| Gerizim | |
|---|---|
 Mount Gerizim ridge as seen from Mount Ebal | |
| Highest point | |
| Coordinates | 32°12′3.1″N35°16′23.73″E / 32.200861°N 35.2732583°E /32.200861; 35.2732583 |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | Samarian Mountains |
Mount Gerizim (/ˈɡɛrɪzɪm/GHERR-iz-im;Samaritan Hebrew:ࠄࠟࠓࠬࠂࠟࠓࠩࠆࠝࠉࠌ,romanized: ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzem;Hebrew:הַר גְּרִזִים,romanized: Har Gərīzīm;Arabic:جَبَل جَرِزِيم,romanized: Jabal Jarizīm, orجَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ,Jabal at-Ṭūr) is one of two mountains near thePalestinian city ofNablus and the biblical city ofShechem, located in the north ofPalestine’sWest Bank.[1] It forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the northern side being formed byMount Ebal. The mountain is one of the highest peaks in theWest Bank and rises to 881 m (2,890 ft) above sea level, 70 m (230 ft) lower than Mount Ebal. The mountain is particularly steep on the northern side, is sparsely covered at the top with shrubbery, and lower down there is aspring with a high yield of fresh water. The mountain is mentioned in theHebrew Bible as the place where, upon first entering thePromised Land afterthe Exodus, theIsraelites performed ceremonies of blessings, as they had been instructed byMoses.[2]
InSamaritan tradition, it is the oldest and most central mountain in the world, towering above theGreat Flood and providing the first land forNoah’s disembarkation.[3] Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim is the location whereAbraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac.[4]Jews, on the other hand, consider the location of the near-sacrifice to beMount Moriah. Samaritans regard Mount Gerizim, rather thanJerusalem'sTemple Mount, as the location chosen byGod for a holy temple. ASamaritan Temple was located on Mount Gerizim from the 5th century BCE until it was destroyed in the 2nd century BCE. Mount Gerizim continues to be the centre of Samaritan religion,[4] and Samaritans ascend itthree times a year: atPassover,Shavuot andSukkot.[1]
The Samaritan village ofKiryat Luza and anIsraeli settlement,Har Brakha, are situated on the ridge of Mount Gerizim. During theFirst Intifada in 1987, many Samaritan families relocated from Nablus to Mount Gerizim to avoid the violence.[5] Today, about half of the remaining Samaritans live near Gerizim, mostly in the village of Kiryat Luza.
The name of the mountain may mean "mountain of the Girzites",[6] a tribe ofPhilistia that, according to theHebrew Bible, was conquered byDavid.[7][8] Another possible meaning is "mountain cut in two".[6]
The Israelites are believed to have enteredCanaan sometime in the 12th or 13th century BCE, around the time of theLate Bronze Age collapse.[9] According to theBook of Deuteronomy, when they first entered Canaan the Israelites celebrated the event with ceremonies of blessings that took place on Mount Gerizim, and cursings on nearbyMount Ebal.[2]
ThePulpit Commentary suggests that these mountains were probably selected because they are located roughly in the center ofIsrael.[10] A commentary in theCambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that "the face of Gerizim, the mount of blessing, is the more fertile; the opposite face of Ebal, the mount of curse, much the more bare",[11] but thePulpit Commentary states that both Gerizim and Ebal are "equally barren-looking, though neither is wholly destitute of culture and vegetation".[10]
TheMasoretic Text version of Deuteronomy says that Moses had also commanded the Israelites to build an altar on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural (rather than cut) stones, to place stones there and whiten them withlime, to makesacrificial offerings on the altar, eat there, and write theMosaic Law in stones there.[12] TheSamaritan Pentateuch version of Deuteronomy, as well as an ancient manuscript of the biblical text found in theQumran Caves,[13] both contain the same text as the Masoretic Text, with the only difference being the name "Gerizim", instead of "Ebal", therefore stating that Moses commanded the building of the altar on Mount Gerizim.[8] Recent work on theDead Sea Scrolls, which include the oldest surviving manuscripts of Deuteronomy, further supports the accuracy of the Samaritan Pentateuch's designation of Mount Gerizim, rather than Mount Ebal, as the first location in thePromised Land where Moses commanded an altar to be built.[14]
