Examine individual changes

'{{Short description|Mountain in the West Bank}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Gerizim | other_name = | photo = File:רכס הר גריזים.jpg | photo_caption = Mount Gerizim seen from above | elevation_m = | elevation_ref = | location = | map = Palestine#West Bank | map_caption = Location of Nablus within the West Bank | coordinates = {{coord|32|12|3.1|N|35|16|23.73|E|display=inline,title|region:PS_type:mountain_source:dewiki}} | range = [[Samarian mountains]] | topo = | type = }} {{Contains special characters}} [[File:Gerizim sign.jpg|thumb|Trilingual road signs directing toward Mount Gerizim and [[Kiryat Luza]] (''Shomronim'' – Samaritans in Hebrew)]] '''Mount Gerizim''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|ɛ|r|ᵻ|ˌ|z|ɪ|m}}; [[Samaritan Hebrew]]: {{Script|Samr|ࠄࠟࠓࠂࠟࠓࠩࠆࠝࠉࠌ}} ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; [[Hebrew]]: {{Script/Hebrew|הַר גְּרִזִים}} ''Har Gərīzīm''; {{lang-ar|جَبَل جَرِزِيم}} ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the [[West Bank]] city of [[Nablus]] and biblical city of [[Shechem]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110301878.52/html |chapter=3. The Votive Inscriptions from Mount Gerizim |date=2013-05-28 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-030187-8 |language=en |doi=10.1515/9783110301878.52|title=Before the God in this Place for Good Remembrance |pages=52–90 }}</ref> It forms the southern side of the valley in which Nablus is situated, the northern side being formed by [[Mount Ebal]].<ref name=brit>{{cite web | title=Mount Gerizim | website=Encyclopedia Britannica | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mount-Gerizim | access-date=December 24, 2020}}</ref> The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to {{convert|881|m|abbr=on}} above sea level, {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}} lower than Mount Ebal.<ref>[[Matthew Sturgis]], ''It aint necessarily so'', {{ISBN|0-7472-4510-X}}</ref> The mountain is particularly steep on the northern side, is sparsely covered at the top with shrubbery, and lower down there is a [[spring (hydrology)|spring]] with a high yield of fresh water.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia>''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]''</ref> For the [[Samaritans|Samaritan]] people, most of whom live around it, Mount Gerizim is considered the holiest place on Earth.<ref name="Centre">{{cite web |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |date=11 October 2017 |title=Mount Gerizim and the Samaritans |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5706/ |access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref> The mountain is mentioned in the [[Bible]] as the place where, upon first entering the [[Promised Land]] after [[the Exodus]], the [[Israelites]] performed ceremonies of blessings, as they had been instructed by [[Moses]].<ref name="auto">{{Bibleverse|Deuteronomy|11:29-30|HE}}</ref> Mount Gerizim is sacred to the [[Samaritans]], who regard it, rather than [[Jerusalem]]'s [[Temple Mount]], as the location chosen by [[Yahweh]] (God) for a holy temple. In [[Samaritanism|Samaritan tradition]], it is the oldest and most central mountain in the world, towering above the [[Flood myth|Great Flood]] and providing the first land for [[Noah]]’s disembarkation.<ref>Anderson, Robert T., "Mount Gerizim: Navel of the World", ''Biblical Archaeologist'' Vol. 43, No. 4 (Autumn 1980), pp 217-218</ref> It is also the location where [[Binding of Isaac|Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac]].<ref name="Centre" /> Jews, on the other hand, consider the location of the near-sacrifice to be Mount [[Moriah]], traditionally identified by them with the Temple Mount. Mount Gerizim continues to be the centre of Samaritan religion to this day, and Samaritans ascend it [[Three Pilgrimage Festivals|three times a year]]: at [[Passover]], [[Shavuot]] and [[Sukkot]].<ref name=":1" /> Passover is still celebrated by the Samaritans with a [[Animal sacrifice|lamb sacrifice]] on Mount Gerizim.<ref>{{cite web |title=Photograph of this |url=http://www.lifeintheholyland.com/images/Mount_Gerizim,_Samaritan_Passover,_mat00114.