, slow-growing olive less
than the quicker-growing pine. The eastern slopes are more sheltered. In respect
of wind the Mount of Olives is far more exposed than the site of old Jerusalem.
The lofty ridge of Olivet is visible from far, a fact now emphasized by the high
Russian tower which can be seen for many scores of miles on the East of the Jordan.
The range presents, from such a point of view particularly, a succession of summits.
Taking as the northern limit the dip which is crossed by the ancient Anathoth
('anata) road, the most northerly summit is that now crowned by the house and
garden of Sir John Gray Hill, 2,690 ft. above sea-level. This is sometimes incorrectly
pointed out as Scopus, which lay farther to the Northwest. A second sharp dip
in the ridge separates this northern summit from the next, a broad plateau now
occupied by the great Kaiserin Augusta Victoria Stiftung and grounds. The road
makes a sharp descent into a valley which is traversed from West to East by an
important and ancient road from Jerusalem, which runs eastward along the Wady
er Rawabeh. South of this dip lies the main mass of the mountain, that known characteristically
as the Olivet of ecclesiastical tradition. This mass consists of two principal
summits and two subsidiary spurs. The northern of the two main summits is that
known as Karem es Sayyad, "the vineyard of the hunter," and also as "Galilee,"
or, more correctly, as Viri Galilaei (see below, 7). It reaches a height of 2,723
ft. above the Mediterranean and is separated from the southern summit by a narrow
neck traversed today by the carriage road. The southern summit, of practically
the same elevation, is the traditional "Mount of the Ascension," and for several
years has been distinguished by a lofty, though somewhat inartistic, tower erected
by the Russians. The two subsidiary spurs referred to above are:
(1) A somewhat isolated ridge running Southeast, upon which
lies the squalid village of el 'Azareyeh--Bethany;
(2) A small spur running South, covered with grass, which is known as "the Prophets,"
on account of a remarkable 4th-century Christian tomb found there, which is known
as "the tomb of the Prophets"--a spot much venerated by modern Jews.
A further extension of the ridge as Batn el Hawa, "the belly of the wind," or
traditionally as "the Mount of Offence" (compare 1 Kings 11:7 ; 2 Kings 23:13),
is usually included in the Mount of Olives, but its lower altitude--it is on a
level with the temple-platform--and its position South of the city mark it off
as practically a distinct hill. Upon its lower slopes are clustered the houses
of Silwan (Siloam).
The notices of the Mount of Olives in the Old Testament are, considering its nearness
to Jerusalem, remarkably scanty. |
3. Old Testament Associations
(1) David's Escape from Absalom
David fleeing before his rebellious son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:16) crossed the Kidron
and "went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and
he had his head covered, and went barefoot: and all the people that were with
him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went (2 Samuel
15:30). .... And it came to pass, that, when David was come to the top of the
ascent where he was wont to worship God, (m), behold, Hushai the Archite came
to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head (2 Samuel 15:32). And
when David was a little past the top of the ascent, behold, Ziba the servant of
Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred
loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits,
and a bottle of wine" (2 Samuel 16:1).
It is highly probable that David's route to the wilderness was neither by the
much-trodden Anathoth road nor over the summit of the mountain, but by the path
running Northeast from the city, which runs between the Viri Galilaei hill and
that supporting the German Sanatorium and descends into the wilderness by Wady
er Rawabi.
See BAHURIM.
(2) The Vision of Ezekiel
Ezekiel in a vision (Ezekiel 11:23) saw the glory of Yahweh go up from the midst
of the city and stand "upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city"
(compare Ezekiel 43:2). In connection with this the Rabbi Janna records the tradition
that the shekhinah stood 3 1/2 years upon Olivet, and preached, saying, "Seek
ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near"--a strange
story to come from a Jewish source, suggesting some overt reference to Christ.
(3) The Vision of Zechariah
In Zechariah 14:4 the prophet sees Yahweh in that day stand upon the Mount of
Olives, "and the Mount of Olives shall be cleft 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."
