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"Mount Tabor "

Lower Galilee, Israel

Wednesday, ‎December ‎25, ‎2013

Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Mount Tabor "

Lower Galilee, Israel

The name of Mount Tabor, Image, is rendered in the Septuagint as Image, and in Jeremiahs and Osee as Image. It is under this last form (Itabyrion or Atabyrion) that the mount figures in the historical works of the ancients. The Arabs call it Jebel et Tur (mountain of mountains), a name which they give likewise to Mounts Gerizim, Sinai, and Olivet. Mount Thabor is distinguished among the mountains of Palestine for its picturesque site, its graceful outline, the remarkable vegetation which covers its sides of calcareous rock, and the splendor of the view from its summit. Nearly isolated on all sides and almost hemispherical in shape it rises in a peak 1650 feet above the Plain of Esdraelon, which it bounds on the north and east, about five miles south-east of Nazareth. 

Ruins of the Crusader and Byzantine churches are located in the north side, among the ancient walls is a display of ancient installations. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

It attains a height of 1843 feet above the level of the Mediterranean and of 2540 feet above that of the Lake of Tiberius. Josephus (Bell. Jud., IV, i, 8) gives it a height of thirty stadia, or 18,201 feet, but he doubtless made use of the figure Image (four stadia or 2427 feet), which the copyist must have replaced by Image (thirty). The summit forms an oblong plateau about 3000 feet long, from north-west to south-east, by 1000 wide.

Ruins of the Crusader and Byzantine churches are located in the north side, among the ancient walls is a display of ancient installations. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The eye is immediately attracted to the north-east by the gigantic masses of Great Hermon, then to the Valley of the Jordan, the Lake of Tiberius and the mountain chains of Hauran, Basan, and Galaad. To the south are Naim and Endor at the foot of Jebel Daby or Mount Moreh (Judges 7:1), wrongly identified by Eusebius and St. Jerome with Little Hermon (Ps. xli, 7); somewhat farther off is seen Mount Gelboe. Westward the rich plain of Esdrelon stretches as far as Mount Carmel and innumerable Biblical and historical localities stir thoughts of the past.

Benedictine Chapel, left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Mount Tabor is the object of poetical comparisons on the part of the Psalmist (Psalm 88:13), the Prophet Jeremiah (46:18), and the Prophet Osee (5:1). The beautiful mountain also played an important part in history. There the Prophetess Deborah secretly assembled 10,000 Israelites under the command of Barac, who subsequently swept down upon the army of Sisara and put it to flight at the torrent of Cison (Judges 6:2-7:18-19).

Another ruins of the Crusader and Byzantine churches are located in the north side. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

At the division of the Promised Land, Tabor formed the boundary between Isachar and Zabulon (Joshua 19:22). Within the tribe of Zabulon, but near Dabereth, a city of Isachar, the Book of Josue (19:12) mentions the city of Coseleh tabor, in Hebrew Chisloth-Tabor, which means "slope or side of Tabor". 1 Chronicles 6:77 also speaks of a city of Zabulon called simply Thabor and assigned to the Levites descended from Merari. This is an abbreviated form of the name of the same city, and is probably the same as that which as Dabour figures among the Galilean cities conquered by Rameses II, according to the "Papyrus Anastasii" (I, xxii, 2).

A statue of Pope John Paul left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Polybius (Hist., V, lxx, 6) relates that in 218 B.C. Antiochus the Great captured by stratagem the city of Atabyrion in Galilee. History makes no further mention of this city, not even in connexion with the bloody battles fought at the foot of Mount Tabor in 53 B.C. between Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and Gabinius, the lieutenant of Pompey ("Ant. Jud.", XIV, vi, 3; "Bell. Jud.” I, viii, 7). Eusebius alone again refers to it in the words "Dabira … a village of the Jews on Mount Tabor" ("Onom.", ed. Klostermann, 78). Dabereth (Joshua 19:12; 21:28) is indisputably the modern village of Dabûriyéh, at the foot of Mount Tabor towards the west.

The Valley of Armageddon as seen from the platform, left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

A ten minutes' ascent northward from Nazareth brings one to the ruins of a Hebrew place called by the natives Khirbet Daboura (ruins of Daboura) and also Abu Amoûd (father of columns). This is the site of the Biblical Ciseleth Thabor, of the Daboura of the Egyptians, and the Atabyrion of the Greeks.

The Valley of Armageddon as seen from the platform, left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

It commanded the road of caravans and armies. During the revolt of the Jews against the Romans, Josephus surrounded "the plateau of Tabor" with a wall of circumvallation twenty-six stadia or about two miles in circumference, which task was accomplished in forty days. This formed a kind of entrenched camp where the rebels, pursued from all directions, sought refuge in order to organize their last stand.

