Mount Of Olives

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Ηar-Hazzey-Thim . E. of Jerusalem ( Ezekiel 11:23), separated from it by "the valley of Jehoshaphat" ( Zechariah 14:4). "The mount of the olive grove" ( Εlaionos ),  Acts 1:12. Arabic Jebel Es Ζeitun . In  2 Samuel 15:30 "the ascent of the olives" (Hebrew). "The mountain facing Jerusalem" ( 1 Kings 11:7); called "the hill of corruption" from Solomon's high places built to Chemosh and Moloch ( 2 Kings 23:13-14). The road by which David fled from Absalom across Kedron, and passed through trees to the summit, where was a consecrated spot (An Old Sanctuary To Εlohim , Like Bethel) at which he worshipped God ( 2 Samuel 15:30;  2 Samuel 15:32). Turning the summit he passed Bahurim ( 2 Samuel 16:5), probably near Bethany, then through a "dry and weary (Hebrew Hayeephim ) land where no water was," as he says  Psalms 63:1;  2 Samuel 16:2;  2 Samuel 16:14 (the same Hebrew),  2 Samuel 17:2. In Psalm 42 he was beyond Jordan; in Psalm 63 he is in the wilderness on the near side of Jordan ( 2 Samuel 15:28;  2 Samuel 17:21-22).

Shimei, scrambling along the overhanging hill, flung down the stones and dust of the rough and parched descent. The range has four hills. Josiah defiled Solomon's idolatrous high places, breaking the "statues," cutting down the groves, and filling their places with men's bones. After the return from Babylon the olive, pine, palm, and myrtle branches for booths at the feast of tabernacles were thence procured ( Nehemiah 8:15). The ridge runs N. and S., separating the city which lies on its western side from the wilderness reaching from the eastern side of Olivet to the Dead Sea. At the northern extremity the range bends to the W., leaving a mile of level space between it and the city wall; whereas on the E. the mountain approaches the wall, separated only by a narrow ravine, Kedron, to which the descent from the Golden gate, or the gate of Stephen, is steep, and the ascent from the valley bed up the hill equally so. The northern part, probably Nob, Mizpeh, and Scopus (So Called From The View It Commands Of The City) , is distinct historically, though geologically a continuation, from "the Mount of Olives."

So too the "mount of evil counsel" on the S. The Latin Christians call the northern part " Viri Galilaei ", being the presumed site of the angels' address to the disciples at the ascension, "ye men of Galilee," etc. ( Acts 1:11). Olivet (Et Tur), the historical hill so called, separated from Scopus by a depression running across, is a limestone rounded hill, the whole length two miles; the height at the Church of the Ascension on the summit is 2,700 ft. above the Mediterranean, Zion is 2,537 ft. above, Moriah ("temple area" or Ηaram ) at 2,429 ft., the N.W. corner of the city at 2,581 ft. Thus it is considerably higher than the temple mountain, and even than the socalled Zion. S. of the mount of ascension, and almost a part of it, stands that of the tombs of the prophets; again, S. of that, the mount of offense. Of the three paths from the valley to the summit the first follows the natural shape of the ground, the line of depression Between the central and the northern hill. It was evidently David's route in fleeing.

It was also the Lord's route between Bethany and Jerusalem ( Luke 19:28-37), and that whereby the apostles returned to Jerusalem after the ascension. The second path at 50 yards beyond Gethsemane strikes off directly up the steep to the village. The third turns S. to the tombs of the prophets, and then to the village. The reputed sites at the W. of the central mount are: the tomb of the Virgin, then successively up the hill, namely, an olive garden, cavern of Christ's prayer and agony, rock where the disciples slept, place of Jesus' capture, spot from whence the Virgin saw Stephen stoned, spot where her girdle dropped at her assumption, spot of Jesus' lament over Jerusalem ( Luke 19:41), tombs of the prophets, including Haggai and Zechariah (the Jews say;  Matthew 23:29), place of the ascension, and church. (See Gethsemane .)