In addition to these direct references, Jewish tradition associates with this
mount--this "mount of Corruption"--the rite of the red heifer (Numbers 19); and
many authorities consider that this is also the mount referred to in Nehemiah
8:15, whence the people are directed to fetch olive branches, branches of wild
olive, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of thick trees to make their
booths. |
4. High Places
It is hardly possible that a spot with such a wide outlook--especially the marvelous
view over the Jordan valley and Dead Sea to the lands of Ammon and Moab--should
have been neglected in the days when Semitic religion crowned such spots with
their sanctuaries. There is Old Testament evidence that there was a "high place"
here. In the account of David's flight mention is made of the spot on the summit
"where he was wont to worship God" (2 Samuel 15:32 margin). This is certainly
a reference to a sanctuary, and there are strong reasons for believing that this
place may have been NOB (which see) (see 1 Samuel 21:1 ; 22:9 , 11 , 19 ; Nehemiah
11:32 ; but especially Isaiah 10:32). This last reference seems to imply a site
more commanding in its outlook over the ancient city than Ras el Musharif proposed
by Driver, one at least as far South as the Anathoth road, or even that from Wady
er Rawabi. But besides this we have the definite statement (1 Kings 11:7): "Then
did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the mount
that is before (i.e. East of) Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the
children of Ammon," and the further account that the "high places that were before
(East of) Jerusalem, which were on the right hand (South) of the mount of corruption
(margin "destruction") which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth
the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and
for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king (Josiah) defile"
(2 Kings 23:13). That these high places were somewhere upon what is generally
recognized as the Mount of Olives, seems clear, and the most probable site is
the main mass where are today the Christian sanctuaries, though Graetz and Dean
Stanley favor the summit known as Viri Galilaei. It is the recognition of this
which has kept alive the Jewish name "Mount of Corruption" for this mount to this
day. The term Mons offensionis, given to the southeastern extension, South of
the city, is merely an ecclesiastical tradidition going back to Quaresmius in
the 17th century, which is repeated by Burckhardt (1823 AD).
5. Olivet and Jesus
More important to us are the New Testament associations of this sacred spot. In
those days the mountain must have been far different from its condition today.
Titus in his siege of Jerusalem destroyed all the timber here as elsewhere in
the environs, but before this the hillsides must have been clothed with verdure--oliveyards,
fig orchards and palm groves, with myrtle and other shrubs. Here in the fresh
breezes and among the thick foliage, Jesus, the country-bred Galilean, must gladly
have taken Himself from the noise and closeness of the over-crowded city. It is
to the Passion Week, with the exception of John 8:1, that all the incidents belong
which are expressly mentioned as occurring on the Mount of Olives; while there
would be a special reason at this time in the densely packed city, it is probable
that on other occasions also our Lord preferred to stay outside the walls. Bethany
would indeed appear to have been His home in Judea, as Capernaum was in Galilee.
Here we read of Him as staying with Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38 - 42); again He
comes to Bethany from the wilderness road from Jericho for the raising of Lazarus
(John 11), and later He is at a feast, six days before the Passover (John 12:1),
at the house of Simon (Matthew 26:6-12 ; Mark 14:3 - 9 ; John 12:1-9). The Mount
of Olives is expressly mentioned in many of the events of the Passion Week. He
approached Jerusalem, "unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives" (Mark
11:1 ; Matthew 21:1 ; Luke 19:29); over a shoulder of this mount--very probably
by the route of the present Jericho carriage road--He made His triumphal entry
to the city (Matthew 21 ; Mark 11 ; Luke 19), and on this road, when probably
the full sight of the city first burst into view, He wept over Jerusalem (Luke
19:41). During all that week "every day he was teaching in the temple; and every
night he went out, and lodged in the mount that is called Olivet" (Luke 21:37)--the
special part of the mount being Bethany (Matthew 21:17; Mark 11:11). It was on
the road from Bethany that He gave the sign of the withering of the fruitless
fig tree (Matthew 21:17-19; Mark 11:12-14,20-24), and "as he sat on the mount
of Olives" (Matthew 24:3 ; Mark 13:3) Jesus gave His memorable sermon with the
doomed city lying below Him.
On the lower slopes of Olivet, in the Garden of Gethsemane (see GETHSEMANE), Jesus
endured His agony, the betrayal and arrest, while upon one of its higher points--not,
as tradition has it, on the inhabited highest summit, but on the secluded eastern
slopes "over against Bethany" (Luke 24:50-52)--He took leave of His disciples
(compare Acts 1:12).
