Mount Moriah

“ Mount Moriah, forming the south-east part of the Lower City, is one of the points in Jerusalem whose situation can be fixed with the greatest certainty, from the evidence of the place itself with its ruins and remains, and from the testimony of ancient authors and local traditions. At the present day it is surrounded by walls and buildings enclosing the great plateau, in the middle of which rises the majestic Kubbet-es-Sakharah (Dome of the Rock) , on the site formerly occupied by the Temple of the God of Israel. ”

“ Even when it lay in ruins, Daniel, in the land of captivity, opened his window toward its site when he prayed; and the front of every synagogue looked toward it. It stood on Mount Moriah, which was originally outside the wall of the city, east of Mount Zion. In order to give room for all its courts, the surface of the hill was increased by building out from its sides on successive platforms, supported by immense substructions of brick and stone, so that the entire mountain is honeycombed with artificial caves. ”

“ The contrast is very great between this bright spot on Mount Moriah and the other part of the city, which is traversed by a valley and covered with irregular masses of white-domed and terraced buildings, relieved here and there by a tree, a church, or a minaret. The extreme southern quarter is the most desolate, and is inhabited by the Jews. The south-west portion is chiefly thronged by Armenians, where their convent stands, white and conspicuous, and marks their quarter distinctly. The north-west quarter—the highest—is more frequented by Franks ”

“ The vast assembly was thus swayed by the feelings of joy, piety and devotion. The king gave expression to167 the general sentiments in a few grave words: "God has promised to dwell in a cloud. I have built a dwelling for thee, O God—an abode for thee to dwell in for ever." Mount Moriah thus appeared like Mount Sinai, where the voice of God had spoken from out of a dense cloud. The temple became an object of veneration to the people, who believed that from between the two cherubim, God would make known to them the ways in which they were to walk. ”

“ It is, indeed, quite certain that there is an outcrop of rock belonging to part of the summit of Mount Moriah in the mosque which stands just where the Temple stood. You shall see it. Meantime we must put on huge loose slippers, made of sacking and straw, over our boots before we go in, for the Mohammedans always take off their own shoes on entering holy places, and as our modern boots are not constructed to be easily slipped off like Eastern shoes, we must cover them up. The man at the entrance ties on these enormous things and we shuffle along in them as best we can. ”

“ On the west is Zion, the loftiest summit. On the north is a hill of no great height; and opposite the third is Mount Moriah, which has an offshoot towards the south, called "Ophel." Moriah, though much less lofty than Zion, was destined to eclipse it and the greatest heights on earth in importance.
The Philistines could not ignore the fact that the choice of David as king of the entire Israelite nation had not only greatly loosened the bond which united him to them, but that it must in the future force him to take up a hostile attitude towards themselves. ”

“ We extended our circuit no farther at this time, but entered the city again at Sion Gate. Turning down as soon as we had entered, on the right hand, and going about two furlongs close by the city wall, we were taken into a garden lying at the foot of Mount Moriah, on the south side. Here we were shown several large vaults annexed to the mountain on this side, and running at least fifty yards under ground. They were built in two isles, arched at top with huge firm stone, and sustained with tall pillars consisting each of one single stone, and two yards in diameter. ”

“ We set out early next morning for Mount Moriah, the site of Solomon's temple and those that followed it.
It was really David's temple in the beginning, undertaken to avert a pestilence which he had selected from three punishments offered by the Lord because he, David, had presumed to number his people. A Hebrew census was a sin in those days, it would seem, and seventy thousand of the enrolled had already died when David saw an angel with a drawn sword—the usual armament of an angel—standing by the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite. ”

“ The Syrian regent now returned to Antioch, and Judas, successful on every side, turned his thoughts towards the capital of the recovered province of Judæa. On ascending Mount Moriah, and entering the courts of the Temple, a sad scene of desolation met his eyes. The altar of burnt-offering was surmounted with that dedicated to Zeus Xenios; the gates were in ashes; the priests’ chambers were in ruins; shrubs grew in the courts as in a forest, or on one of the mountains (1 Macc. iv. 38) ; while the sanctuary itself was empty and exposed to all eyes. ”

“ The promontory thus encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine—called the Tyropœon Valley, running up it from south to north, rising gradually from the south like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of these two, that on the west—the Upper City of the Jews, the Mount Zion of modern tradition—is the higher and more massive; that on the east—Mount Moriah—is at once considerably lower and smaller, so that, to a spectator from the south, the city appears to slope sharply towards the east. ”

“ The plague having spared Mount Moriah, where the Jebusites had settled, the prophet Gad bade the king erect an altar, and offer up sacrifices on that mountain, and he announced that the pestilence would then be averted from Jerusalem. Without hesitation, David and his entire court repaired thither. When the chief of the Jebusites, Ornah (Araunah) , saw David approaching, he hurried to meet him, saluted him humbly, and asked what was his desire. David then informed him that he wished to buy the mountain in order to build an altar on it. ”

“ The city walls were to be strengthened, new citadels built in the surrounding villages, cordons of forts placed around the entire land, the army to be reorganized for more systematic defence, and new campaigns planned to effectually awe the surrounding tribesmen.
Every day saw the mark of the master-hand of their leader. The rubbish heaps outside the gates were ornamented with the shattered pieces of pagan statuary. The sacred courts on Mount Moriah were purged of every stain of the heathen Abomination. [403] A new altar rose on the site of the ancient one. ”