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512121554/http://lifeintheholyland.com/images/Mount_Gerizim,_Samaritan_Passover,_mat00114.jpg |archive-date=2016-05-12 |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> Today, about half of the remaining Samaritans live in close proximity to Gerizim, mostly in the small village of [[Kiryat Luza]]. The Samaritan village of Kiryat Luza and an [[Israeli settlement]], [[Har Brakha]], are situated on the ridge of Mount Gerizim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Har Bracha - The Community|url=https://en.yhb.org.il/har-bracha/|access-date=2022-01-13|website=Yeshivat Har Bracha|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Not Muslim, Not Jewish: Ancient Community in the West Bank Feels Increasingly Israeli|language=en|work=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-for-ancient-samaritan-community-a-new-test-of-loyalty-1.6075509|access-date=2022-01-13}}</ref> ==Biblical account== [[File:Nablus panorama-cropped.jpg|thumb|Old City of [[Nablus]] and Mount Gerizim in background]] According to the [[Hebrew Bible]], as related in [[Deuteronomy]], when they first entered [[Canaan]], the [[Israelites]] celebrated the event with ceremonies of blessings and cursings: the ceremonies of blessings took place on Mount Gerizim, and the cursings on nearby [[Mount Ebal]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name=Magen>Yitzakh Magen, 'The Dating of the First Phase of the Samaritan Temple on Mt Gerizim in Light of Archaeological Evidence,' in Oded Lipschitz, Gary N. Knoppers, Rainer Albertz (eds.) ''Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E.,'' Eisenbrauns, 2007 pp. 157ff, 183.</ref> The ''[[Pulpit Commentary]]'' suggests that these mountains were selected probably "because they stand in the center of the Land both from north to south, and from east to west". A commentary in the [[Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges]] argues that "the face of Gerizim, the mount of blessing, is the more fertile; the opposite face of Ebal, the mount of curse, much the more bare",<ref>Smith, G. A., [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/deuteronomy/11.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Deuteronomy 11, accessed 2015-11-25.</ref> but the ''Pulpit Commentary'' states that both Gerizim and Ebal are "equally barren-looking, though neither is wholly destitute of culture and vegetation".<ref>[http://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/deuteronomy/11.htm Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 11], accessed 2015-11-25.</ref> The [[Masoretic Text]], compiled between the 7th and 10th centuries of the [[Common Era]], says that Moses had also commanded the Israelites to build an altar on Mount Ebal, constructed from natural (rather than cut) stones, to place stones there and whiten them with [[calcium oxide|lime]],<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/> to make [[korban|sacrificial offerings on the altar]], eat there, and write the [[Law of Moses|Mosaic Law]] in stones there.<ref>{{Cite web|title=D'varim (Deuteronomy): Full Text|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/d-varim-deuteronomy-full-text|access-date=2022-01-13|website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref>{{bsn|date=June 2022}} The [[Samaritan Pentateuch]], as well as an ancient manuscript of the biblical text found in [[Qumran]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ijco.org/?categoryId=28682|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210101753/http://www.ijco.org/?categoryId=28682|archive-date=2011-12-10|title=An Unknown Dead Sea Scrolls Fragment of Deuteronomy James H. Charlesworth |publisher=Ijco.org |access-date=2014-05-01}}</ref> both bring the same excerpt as the Masoretic Text, with the only difference being the name "Gerizim", instead of "Ebal", therefore stating that Moses commanded the building of the altar on Mount Gerizim.<ref name=Magen/><ref name=Peakes>''[[Peake's Commentary on the Bible]]''</ref> Recent work on the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], which include the oldest surviving manuscripts of the biblical text, further supports the accuracy of the Samaritan Pentateuch's designation of Mount Gerizim, rather than Mount Ebal, as the first location in the [[Promised Land]] where Moses commanded an altar to be built.<ref>{{cite web|author=Charlesworth, James H.|url=http://blogs.owu.edu/magazine/2012/07/16/the-discovery-of-an-unknown-dead-sea-scroll-the-original-text-of-deuteronomy-27/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126051707/http://blogs.owu.edu/magazine/the-discovery-of-an-unknown-dead-sea-scroll-the-original-text-of-deuteronomy-27/|archive-date=2015-11-26|title=The Discovery of an Unknown Dead Sea Scroll: The Original Text of Deuteronomy 27?