6. View of the City from Olivet
The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives must ever be one of the most striking
impressions which any visitor to Jerusalem carries away with him. It has been
described countless times. It is today a view but of ruin and departed glory compared
with that over which Jesus wept. A modern writer with historic imagination has
thus graphically sketched the salient features of that sight: "We are standing
on the road from Bethany as it breaks round the Mount of Olives and on looking
northwest this is what we see. .... There spreads a vast stone stage, almost rectangular,
some 400 yards. North and South by 300 East and West, held up above Ophel and
the Kidron valley by a high and massive wall, from 50 to 150 ft. and more in height,
according to the levels of the rock from which it rises. Deep cloisters surround
this platform on the inside of the walls. .... Every gate has its watch and other
guards patrol the courts. The crowds, which pour through the south gates upon
the platform for the most part keep to the right; the exceptions, turning westward,
are excommunicated or in mourning. But the crowd are not all Israelites. Numbers
of Gentiles mingle with them; there are costumes and colors from all lands. In
the cloisters sit teachers with groups of disciples about them. On the open pavement
stand the booths of hucksters and money-changers; and from the North sheep and
bullocks are being driven toward the Inner Sanctuary. This lies not in the center
of the great platform, but in the northwest corner. It is a separately fortified,
oblong enclosure; its high walls with their 9 gates rising from a narrow terrace
at a slight elevation above the platform and the terrace encompassed by a fence
within which none but Israelites may pass. .... Upon its higher western end rises
a house 'like a lion broad in front and narrow behind.' .... From the open porch
of this house stone steps descend to a great block of an altar perpetually smoking
with sacrifices. .... Off the Northwest of the Outer Sanctuary a castle (the Antonia)
dominates the whole with its 4 lofty towers. Beyond .... the Upper City rises
in curved tiers like a theater, while all the lower slopes to the South are a
crowded mass of houses, girded by the eastern wall of the city. Against that crowded
background the sanctuary with its high house gleams white and fresh. But the front
of the house, glittering with gold plates, is obscured by a column of smoke rising
from the altar; and the Priests' Court about the latter is colored by the slaughterers
and sacrifices--a splash of red, as our imagination takes it, in the center of
the prevailing white. At intervals there are bursts of music; the singing of psalms,
the clash of cymbals and a great blare of trumpets, at which the people in their
court in the Inner Sanctuary fall down and worship" (extracts from G.A. Smith's
Jerusalem, II, 518-20).
7. Churches and Ecclesiastical Traditions
To the Bible student the New Testament is the best guide to Olivet; tradition
and "sites" only bewilder him. Once the main hilltop was a mass of churches. There
was the "Church of the Ascension" to mark the spot whereby tradition (contrary
to the direct statement of Luke) states that the Ascension occurred; now the site
is marked by a small octagonal chapel, built in 1834, which is in the hands of
the Moslems. There a "footprint of Christ" is shown in the rock. A large basilica
of Helena was built over the place where it was said that Christ taught His disciples.
In 1869 the Princess de Latour d'Auvergne, learning that there was a Moslem tradition
that this site was at a spot called el Battaniyeh south of the summit, here erected
a beautiful church known as the Church of the Pater Noster and around the courtyard
she had the Lord's Prayer inscribed in 32 languages. When the church was in course
of erection certain fragments of old walls and mosaics were found, but, in 1911,
as a result of a careful excavation of the site, the foundations of a more extensive
mass of old buildings, with some beautiful mosaic in the baptistry, were revealed
in the neighborhood; there is little doubt but that these foundations belonged
to the actual Basilica of Helena. It is proposed to rebuild the church.
Mention has been made of the name Viri Galilaei or Galilee as given to the northern
summit of the main mass of Olivet. The name "Mount Galilee" appears to have been
first given to this hill early in the 4th century and in 1573 AD Rawolf explains
the name by the statement that here was in ancient times a khan where the Galileans
lodged who came up to Jerusalem. In 1620 Quaresmius applies the names "Galilee"
and Viri Galilaei to this site and thinks the latter name may be due to its having
been the spot where the two angels appeared and addressed the disciples as "Ye
men of Galilee" (Acts 1:11). Attempts have been made, without much success, to
maintain that this "Galilee" was the spot which our Lord intended (Matthew 28:10
, 16) to indicate to His disciples as the place of meeting.
The Russian enclosure includes a chapel, a lofty tower--from which a magnificent
view is obtainable--a hospice and a pleasant pine grove. Between the Russian buildings
to the North and the Church of the Ascension lies the squalid village of et tur,
inhabited by a peculiarly turbulent and rapacious crowd of Moslems, who prey upon
the passing pilgrims and do much to spoil the sentiment of a visit to this sacred
spot. It is possible it may be the original site of BETHPHAGE (which see).
LITERATURE.
PEF, Memoirs, "Jerusalem" volume; G. A. Smith, Jerusalem; Robinson, BRP, I, 1838;
Stanley, Sinai and Palestine; Baedeker's Palestine and Syria (by Socin and Bensinger);
Tobler, Die Siloahquelle und der Oelberg, 1852; Porter, Murray's Palestine and
Syria; R. Hofmann, Galilaea auf dem Oelberg, Leipzig, 1896; Schick, "The Mount
of Olives," PEFS, 1889, 174-84; Warren, article "Mount of Olives," in HDB; Gauthier,
in EB, under the word; Vincent (Pere), "The Tombs of the Prophets," Revue Biblique,
1901.
E. W. G. Masterman
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, galilee peak, har ha-mishchah, jebel et tar, jebel ez-zeitun, jesus ascended on the summit, mount of ascension, mount of corruption, mount of olives, mount of the summit, olive garden, olivet, prophets tombs, the mount
Comments:
|
 |
|
