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"Mount Tabor "
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Lower Galilee, Israel
Fifth Day of my Holy Land Trip, Mount Zion, Jerusalem
My Holy Land Trip
"Mount Tabor "
Lower Galilee, Israel
Mount Tabor, view from the way:
Mount Tabor is
located in Lower Galilee, Israel,
at the eastern end of the Jezreel
Valley, 11 miles (18 km) west of the Sea
of Galilee. It was the site of the Mount
Tabor battle between Barak under the leadership of the Israelite judge Deborah, and the army of Jabin commanded by Sisera, in the mid 12th century BC. It
is believed by many Christians to be the site of the Transfiguration of Jesus. It is also
known as Har Tavor, Itabyrium, Jebel et-Tur, and the Mount of Transfiguration.
The mountain is a monad
nock: an isolated hill or small mountain rising abruptly from gently sloping or
level surrounding land, and is not volcanic. In spite of its proximity to the Nazareth Mountains, it constitutes a separate
geological form.
On the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa, Israel:
At the bottom of the mountain was an important roads
junction: Via Maris passed there from the Jezreel Valley northward towards Damascus. Its
location on the road junction and its bulgy formation above its environment
gave mount Tabor a strategic value and wars were conducted in its area in
different periods in history.
On the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa, Israel:
The mountain is mentioned for the first time in the Hebrew Bible, in Joshua 19:22, as border of three
tribes: Zebulun, Issachar and Naphtali.
The mountain's importance stems from its strategic control of the junction of
the Galilee's north-south route with the east-west highway of the Jezreel
Valley.
Church Street, Cana, on the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa:
Deborah the Jewish prophetess summoned Barak of the tribe of Naphtali and gave him
God's command; "Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with you ten
thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun"
(Judges 4:6). Descending
from the mountain, the Israelites attacked and vanquished Sisera and the Canaanites.
(Le nozze di cana- Wedding at Cana restautant), Cana, on the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa:
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In the days of Second Temple, Mount Tabor was one of
the mountain peaks on which it was the custom to light beacons in order to inform the northern
villages of Jewish holy days and of beginnings of new months.
During a Hasmonean rebellion against the Roman Aulus Gabinius, Alexander of Judaea and his army of 31,000 Judeans, was
defeated in battle near Mount Tabor. As many as 10,000 Jewish fighters were
killed in the battle; Alexander himself was captured and executed.
On the way to Mt Tabor, Israel:
In 66 AD during the First Jewish-Roman War, the Galilean
Jews retrenched on the mountain under the command of Josephus Flavius, whence they defended
against the Roman assault.
On the way to Mt Tabor, Israel:
Mount Tabor was
one of the 19 cities which the rebels in Galilee fortified, under the command
of Yosef Ben Matityahu. According
to what is written in the book "The Wars of the Jews", Vespasian sent an army of 600 riders, under the
command of Platsidus, who fought the rebels. Platsidus understood that he could
not reach the top of the steep mountain with his forces, and therefore called
the fortified rebels to walk down the mountain.
A group of Jewish rebels descended from the
mountain, supposedly, in order to negotiate with Platsidus, but they attacked
him. The Roman forces initially retreated, but while they were in the valley,
they returned towards the mountain, attacked the Jewish rebels, killed many of
them, and blocked the road for the remaining rebels who tried to flee back to
the top of the mountain.
On the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa, Israel:
Many of the
Jewish rebels left Mount Tabor and returned to Jerusalem. The rest of the
fortified rebels in the fortress on the mountain surrendered after their water
ran out. They then handed over the mountain to Platsidus.
On the way to Mt Tabor from Haifa, Israel:
Matthew 17 tells us that Jesus brought Peter, James, and John
his brother into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them as his
face shone as the sun, and his raiment was white as snow. There also appeared
to the disciples Moses and Elijah talking with him, when a bright cloud
overshadowed them and a voice out of the cloud said "This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him."
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Matthew 17:1-13, This event is also recounted in 2 Peter
1:16-18, Mark 9:2-9 and Luke 9:28-37. However, none of these accounts
identifies the "high mountain" of the scene by name. The earliest
identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also
mentioned by St. Cyril of
Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century. It is later mentioned in the 5th
century Transitus Beatae Mariae
Virginis. Mount Hermon is an alternative site according to
tradition.
Israeli houses on the way to Mt Tabor, Israel:
Matthew 17:1-13
1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James
and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There
he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes
became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and
Elijah, talking with Jesus.
Vehicle parking in the valley of Mount Tabor, Israel:
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is
good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you,
one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love;
with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
A team of Nigerian pilgrims waiting for their taxi van to Mount Tabor in the vehicle parking, valley of Mount Tabor:
The high range road to Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:
6 When the disciples heard this, they
fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he
said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except
Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the
mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until
the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
The high range road to Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:
10 The disciples asked him, “Why then
do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
The high range road to Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:
11 Jesus replied, “To be
sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has
already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything
they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
13
Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the
Baptist.
The high range road to Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:
Between 1919
until 1924 an impressive Roman
Catholic church of the Franciscan order named "Church of the
Transfiguration" was built on the peak of Mount Tabor. The architect, who
designed the church, as well as other churches in Israel, was Antonio Barluzzi.
Near to the Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor:
The church was
built upon the ruins of a Byzantine church from the fifth or sixth century
and a Crusader church from the 12th century, which was built in honor of Tancred, Prince of Galilee. The friars of the church live next to the church
in a monastery established in 1873.
The crest of Mt. Tabor with the tower of the Church of the Transfiguration appearing at the top:
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