On the eastern side, descending from the ascension church to Bethany, are the field of the fruitless figtree, Bethphage, Bethany, Lazarus' house, Lazarus' tomb, stone on which Christ sat when Martha and Mary came to Him. Gethsemane is doubtless authentic. The empress Helena (A.D. 325) was the first who connected the ascension with Olivet (Eusebius Vit. Const. 3:43, Demonstr. Evang. 6:18); not that she fixed the precise spot but she erected a memorial ascension church with a glittering cross on this conspicuous site near the cave, the reputed place of Christ's teaching the disciples. The tradition was not an established one until more than 300 years later. The real place of ascension was Bethany, on the eastern slope, a mile beyond the traditional site ( Luke 24:50-51;  Acts 1:6-11). The "sabbath day's journey" (About Six Furlongs) specified for the information of Gentiles not knowing the locality in Acts 1 is from Olivet's main part and summit (or from Kefr et Tur, Bethphage according to Ganneau: see below), not from the place of actual ascension, Bethany, which is more than twice a sabbath day's journey.

So public a spot as the summit, visible for miles from all points, would ill suit the ascension of Him who after the resurrection showed Himself "not unto all the people but to witnesses chosen before of God" ( Acts 10:41-42). The retired and wooded slopes of Bethany on the contrary were the fit scene of that crowning event. "The Mount of Olives" is similarly used in a general sense for Bethany ( Luke 21:37, compare  Matthew 21:17;  Matthew 26:6). "Bethany" does not mean (As Alford Says) the district of Bethany extending to the summit, but the village alone. The traditional site of the lamentation over Jerusalem is similarly unreal, for it can only be reached by a walk of hundreds of yards over the breast of the hill, the temple moreover and city being in full view all the time. The real site must have been a point on the road. from Bethany where the city bursts into view.

The Lord's triumphal entry was not by the steep short path of pedestrians over the summit, but the long easy route round the S. shoulder of the southernmost of the three divisions of Olivet; thence two views present themselves in succession; the first of the S.W. part of the city, namely, so called "Zion," the second, after an interval, of the temple buildings, answering to the two points of the history, the hosannas and the weeping of Jesus.  Luke 19:37, "when He was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount," etc.;  Luke 19:41-44, "when He was come near He beheld the city and wept over it." On the slope the multitude found the palm branches when going to meet the Lord ( John 12:13). The catacomb called "the tombs of the prophets," on the hill S. of the central ascension hill and forming part of it with a slight depression between, is probably that cave where according to Eusebius Jesus taught mysteries to His disciples (Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, 453).

The mount of offense ( Βaten El Ηawa , Arabic, "bag of the wind") is the most southern portion of the range. The road in the hollow between it and the hill of "the tomb of the prophets" is the road from Bethany whereby Christ in triumph entered Jerusalem. The identification of "the hill of offense" with Solomon's "mount of corruption" ( 1 Kings 11:7;  2 Kings 23:13) is a late tradition of the 13th century. Stanley makes the northern hill ( Viri Galilaei ) to be "the mount of corruption" (Why So Called Is Uncertain In That Case) because the three sanctuaries were on the right side, i.e. S. of it, namely, on the other three summits. But  2 Kings 23:13 rather means the three high places were on the S. side of "the mount of corruption," i.e. the S. side or else peak of the Mount of Olives, which from Brocardus' time (13th century) has been called "the mount of offense" from the Vulgate translated of  2 Kings 23:13. The southern hill is lower and more rugged. The wady en Nar, continuing the Kedron valley eastward to the Dead Sea, is the southern boundary of the southern hill. Its bald surface contrasting with the vegetation of the other hills may have suggested the identification of it as the "mount of corruption."

On its steep western face is the dilapidated village of Silwan. (See Siloam .) On a projecting part of its eastern side, overlooking Christ's triumphal route, are tanks and foundations, supposed by Barclay (City, etc., 66) to be the site of Bethphage; but the discovery of "an almost square block of masonry or rock, covered with paintings," not separated from the porous limestone rock of which it forms a part, on the strip to the N. of this road, shows that in the 11th century Christians identified Bethphage with that site. The block is 4 ft. 3 inches by 3 ft. 6 inches, and 3 ft. 10 inches high, and has on the S. side a representation of the raising of Lazarus, on the N. the disciples fetching the donkey; the supposition in the 11th century was that this was the stone on which our Saviour rested while the disciples were absent on their divine errand. Bethphage must have been, as this stone is, not on the road which Jesus was taking, namely, the narrow ridge to the Mount of Olives; otherwise He need not have sent disciples if He would have to pass it Himself; He said to them, "Go to the village over against you" ( Matthew 21:2).