All versions of Deuteronomy then have Moses specifying how the Israelites should split into two groups. The tribes ofSimeon,Levi,Judah,Issachar,Joseph, andBenjamin were to go to Gerizim to pronounce blessings, while those ofReuben,Gad,Asher,Zebulun,Dan, andNaphtali were to remain on Ebal to pronounce curses.[15]
The altar on Mount Ebal is again mentioned in theBook of Joshua, when, after the Battle ofAi, the Israelites build an altar of unhewn stones and make offerings on it, and Joshua inscribes theLaw of Moses on the stones. The Israelites then split into the two groups specified in the Book of Deuteronomy to pronounce blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Ebal.[16]
Mount Gerizim is also the setting of the firstparable in the Bible.[17] According to a narrative in theBook of Judges,Jotham ascends to the summit of Mount Gerizim and delivers the "Parable of the Bramble King" to the people of Shechem.[18] The parable is a story about the trees who wanted to appoint the bramble (possiblyZiziphus spina-christi, a thorny tree with crooked branches) as their king, an allusion to the people of Shechem who wanted to make the ungodly and treacherousAbimelech their king.[17]
Sanballat I establisheda Samaritan temple dedicated toYahweh at the summit of Mount Gerizim in the mid-to-late 5th century BCE.[19][20] Josephus describes the construction of the Temple on Gerizim and says it was modeled on theTemple in Jerusalem.[21] A city of more than 10,000 inhabitants named Luzah (modern-dayKiryat Luza) was situated adjacent to the temple.[22] By that time, the Israelites were divided as "Samaritans" and "Jews", both claiming descendance from the Biblical Israelites and preaching adherence to theTorah, but differing on the holiest place on Earth to adore God: Mount Gerizim for the Samaritans, and Jerusalem for the Jews.
During the 3rd century BCE, the Samaritans builtan ancient city adjacent to Mount Gerizim, which became the capital of the Samaritan community.[23] In 168 BCE,Antiochus IV Epiphanes constructed a temple for the worship of Zeus Xenios (Zeus as the patron of hospitality and guests, avenger of wrongs done to strangers) on Mount Gerizim.[24]
Religious rivalry between Samaritans and Jews led to the destruction of the Mount Gerizim Temple by the latter in 112–111 BCE, on orders ofJohn Hyrcanus.[23][25][26][27] Even after the destruction of their temple by the Jews, Mount Gerizim continued to be the holiest place for the Samaritans, as mentioned in theGospel of John in theNew Testament.[28] Coins produced by a Roman mint situated in Nablus, dated to 138–161 CE, seemingly depict the destroyed Samaritan temple, showing a huge temple complex, statues, and a staircase leading from Nablus to the temple.[29]
In the Gospel of John, in his discussion with theSamaritan woman at the well,Jesus discusses the merits of worshipping at the Mount Gerizim Temple (as the Samaritans did) versus at theTemple in Jerusalem (as the Jews then did):
Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
In 36 CE, unrest flared in Samaria when a Samaritan prophet (possiblyDositheos)[30] rallied Samaritans to Mount Gerizim, promising to show them the sacred vessels buried there by Moses.Pontius Pilate, Roman governor ofJudaea, alarmed by the growing assembly, deployed troops to block their ascent. This led to clashes, fatalities, and arrests, prompting Samaritan leaders to accuse Pilate of brutality. In response,Lucius Vitellius, thelegate of Syria, deposed Pilate (replacing Pilate withMarcellus) and sent him to Rome for investigation by EmperorTiberius, who died before Pilate's arrival.[31][32]
In the summer of 67, during theFirst Jewish–Roman War, a large group of armed Samaritans gathered on Mount Gerizim.Vespasian dispatchedLegio V Macedonica (commanded byCerialis) to disarm and disperse them. While some surrendered upon the Romans' arrival, the majority chose to fight. According toJosephus, the Roman forces slaughtered 11,600 Samaritans in this conflict.[33][34]
