On the top, in theUnited Nations buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli-occupied (originally Syrian) territories, is the highest permanently mannedUN position in the world, known as "Hermon Hotel",[4] located at 2814 metres altitude (9,232 ft).[5] The southern slopes of Mount Hermon extend to the Israeli-occupied portion of theGolan Heights, where theMount Hermon ski resort is located[6] with a top elevation of 2,040 metres (6,690 ft).[7]
Geography
Wider mountain range
TheAnti-Lebanon range, of which the Hermon range constitutes the southernmost part, extends for approximately 150 km (93 mi) in a northeast–southwest direction, running parallel to theLebanon range on the west.[8]
Hermon range
The relatively narrow Hermon range, with the Lebanon-Syria boundary along its spine, extends for 70 km (43 mi), from 25 km (16 mi) northeast of Mt. Hermon to 45 km (28 mi) southwest of it.[8] The Hermon range covers an area of about 700 km2 (270 sq mi) of which about 70 km2 (27 sq mi) are under Israeli control.[8] Mount Hermon is a cluster of mountains with three distinctsummits, each about the same height.[8] Most of the portion of Mount Hermon within the Israeli-controlled area constitutes theHermon nature reserve.[8][9]
Water and flora
The mountain forms one of the greatest geographic resources of the area. Because of its height it captures a great deal ofprecipitation in a very dry area of the world. TheJurassiclimestone is broken byfaults and solution channels to form akarst topography. Mount Hermon has seasonal winter and springsnow falls, which cover all three of its peaks for most of the year. Melt water from the snow-covered mountain's western and southern bases seeps into the rock channels and pores, feeding springs at the base of the mountain, which formstreams andrivers. These merge to become theJordan River.[10]
Therunoff facilitates fertile plant life below the snow line, wherevineyards andpine,oak, andpoplartrees are abundant.[10] TwoJewish liturgical poems from the 8th and 10th centuries indicate that vineyards were cultivated in the Hermon area during the early medieval period.[11]
Strategic importance
The springs, and the mountain itself, are much contested by the nations of the area for the use of the water. Mount Hermon is also called the "snowy mountain", the "gray-haired mountain", and the "mountain of snow". It is also called "the eyes of the nation" inIsrael because its elevation makes it Israel's primarystrategic early warning system.[12][13]
Various temples can be found in villages on the slopes of Mount Hermon.
Mount Hermon's name has been related to theSemitic rootḥrm, which means "taboo" or "consecrated", as in Hebrewḥerem (in several contexts:property,priestly gift andcensure), and in theArabic termal-ḥaram, which means "sacred enclosure".[14][15] The name Hermon does not appear in texts prior to the Bible, but other names of the mountain that are mentioned in the Bible: Siryon and Senir, appear in Bronze and Iron age texts.[16]
Execration texts
in the Egyptianexecration texts from the 19th century BC,šrynw (Siryon) is mentioned.[17]
Epic of Gilgamesh
TheEpic of Gilgamesh mentions that Mount Hermon[clarification needed] split after Gilgamesh killedHumbaba, the Guardian of the Cedar Forest. One translation of Tablet V states, "The ground split open with the heels of their feet, as they whirled around in circles Mt. Hermon and Lebanon split."[18]
One of the versions of theEpic of Gilgamesh mentionsša-ri-a ù la-ab-na-na – Siryon and Lebanon – as the place ofAnunnaki. This indicatesAmorite influence.[19]
Hittite contract
In the contract betweenMuršili II and Duppi-Teššup ofAmurru, two of the mountains that appear among the gods that witness the alliance are Lebanon and Siryon (šá-ri-ya-nu).[20][17]
Ugaritic religion
In the UgariticBaal Cycle, tabletKTU 1.4 IV, Baal goes "to Lebanon and his trees, Siryon – his desired cedars" for construction materials.[21]
In the royal inscriptions ofShalmaneser III, Shalmaneser wrote thatHazael fortified the peak of mountsa-ni-ru (Senir[17]) "which is before mount Lebanon", and that after the defeat of Hazael, Shalmaneser marched to theHauran.[24] In another part, Shalmaneser wrote that in his way from mount Lebanon to the cities of Hazael, he passed mount Saniru.[25]
The inscriptions ofEsarhaddon mention several times cedars and cypresses from the mountains Lebanon and Sirara as construction materials;[26] Sirara may be a version of Siryon.[27]
Hebrew Bible and apocrypha
Hermon in the spring, viewed from the Golan heights
InDeuteronomy 3:8–9 andJoshua 12:1 and 13:11, Mount Hermon is depicted as the northern boundary of theAmorite kingdom, which following the conquest by Joshua was awarded to the half-tribe of Manasseh east of theJordan River.[28]
TheHebrew Bible uses three names for Mount Hermon, stating in Deut 3:9 that "the Sidonians call HermonSiryon, while the Amorites call itSenir", but elsewhere (1Chr 5:23) seems to distinguish between Senir and Hermon, probably using the names for two of the three peaks of the Hermon range, while in Psalm 42:6 the Hebrew text uses the plural form, Hermonim, possibly also a reference to the three peaks.[29][30]
The pair Siryon and Lebanon appears inPsalm 29, which is considered by Scholars to have Canaanite origin or roots.[31]
TheBook of Chronicles mentions Mount Hermon as a place where Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel were the heads of their families (1 Chronicles 5:23-24).