The Valley of Armageddon as seen from the platform, left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Vespasian's lieutenant, Placidus, marched against them with a force of 600 horsemen, enticed them into the plain by stratagem, and completely defeated them ("Vita", 37; "Bell. Jud.", II, iv, xx, 6; i, 8). In the fourth century of our era Mount Thabor, which was acknowledged as the scene of Christ's Transfiguration, became a place of pilgrimage and was surmounted by a basilica and several churches and chapels.

The Valley of Armageddon as seen from the platform, left side of the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

In 1101 the Benedictine monks rebuilt the sacred edifices and erected a fortified abbey, where they withstood several attacks by the Saracens, but after the battle of Hattin (1187) they had to abandon the mountain. Melek el Adel built there (1210-12) a large and solid fortress which the Crusaders attacked in vain in 1217; in the following year Melek el Adel caused it to be dismantled. The plateau of Mount Thabor is now occupied by Franciscans and Schismatic Greek monks.

Mount Tabor, rising dome-like from the Plain of Jezreel, is the mountain where Christian tradition places the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Road from the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Scholars disagree on whether Mount Tabor was the scene of that event (described in Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9: 2-8 and Luke 9:28-36). However, it has throughout history been a place of mystique and atmosphere, where humanity has sought contact with the divine.

Road from the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

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"Mount Tabor "
"Inside the Church of Transfiguration"

Lower Galilee, Israel

Wednesday, ‎December ‎25, ‎2013

Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem

My Holy Land Trip

"Mount Tabor "

Lower Galilee, Israel

The Church of the Transfiguration:

According to Matthew 17:1-13 (and Mk 9:2, Lk 9:28), Jesus is transfigured before Peter, James, and John on the "mountain". There are several candidates, such as Hermon (the tallest in Israel) and Tabor. Both are also referred as high mountains; see Psalms above ("Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name"). Tabor is closer to the center of Jesus activities, and also it is referred as "the mountain" in other texts.  According to old traditions, Tabor is the holy mountain, and is called "the mount of Transfiguration".

Inside the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Inside the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

"And after six days Jesus takes Peter, James, and John his brother, and brings them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

The main altar is located high above the east end, and under it is a convex shaped chamber. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The main altar is located high above the east end, and under it is a convex shaped chamber. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.       And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and is not afraid.

Steps lead down to a chamber below, the level of the Byzantine church. Church of Transfiguration:

Steps lead down to a chamber below, the level of the Byzantine church. Church of Transfiguration

And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

The west side of the hall, and above the steps is a side altar. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

And his disciples asked him, saying, why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.

Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist".

The south side of the hall and above the steps is a side altar where the christmas crib made. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Judges Chapter 4

12 When Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abino-am had gone up to Mount Tabor, 13 Sisera called out all his chariots, nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the men who were with him, from Harosheth-ha-goiim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, “Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has given Sisera into your hand. Does not the Lord go out before you?”  So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army before Barak at the edge of the sword; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-ha-goiim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left.

A christmas crib, Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Mark Chapter 9

2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, 3 and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only.

Tent of prophet Moses, Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Early Church fathers believed that the Transfiguration took place on Mt. Tabor, including Cyril of Jerusalem (in 348), Epiphanies, and Jerome. Eusebius was uncertain if it took place on Mt. Tabor or on Mt. Hermon. One reason for this identification was a misunderstanding of Matthew 17:1. This verse was taken to mean that Jesus took the disciples up a mountain "by itself," rather than that he took the disciples up a mountain "by themselves."

The Tent for prophet Elijah. Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The date of the earliest churches on Mt. Tabor is unknown. The Anonymous Pilgrim of Piacenza saw three basilicas in 570. Willibaldus, in 723, mentions only one church dedicated to Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. There may have been three chapels joined together into one building, as in the present building. The current church was built in 1924 and belongs to the Franciscans.

Inside the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

The Gospel accounts of the Transfiguration — a momentous event in which Peter, James and John were introduced to the divine incarnation of Christ, the God-Man — do not specify the place. They simply say it was a “high mountain” in Galilee.

 Inside the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

Christian tradition in the early centuries named the mountain as Tabor. This location is cited in early apocryphal writings and was accepted by the Syriac and Byzantine churches.

Many biblical scholars now question this tradition. Mount Tabor’s location does not fit well into events before and after the Transfiguration. At the time, a Hasmonean fortress stood on the summit.

Inside the Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:

And would Tabor be considered a “high mountain”, especially compared to other mountains in the vicinity? (It’s actually more than 200 meters lower than Jerusalem.)

These scholars see the much higher Mount Hermon as a more likely location.

Nevertheless, a succession of churches and a monastery were built on Mount Tabor from the fourth century.