In the late 4th century, whenChristianity became theofficial religion of the Roman Empire, Samaritans were barred from worshiping on Mount Gerizim. In 475, a Christianchurch was built on its summit.[35] In 484, during the reign of EmperorZeno, amartyrium-type octagonal church dedicated to theTheotokos (the God-bearing Virgin Mary) was erected at the site.[4] In 529,Justinian I made Samaritanism illegal and arranged for a protective wall to be constructed around the church.[36] As a result, the same year,Julianus ben Sabar leda pro-Samaritan revolt and by 530 had captured most of Samaria, destroying churches and killing priests and officials. However, in 531, after Justinian enlisted the help ofGhassanids, the revolt was completely quashed, and surviving Samaritans were mostly enslaved or exiled. In 533, Justinian had a castle constructed on Mount Gerizim to protect the church from raids by the few disgruntled Samaritans left in the area.[35]
According toAbu'l-Fath,Continuation of the Samaritan Chronicle, duringSukkot in the seventh year ofAbbasid Caliphal-Mutawakkil's reign (855), the governor of Nablus forbade Samaritans from praying aloud and blowing theshofar. However, the following Thursday, they ascended the mountain and prayed loudly without interruption.[37]
Excavations at the site were initiated in 1983 and continued until 2006, yielding tens of thousands of finds. Remnants found there identified that a Samaritan temple existed atop Mount Gerizim by the mid-5th century BCE and that it was destroyed and rebuilt in the early 2nd century BCE, only to be destroyed again in 111–110 BCE by Jewish forces.[38] The archeological finds have shown that the precincts of the Samaritan temple, not including its gates, measured roughly 98 square metres (1,050 square feet).[22] Inside the perimeter, thousands of pottery vessels and burned bones of animal sacrifices were found – sheep, goats, cattle, and doves – as well as many stones with inscriptions containing theTetragrammaton (the name ofGod).[39]
In 475, a Christian church was built on the summit. As a result of the fortified church and the previous Samaritan temple, extensive ruins still exist at the somewhat plateau-like top of Gerizim. The line of the wall around the church can easily be seen, as can portions of the former castle, and initial archaeological study of the site postulated that the castle built by Justinian had used stones from an earlier structure on the site, probably the Samaritan temple. In the centre of the plateau is a smooth surface, containing a hollow.
The excavation, initiated when the site was in the possession ofJordan and continued underIsraeli rule, uncoveredCorinthian columns, a large rectangular platform surrounded by walls 2 m (6 ft 7 in) thick and 9 m (30 ft), and a staircase leading down from the platform to a marbledesplanade. The complex also has a series ofcisterns in which ceramics dated to the late Roman period were found. These discoveries are now called "structure A", and have been dated to the time ofHadrian fromexcavated coins and external literary evidence. Underneath these remains was found a large stone structure built on top of the bedrock. This structure, now known as "structure B", has no internal rooms or dividing walls and consists almost entirely of uncut limestone slabs fitted togetherwithout any mortar. Structure B was surrounded by a courtyard similar to the platform above it, and from ceramics found in a cistern cut into the bedrock at its northern side, it was dated to during or just before theHellenistic period. The excavating archaeologist considered structure B to be the altar built by the Samaritans in the 5th or 6th century.[29]
Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Gerizim, Mount".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Religious sites inPalestine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bethlehem Governorate |  | |
| Hebron Governorate | ||
| Jenin Governorate | ||
| Jericho Governorate | ||
| Jerusalem Governorate | ||
| Nablus Governorate | ||
| Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate | ||
| Salfit Governorate | ||
| Tulkarm Governorate | ||
| Qalqiliya Governorate | ||
| Gaza Governorate | ||
† Access to the site is controlled by Israel. | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