InPsalm 42, which leads the Psalms of the northern kingdom, the Psalmist remembers God from the land of Jordan and the Hermonites. InSong of Songs 4:8, Hermon is an instance of an exotic locale, andPsalm 133, one of theSongs of Ascents, makes specific reference to the abundantdew formation upon Mount Hermon.[32] TheBook of Ezekiel (27:5), meanwhile, praises its cypresses (referring to it by its alternate name, Senir (cf. Deut. 3:9)).
In theapocryphalBook of Enoch, Mount Hermon is the place where theWatcher class offallen angels descended to Earth. They swear upon the mountain that they would take wives among the daughters of men and take mutual imprecation for their sin (Enoch 6).
According to the controversial research by ProfessorIsrael Knohl of the Hebrew University, in his bookHashem, Mount Hermon is actually theMount Sinai mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, with the biblical story reminiscent of an ancient battle of the northern tribes with the Egyptians somewhere in the Jordan Valley or Golan Heights.[33]
Qasr Antar inscription and Hermon as the "mountain of oath"
There is a sacred building made of hewn blocks of stone on the summit of Mount Hermon. Known asQasr Antar, it is the highest temple of the ancient world and was documented bySir Charles Warren in 1869. An inscription on alimestonestele recovered by Warren from Qasr Antar was translated by George Nickelsburg to read "According to the command of the greatest a(nd) Holy God, those who take an oath (proceed) from here." Nickelsburg connected the inscription with the oath taken by theangels underSemjaza who took anoath together, bound by acurse, in order to take human wives in the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch 6:6). Hermon was said to have become known as "the mountain of oath" byCharles Simon Clermont-Ganneau. The name ofGod was supposed to be aHellenized version ofBaʿal orHadad and Nickelsburg connected it with the place name ofBaal-Hermon (Lord of Hermon) and the deity given byEnoch as "The Great Holy One".[37]
Deir El Aachayer Roman temple
AnotherGreek inscription found in a largetemple atDeir El Aachayer on the northern slopes notes the year that a bench was installed "in the year 242, underBeeliabos, also calledDiototos, son ofAbedanos, high priest of the gods ofKiboreia". The era of the gods of Kiboreia is not certain, nor is their location, which is not conclusively to be identified with Deir al-Achayer, but was possibly the Roman sanctuary or the name of a settlement in the area.[38]
Religious importance in the Late Roman period
Eusebius recognized the religious importance of Hermon in his workOnomasticon (probably written in the first quarter of the 4th century), saying "Until today, the mount in front ofBanias and Lebanon is known as Hermon and it is respected by nations as a sanctuary."[14]
According to theKöppen climate classification, the weather station at Mount Hermon features awarm-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). The climate might also more specifically be described asoro-Mediterranean (CsbH). Its temperature range is relatively narrow, while its yearly variation in precipitation is very wide; with mild, rainless summers, and chilly, very wet and often snowy winters.
Apple exporte from Israel to Syria, at the request of theIRC and secured by the UN, near mount Hermon
1973-2024
The pre-Yom Kippur War Syrian-controlled sector was returned to Syria after the war.[40]
The Israeli-occupied sector of the mountain became patrolled by theIsrael Defense Forces and theIsrael Police, and theIsraeli Security Forces have maintained a strategicobservation post for monitoring Syrian andLebanese military activity near Mitzpe Shlagim ("Snow Lookout"), which is at an elevation of about 2,224 m (7,297 ft). Its neighboring peak, at 2,236 m (7,336 ft), is the highest elevation in Israeli-controlled territory,[41] and is calledMitzpe Hashlagim by Israel.[41][42]
After thecollapse of theAssad regime in Syria after theSyrian opposition offensives on December 8, 2024, Israeli forces took over the highest summit of Mount Hermon (Jabal El Sheikh outpost) on the same day.[43]
Since 1981, when theGolan Heights Law was passed, theIsraeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights has been governed under Israeli law. Mount Hermon hosts the onlyski resort in territory held by Israel, including a wide range of ski trails at novice, intermediate, and expert levels. It also offers additional winter family activities such assledding andNordic skiing. Those who operate the Hermon Ski area live in the nearbyIsraeli settlement ofNeve Ativ and theDruze town ofMajdal Shams. The ski resort has a ski school, ski patrol, and several restaurants located at either the bottom or peak of the area.[citation needed]
In 2005, the Syrian government had plans to develop a 15-billion-dollar ski resort on the slopes of the mountain.[44][needs update]
^The Eyes of the Country have Closed Death of the soldier who coined the term "The eyes of the country" for a battle on the Hermon Mountain (in Hebrew, Ynet, 30 November 2006)
^Kovacs, Maureen (1989).The Epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 43.ISBN978-0-8047-1589-8.
^Smith, Mark (1994). "The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I. Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2".The Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Vol. I. Brill. pp. 112, 285.ISBN978-90-04-27579-9.
^Smith, Mark (1994). "The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I. Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2".The Ugaritic Baal Cycle. Vol. I. Brill. pp. 347–348.ISBN978-90-04-27579-9.
^Clifford, Richard J. (1 November 2003).Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries: Psalms 73-150. Abingdon Press. pp. 263–264.ISBN978-1-4267-6009-9."Hermon" is an instance of an exotic locale, as in Song 4:8, where it occurs with several other place names. Mount Hermon was famous for its heavy dew. Though the Mediterranean climate of Palestine had no rainfall from May or June to September, it had dew. Dew was important in the summer and a supplement to rain. Zion was therefore a place of fertility which even in the rainless season has an abundance of dew, like that of mighty Hermon to the north. So plentiful is it that it "runs down [NRSV: "falls on"] the mountains of Zion" (Ps 133:3).
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