Ganneau identifies Bethphage with Kefr et Tur, "the village of the Mount of Olives," where exist ancient remains; he thinks it marked on the E. the sabbath day's journey from Jerusalem (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement, April 1878). The notion that the northern hill (Arabic Κarem Es Serjad , "the vineyard of the sportsmen") was the scene of the angels' address to the apostles after the ascension first came into existence in the 16th century. Its first name in 1250 was "Galilee" (Perdiccas in Reland Pal., 52), either from its having been the lodging place of Galilaeans coming up to Jerusalem or from corruption of an ancient name, perhaps Geliloth, on Benjamin's southern boundary ( Joshua 18:17). The place of the angels' address was from the 12th to the 16th century more appropriately assigned to a place in the Church of the Ascension, marked by two columns. Now it is only in the secluded slopes of the northern hill that venerable olives are seen spreading out into a wood; anciently the hills were covered with them. No date palms (From Which Bethany Took Its Name) are to be seen for miles.

Fig trees are found chiefly on the road side. Titus at the siege stripped the country all round of trees, to construct embankments for his engines. Rabbi Janna in the Midrash Tehillim (Lightfoot, 2:39) says that the Shechinah ("divine presence"), after retiring from Jerusalem, dwelt three years and a half on Olivet, to see whether the Jews would repent; but when they would not, retired to its own place. Jesus realized this in His three years' and a half ministry. "The glory of Jehovah went up from the city and stood upon the mountain on its E. side." Its return into the house of Jehovah shall be "from the way of the E., by the gate whose prospect is toward the E." ( Ezekiel 11:23;  Ezekiel 43:2;  Ezekiel 43:4). "His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the E., and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the E. and toward the W., and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mount shall remove toward the N. and half of it toward the S." The place of His departure shall be the place of His return, the manner too shall be similar ( Acts 1:11).

The direction shall be "as the lightning cometh out of the E." ( Matthew 24:27). The scene of His agony shall be that of His glory, the earnest of which was His triumphal entry from Olivet ( Matthew 21:1-10). It was His favorite resort ( John 8:1). Ganneau (Palestine Exploration Quarterly Statement) identifies Scopus with Mecharif, where is a great well. The Mussulmen place little heaps of stones there as the point from which Jerusalem and the Sakhrah mosque are first observed in coming from Nablus. "Scopus" may comprise the whole chain from Mecharif to Olivet. Conder fixes on a site E. of the great northern road from Jerusalem to Nablus. Jerusalem is wholly hidden from view until the last ridge is reached, from which the road rapidly descends and passes to the Damascus gate; the grey northern wall and the mosque, etc., here burst on the view at a mile and a half distance, as Josephus describes.

Before the ridge is a plateau large enough to afford camping ground for the two Roman legions of Titus, and at the same time hidden from view of the city; it has also the military advantages of being directly upon the line of communication, of being difficult to approach from the front, and having good communication with the flanks and rear. Beyond the ridge, three furlongs to the N., the second camp, the fifth legion, could camp on a large plain stretching toward Tel El Ful , close to the great northern road. The name Εl Μesharif , or "the look out," Greek Scopos , is still constantly applied to the ridge. Josephus' "seven furlongs" from the center of the plateau reaches exactly to the large masonry discovered by Major Wilson, and supposed to be part of the third wall, proving Jerusalem extended northwards far beyond its present limits. This again discredits the popular site of the Holy Sepulchre.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Olives, Mount Of . The range of hills east of Jerusalem, separated from the Temple mountain by the Kidron Valley. It is scarcely mentioned in the OT. David crossed it when fleeing from Absalom (  2 Samuel 15:30 ). Here branches were cut to make booths for the Feast of Tabernacles (  Nehemiah 8:15 ). Ezekiel (  Ezekiel 11:23 ) and Zechariah (  Zechariah 14:4 ) make it the scene of ideal theophanies: the literal interpretation of the latter prophecy has given rise to many curious and unprofitable speculations.