“ Fast by the oracle of God."
This fountain is in a place like a cave, artificial, however, as all the appearances indicate. You descend eight or ten steps which lead down into the side of Mount Moriah—there you find a stream of indifferent water. The quantity of water is not large, and it is said that it has more water in it one part of the day than in the other, more, for example, in the morning than in the afternoon. What is the cause of this is not certainly known. Possibly it may be the syphon form of the passage through which the water flows. ”

“ I have traversed it several times, the last occasion being in the month of February 1861; but I cannot advise any one to follow my example, as the constant ruin continually increases the difficulty of the undertaking, and there is always danger of the earth falling in at any moment. This conduit explains why the intermittence is observed in Siloam. The general belief in the country is that the source springs from the lower cavities in Mount Moriah (as the river of Ezekiel's vision [886] ) . ”

“ The "New City;" mostly inhabited by merchants, tradesmen, and mechanics. 4. Mount Moriah; on which Solomon built his temple.
The height of the temple thus repaired is said to have been one thousand two hundred feet. The stones of which it was built were all of marble, forty cubits long, twelve thick, eight high, and so exquisitely joined that they appeared to be of one combined piece. There were one thousand four hundred and fifty-three columns of Parian marble, and two thousand nine hundred and six pilasters, of such thickness, that three men could hardly embrace them ”

“ A land entirely unknown, on a mountain in which Abraham offered Isaac (Gen. xxii. 2) . The text is probably corrupt: some have suggested “land of the Amorites,” others “land of Midian.” The etymology of the word is equally obscure. Traditionally, of course, “the land of Moriah” is identified with the site of the Temple at Jerusalem, [1] except by the Samaritans and a few western scholars (such as Dean Stanley) who accept their belief that the mountain was Gerizim. ”

“ Thorn Mountain, Tin and Eagle are the nearer waves, their outline rising and falling and showing beyond them Black Mountain and the two summits of Doublehead, and beyond them Shaw and Gemini and Sloop, great billows rising and - 35 - rolling on. Down upon the forest foam left behind in the hollows of these rides the Carter Moriah Range, a jagged, onrushing ridge, driven by the same gale. The day may be calm to all senses but the eye, yet there is the sea beneath you and beyond, tossed mountain high by the tempest. ”

“ The conformation of the ground itself shews us that the arch could not have been standing at that time; because, in its present position, there was then a valley or ditch, separating Moriah from Bezetha. I found the rock, supporting the piers, 18 feet below the surface (as I have before stated) , and to the north and south are vaulted cisterns excavated in it, in the natural slopes of Bezetha on one side and Moriah on the other. It is therefore highly improbable that an arch would have been built in such a position with reference to the fortress. ”

“ At the farther end of the plain, the surface is more broken, rising and falling in gentle undulations, so that if any fled terror-stricken from the base of the mount, they could still behold it afar off, from the distant slopes, while they heard the mighty voice that swept across the plain, and reverberated like thunder in the farthest recesses of the mountains. No wonder that those who stood trembling at the sight said to Moses, "Speak thou with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us lest we die." ”

“ For a considerable part of the way to Mori there is no track at all, though there is a good deal of travel. One makes one’s way fatiguingly along soft sea sand or coarse shingle close to the sea, or absolutely in it, under cliffs of hardened clay or yellow conglomerate, fording many small streams, several of which have cut their way deeply through a stratum of black volcanic sand. ”

“ The road now rises rapidly until it crosses the Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of 11,000 feet. But the ascent is indirect, in a serpentine course close to the cone of Mount Ouray, which penetrates the depths of heaven, to a height of 14,000 feet; so lofty that the sun shines brightly upon its snow-covered summit, while the earth below is wrapped in the sable garments of deepest night. ”

“ From Jebel Mousa we descended to a valley midway between it and another peak which is now more commonly believed to have been the Mount of the Law. Here in a pass between rocks, under a huge granite boulder, is a spring of water which the Arabs say never fails. It was very grateful in the heat of the day, especially as we found snow in a cleft of the rocks, which, added to the natural coldness of the spring, gave us ice water on Mount Sinai. Here we rested for some minutes, bathing our foreheads, before we began another mountain climb. ”

“ Mount Hor is formed of reddish sandstone and conglomerate, rising in a precipitous wall of natural masonry, tier above tier, with its face to the west. The base of the cliff of sandstone rests upon a solid ridge of granite and porphyry, and the summit of the sandstone is somewhat in the form of a rude pyramid, on which is built a little white mosque, supposed to be over Aaron's tomb. ”

“ From the plain of the Arabah the mountains rise in a range parallel to the valley, in ridges of sandstone, limestone, and chalk, with cliffs and peaks of granite. The defile that leads by Mount Hor to Petra is peculiarly grand, for here the range attains its greatest height. ”

“ When they reached the higher prairie they rode off toward the range, which was now plainly to be seen. There were three principal peaks, the names of which Hugh gave them. One, he said, was Mount Moran, a great square-topped mass of granite, with two or three vast snow or ice banks on its north face. To the south of that were the three pinnacles of the Tetons, whose slender summits ran far up into the blue sky. The prairie over which they were now riding was uneven:—here cut by dry, grassy, ancient water-ways, there with mounds of great extent rising above the general level. ”

“ Looking away in the far distance, towards the table-land of Moab, past "the green domed mosque," and through the deep depression of the Kedron Valley, the upper terrace of limestone, and the lower of sandstone of a faint reddish hue, were clearly discernible; while the sunlight brought out in relief the bold headlands and ridges, and cast into shadow the deep furrows and glens which descend into the Jordan valley along the Land of Gilead on its eastern side. Amongst these, the cliffs bordering the gorge of the Wâdy Zerka Maïn were the most prominent. ”