Mount of Temptation

Mt of Temptation . 1910

The Mount of Temptation was the hill in the Judean Desert where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matt. 4:8). The exact location is unknown, and impossible to determine. It is generally identified with Mount Quarantania, a mountain approximately 366 m (1 200 feet) high, located about 11 km (6.8 mi) north-west of the West Bank town of Jericho. According to the public domain Catholic Encyclopedia, Quarantania is "a limestone peak on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho".

Old postcard

It is mentioned in a poem of the Temptation event by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. See Christus: A Mystery (I:1:2 Mount Quarantania).

Atop the mount is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation or "Qarantal". Above Qarantal, on top of the cliff, is a wall, that sits on the ruins of the Hasmonean (later Herodian) fortress, Dok – Dagon.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.  This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.