|work=OWU Magazine|date=2012-07-16}}</ref> All versions of the biblical text then have Moses' specifying how the Israelites should split between the two groups that were to pronounce blessings from Mount Gerizim and to pronounce curses from Mount Ebal. The tribes [[Tribe of Simeon|of Simeon]], [[Tribe of Levi|Levi]], [[Tribe of Judah|Judah]], [[Tribe of Issachar|Issachar]], [[Tribe of Joseph|Joseph]], and [[Tribe of Benjamin|Benjamin]] were to be sent to Gerizim, while those [[Tribe of Reuben|of Reuben]], [[Tribe of Gad|Gad]], [[Tribe of Asher|Asher]], [[Tribe of Zebulun|Zebulun]], [[Tribe of Dan|Dan]], and [[Tribe of Naphtali|Naphtali]] were to remain on Ebal.<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|27:11–13|HE}}</ref> The altar to God is again mentioned in the [[Book of Joshua]], when, after the Battle of [[Ai (Canaan)|Ai]], Joshua built an altar of unhewn stones, the Israelites made peace offerings on it, the law of Moses was written onto the stones, and the Israelites split into the two groups specified in Deuteronomy and pronounced blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Ebal, as instructed in the law of Moses.<ref>{{bibleverse|Joshua|8:31–35|HE}}</ref> Biblical scholars believe that the sources of the book of Joshua predate those of Deuteronomy, and hence that the order to build the altar and make the inscriptions is likely based on these actions in the sources of Joshua, rather than the other way around, possibly to provide an [[etiology|origin explanation]] for the events narrated in Joshua.<ref>[[Richard Elliott Friedman]], ''Who wrote the Bible''; ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', ''Book of Joshua'', ''Deuteronomy'', et passim</ref> [[File:Samaritans marking Passover on Mount Gerizim, West Bank - 20060418.jpg|thumb|left|[[Samaritan]]s' [[Passover]] [[pilgrimage]] on Mount Gerizim.]] When Joshua was old and dying, he gathered the people together at [[Shechem]] (present-day [[Nablus]]) and gave a farewell speech, and set up "[[standing stone|a stone as a witness]]", placing it "next to the sanctuary of [[Yahweh]], under the oak tree",<ref>{{bibleref2|Joshua 24:1–27}}</ref> which indicates that a sanctuary to God existed there.<ref name=Peakes/> ==History== [[File:GerizimPesach.jpg|thumb|Passover on Gerizim in the 1890s]] A Samaritan temple dedicated to Yahweh was built on Mount Gerizim during the 5th century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Magen |first=Yitzhak |title=Judah and Judeans in the Fourth Century BC |publisher=Eisenbrauns |year=2007 |isbn=9781575061306 |editor1=Oded Lipschitz |chapter=The Dating of the First Phase of the Samaritan Temple on Mount Gerizim in the Light of the Archaeological Evidence |editor2=Gary N. Knoppers |editor3=Rainer Albertz |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&q=Lipschits+Yehud&pg=PA75}}</ref> It existed alongside the Jewish [[Second Temple]] in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>''Jewish Encyclopedia'', et passim</ref> By that point, the Israelites were divided as "[[Samaritans]]" and "[[Jews]]", both claiming descendance from the Biblical Israelites and preaching adherence to the [[Torah]], but diverging on the holiest place on Earth to adore God: Mount Gerizim, for the Samaritans, and Jerusalem, for the Jews.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia /> [[File:שכם_ליד_הר_גריזים_צילום-_ליאו_קאהן_1912_-_i_וגנרi_btm782.jpeg|thumb|Old view of Nablus and Mount Gerizim]] An adjacent city was built by the Samaritans during the 3rd century BCE, and became the center for the Samaritan population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Dar |first=Shimon |url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789047444534/Bej.9789004180000.i-570_006.xml |title=Religious Diversity in Late Antiquity |date=2010-01-01 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-4453-4 |pages=190 |language=en |chapter=Archaeological Aspects Of Samaritan Research In Israel}}</ref> Religious rivalry between Samaritans and Jews led to Mount Gerizim being destroyed by the latter in 112-111 BCE, on orders of [[John Hyrcanus]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=Berlin>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion |last=Berlin |first=Adele |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-973004-9 |quote= John Hyrcanus I, who embarked upon further territorial conquests, forcing the non-Jewish populations of the conquered regions to adopt the Jewish way of life and destroying the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim.|page=330}}. See also: Jonathan Bourgel, [https://www.academia.edu/34049422/The_Destruction_of_the_Samaritan_Temple_by_John_Hyrcanus_A_Reconsideration "The Destruction of the Samaritan Temple by John Hyrcanus: A Reconsideration"], ''JBL'' 135/3 (2016), pp. 505-523; Idem, |title=[https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/10/11/628/htm The Samaritans during the Hasmonean Period: The Affirmation of a Discrete Identity?] |journal=Religions |date=November 2019 |volume=10 |issue=11 |pages=628 |doi=10.3390/rel10110628</ref> The date of the Samaritan temple destruction, the 21st of Kislev, became a holiday for the Jews during which it is forbidden to eulogize the dead.<ref name=Tannit>{{cite web |title= Megillat Taanit |publisher= attalus.org.il |url= http://www.attalus.org/translate/taanit.html |access-date= 2016-09-21}}</ref> Even after the destruction of their temple by the Jews, Mount Gerizim continued to be the holy place for the Samaritans, as mentioned in the [[New Testament]].<ref>John 4:20</ref> Coins produced by a Roman [[Mint (coin)|mint]] situated in Nablus, dated to 138–161 CE, seemingly depict the destroyed Samaritan temple, showing a huge temple complex, statues, and a substantive staircase leading from Nablus to the temple itself.<ref name=BennettBull>W.J. Bennett and R. Bull, ''Tell er-Ras, Publication of Archaeological Materials and Data from Mt. Gerizim, West Bank'', 1998</ref> In the [[Book of John]] in the [[New Testament]], in his discussion with the [[Samaritan woman at the well]], [[Jesus]] reveals his feeling about worshipping in either Mount Gerizim (as the Samaritans did) or Jerusalem (as then did by the Jews):{{blockquote|Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."|{{bibleref2|John|4:21–24}} }} Eventually, when [[Christianity]] became the [[state church of the Roman Empire]], Samaritans were barred from worshiping on Mount Gerizim. In 475 CE a Christian [[Church (building)|church]] was built on its summit.<ref name=Cheyne>Cheyne and Black, ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> In 529, [[Justinian I]] made [[Samaritanism]] illegal, and arranged for a protective wall to be constructed around the church.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia /><ref name=Cheyne/> As a result, the same year, [[Julianus ben Sabar]] led a pro-Samaritan revolt, and by 530 had captured most of [[Samaria]], destroying churches and killing the priests and officials. However, in 531, after Justinian enlisted the help of [[Ghassanids]], the revolt was completely quashed, and surviving Samaritans were mostly enslaved or exiled. In 533 Justinian had a castle constructed on Mount Gerizim to protect the church from raids by the few disgruntled Samaritans left in the area.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia /><ref name=Cheyne/> ==Archaeology== Excavations at the site were initiated in 1983 and continued until 2006 and yielded tens of thousands of finds. Remnants found there identified that a Samaritan temple existed atop Mount Gerizim by the mid-[[5th century BC]], and that it was eventually destroyed and rebuilt in the early [[2nd century BC]], only to be destroyed again in 111–110 BCE by [[Jews|Jewish]] forces under the orders of the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean]] leader [[John Hyrcanus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lipschitz|first1=Oded|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&q=Josephus|title=Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E.|last2=Knoppers|first2=Gary N.|last3=Albertz|first3=Rainer|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-130-6|pages=157–165|language=en}}</ref> [[File:Harry Fenn. Ruins on the summit of Mount Gerizim, on the site of the Samaritan temple. 1881-1884.jpg|thumb|right|Ruins on Mount Gerizim c1880.]]The archeological finds have shown that the precincts of the Samaritan temple, not including its gates, measured 96 meters x 98 meters. Inside this perimeter, thousands of pottery vessels and burned bones of animal sacrifices – sheep, goats, cattle and doves – were found,<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lipschitz|first1=Oded|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C|title=Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E.|last2=Knoppers|first2=Gary N.|last3=Albertz|first3=Rainer|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-130-6|pages=162|language=en}}</ref> as well as many stones with inscriptions containing the [[Tetragrammaton]] (the name of [[God]]).<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Lipschitz|first1=Oded|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NsxZRnxE70C&q=Josephus|title=Judah and the Judeans in the Fourth Century B.C.E.|last2=Knoppers|first2=Gary N.