- Mount Nebo (Jordan)
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This article is on Mount Nebo, a mountain in Western Jordan. For other places see Mount Nebo.
Mount Nebo, seen from east at a distance from 1,4 km
Mount Nebo (Arabic: جبل نيبو, Jabal Nibu. Hebrew: הַר נְבוֹ, Har Nevo, ) is an elevated ridge that is approximately 817 meters (2680 feet) above sea level, in what is now western Jordan. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the north, a more limited one of the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day.
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Religious significance
Judaism and Christianity
According to the final chapter of Deuteronomy, Mount Nebo is where the Hebrew prophet Moses was given a view of the promised land that God was giving to the Israelites. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho." (Deuteronomy 34:1).
According to Jewish and Christian tradition and the Bible, Moses was buried on this mountain by God Himself, and his final resting place is unknown. Scholars continue to dispute whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the mountain referred to in the Torah.
According to the 2 Maccabees 2:4-7, the Prophet Jeremiah hid the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in a cave here.
Ruins
On the highest point of the mountain, Syagha,[1] the remains of a church and monastery were discovered in 1933.[2] The church was first constructed in the second half of the 4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. The church design follows a typical basilica pattern. It was enlarged in the late fifth century A.D. and rebuilt in A.D. 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a pilgrimage made by a lady Aetheria in A.D. 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor of the church. In the modern chapel presbytery, built to protect the site and provide worship space, you can see remnants of mosaic floors from different periods. The earliest of these is a panel with a braided cross presently placed on the east end of the south wall.
Recent history
Planned attacks by Osama bin Laden in the 2000 millennium attack plots included bombing Mount Nebo on the 1st January 2000.[3]
On March 20, 2000, Pope John Paul II visited the site during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Mount Nebo being one of the most important Christian sites in Jordan). During his visit he planted an olive tree beside the Byzantine chapel as a symbol of peace.[4]
Pope Benedict XVI visited the site on May 9, 2009, gave a speech, and looked out from the top of the mountain in the direction of Jerusalem.[5]
The serpentine cross sculpture (the Brazen Serpent Monument) atop Mount Nebo was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni. It is symbolic of the bronze serpent created by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9) and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14).
See also
Notes
- ^ Also found as 'Siyagha' the peak is (710 metres), while the south eastern peak 'el-Mukhayyat' is 790 metres Piccirillo, Michele (2009) Mount Nebo - page 17
- ^ Piccirillo, Michele (2009) Mount Nebo (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Guide Books, 2) pp. 14/15 - extract from Fr Sylvester Saller The Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo Jerusalem 1941, pp. 15-18)
- ^ http://www.powmadeak47.com/terror/dzterr001224bs.html
- ^ Piccirillo, Michele (2009) Mount Nebo (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Guide Books, 2) pp. 107
- ^ http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope_benedict_begins_his_pilgrimage_on_mt._nebo/
External links
- Franciscans at Mount Nebo
- Photographs of excavations in Jordan at Archaeology and Art
- Pictures from mount Nebo 1
Gallery
Mount Nebo, view to north east-
This stone marks the entrance to historic Mount Nebo
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The Dead Sea is visible from the top of the mountain
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This plaque shows the distance from Mount Nebo to various locations throughout the region
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This structure protects the excavated remains of a church atop Mount Nebo
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The interior of the church atop the mountain contains many ornate floor mosaics that have been uncovered
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"ὁ θεòς ἀγάπη ἐστίν" (God Is Love) on a stele.
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Baptismal Font, bearing Bishop Sergios' name .
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Mosaic inscription inside (Offering of Caesarion, at the time of Alexios and Theophilos priests)
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detail of the Brazen Serpent statue
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mosaic at the Basilica of Moses
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Nebo Mountain
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Nebo Mountain
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Mosaics, Nebo Mountain
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Mosaics, Nebo Mountain
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Mosaics, Nebo Mountain
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Mosaics, Nebo Mountain
Categories:- Archaeological sites in Jordan
- Mountains of Jordan
- Hebrew Bible mountains
- Jewish Jordanian history
- Tourism in Jordan
- Ridges
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