|last3=Albertz|first3=Rainer|date=2007-01-01|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-130-6|pages=168|language=en}}</ref> In 475 CE, a Christian [[Church (building)|church]] was built on the Mount's summit. As a result of the fortified church and the previous Samaritan temple, extensive ruins still exist at the somewhat plateau-like top of Gerizim. The line of the wall around the church can easily be seen,<ref name="JewishEncyclopedia" /> as can portions of the former castle, and initial archaeological study of the site postulated that the castle built by Justinian had utilized stones from an earlier structure on the site, probably the Samaritan temple.<ref name="Cheyne" /> In the centre of the plateau is a smooth surface, containing a hollow.<ref name="Cheyne" /> [[File:Mount_Gerizim_-_ovedc_-_C_21.jpg|thumb|Archaeological remnants on Mount Gerizim's summit]] The excavation, initiated when the site was in the possession of [[Jordan]] and continued under [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli rule]], uncovered [[Corinthian column]]s, a large rectangular platform 215&nbsp;ft by 145&nbsp;ft (65m by 44m) surrounded by 6&nbsp;ft (2m) thick and 30&nbsp;ft (9m) high walls, and a 25&nbsp;ft (8m) wide staircase leading down from the platform to a marbled [[esplanade]].<ref name=BennettBull/> The complex also has a series of cisterns in which Late Roman ceramics were found.<ref name=BennettBull/> These discoveries, now named "Structure A", have been dated to the time of [[Hadrian]], due to [[numismatics]] and external literary evidence.<ref name=Bull>Robert J. Bull, ''The Excavations of Tell er Ras''</ref> Underneath these remains were found a large stone structure built on top of the bedrock. This structure, now known as "Structure B", nearly half cubic (21m by 20m in width and length, and 8.5m high), consists almost entirely of unhewn limestone slabs, fitted together [[Dry stone|without any binding material]], and has no internal rooms or dividing walls.<ref name="Bull" /> The structure was surrounded by a courtyard similar to the platform above it (being 60m by 40m in size with 1.5m thick walls), and was dated to during or before the [[Hellenistic period]] by ceramics found in a [[cistern]] cut into the bedrock at the northern side.<ref name="BennettBull" /> The excavating archaeologist considered "Structure B" to be the altar built by the Samaritans in the 5th or 6th century BCE.<ref name="Bull" /> == Etymology and possible pre-Canaanite origins == It is possible that the name of the mountain may mean ''mountain of the Gerizites'', a tribe in the vicinity of the Philistines that, according to the Hebrew Bible, was conquered by David.<ref name=Peakes/> Another possible straightforward etymology for ''Gerizim'' would give the meaning of ''mountain cut in two''.<ref name=Cheyne/> According to the narrative about [[Jotham (son of Gideon)|Jotham]] in the [[Book of Judges]], Shechem was a site where there was a sanctuary of ''El-Berith'', also known as ''Baal-Berith'', meaning ''God of the covenant'' and ''Lord of the covenant'', respectively;<ref>Judges 9</ref> scholars have suggested that the Joshua story about the site derives from a covenant made there in Canaanite times.<ref>Judges 9; ''[[Peake's commentary on the Bible]]'' et passim</ref> In the narrative of Judges, the ''pillar that was in Shechem'' is seemingly significant enough to have given its name to a nearby plain ({{bibleref2|Judges 9:6}}), and this pillar is thought to be likely to have been a totem of ''El-Berith''; the Joshua story, of a stone being set up as a witness, simply being an attempt to provide an [[etiology]] in accordance with later Israelite theology.<ref name=Cheyne/> ==See also== * [[Samaritanism]] *[[Samaritan Revolts]] ==Notes and citations== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category}} * [[Wikiversity:Bible, English, King James, Documentary Hypothesis, Deuteronomist source, First Deuteronomist Version, Curse blessing pairs|The curses and blessings of Ebal and Gerizim, in isolation, at wikiversity]] * [http://www.pbase.com/rdavid/gerizim Photos of Mount Gerizim] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20190907010138/http://www.the-samaritans.com/ Mount Gerizim and the Samaritans] *[https://www.manar-al-athar.ox.ac.uk/pages/search.php?search=%21collection2211 Photos of Mount Gerizim] at the [[Manar al-Athar]] photo archive {{Religious Sites in the Palestinian Authority}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:Samaritan culture and history|Gerizim, Mount]] [[Category:Hebrew Bible mountains|Gerizim]] [[Category:Mountains of Nablus|Gerizim]] [[Category:Sacred mountains|Gerizim]] [[Category:Samaritan pilgrimage sites]]'