The chief interest of the mountain, however, is its connexion with the closing years of our Lord’s life. Over this He rode on His triumphal entry to Jerusalem; and wept over the city as it came into view ( Luke 19:41 ); and during the days when He lodged in Bethany and visited Jerusalem He must necessarily have passed over it daily (  Luke 21:37 ). The fig-tree which He cursed (  Matthew 21:19 ) was most probably on the mountain slopes; and in one of these daily pilgrimages He delivered to His disciples the great eschatological discourse (  Matthew 24:1-51;   Matthew 25:1-46 ). On the side of the mountain was Gethsemane, where took place the first scene of the final tragedy.

The ridge is formed of hard cretaceous limestone, surmounted by softer deposits of the same material. It is divided, by gentle undulations and one comparatively deep cleft, into a series of summits. There is no reason to apply the name Olivet (  Acts 1:12 ,   2 Samuel 15:30 [AV [Note: Authorized Version.] only]) exclusively to any one of these summits. The southernmost, which is separated from the rest by the cleft just mentioned, on the slope of which stands the village of Siloam ( Silwân ), is traditionally known (by the Franks) as the ‘Mount of Offence,’ and is considered to be the scene of Solomon’s idolatry. The peak north of this is commonly called Olivet proper; it is unfortunately spoilt by a hideous bell-tower and some other modern monastic buildings. The next peak, the Viri GalilÅ“i , is the traditional site of the Ascension; and the next is popularly, but erroneously, called Scopus .

Ecclesiastical tradition has, as might he expected, been busy with the Mount of Olives, and the places pointed out have by no means remained unaltered through the Christian centuries, as becomes evident from a study of the writings of the pilgrims. To-day are shown the tomb of the Virgin; the grotto of the Agony; the Garden of Gethsemane (two sites); the chapel of the Ascension (a mosque, with a mark in the floor said to be the ‘footprint of Christ’); the tomb of Huldah; the site (an impossible one) of Christ’s weeping over the city; the place where He taught the Lord’s Prayer; the place where the Apostles’ Creed was composed, etc. etc. Far more interesting than these ecclesiastical inventions are the numerous ancient Jewish and early Christian tombs (especially the tomb of Nicanor the donor of the ‘Beautiful Gate’ of the Temple; the extraordinary labyrinth commonly known as the ‘Tombs of the Prophets’); and the fragments of mosaic found here from time to time which testify to the pious regard in which the mount was naturally held from early times.

R. A. S. Macalister.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

 Ezekiel 11:23 , called also OLIVET,  2 Samuel 15:30 , a ridge running north and south on the east side of Jerusalem, its summit about half a mile from the city wall, and separated from it by the valley of the Kidron. It is composed of chalky limestone, the rocks everywhere showing themselves. The olive-trees that formerly covered it, and gave it its name, are now represented by a few trees and clumps of trees which ages of desolation have not eradicated. There are three prominent summits on the ridge; of these the southernmost, which is lower than the other two, is now known as the "Mount of Corruption," because Solomon defiled it by idolatrous worship,  1 Kings 11:5-7   2 Kings 23:13 . Over this ridge passes the road to Bethany, the most frequented road to Jericho and the Jordan. The sides of the Mount of Olives towards the west contain many tombs, cut in the rocks.

The central summit rises two hundred feet above Jerusalem, and presents a fine view of the city, and indeed of the whole region, including the mountains of Ephraim on the north, the valley of the Jordan on the east, a part of the Dead Sea on the southeast, and beyond it Kerak in the mountains of Moab. Perhaps no spot on earth unites so fine a view, with so many memorials of the most solemn and important events. Over this hill the Savior often climbed in his journey to and from the holy city. Gethsemane lay at its foot on the west, and Bethany on its eastern slope,  Matthew 24:3   Mark 13:3 . It was probably near Bethany, and not as tradition says on the middle summit, that our lord ascended to heaven,  Luke 24:50   Acts 1:12 , though superstition has built the "Church of the Ascension" on the pretended spot, and shows the print of his feet on the rock whence he ascended! From the summit, three days before his death, he beheld Jerusalem, and wept over it, recalling the long ages of his more than parental care and grieving over its approaching ruin. Scarcely any thing in the gospels moves the heart more than this natural and touching scene. No one can doubt that it was God who there spoke; his retrospect, his predictions of his future judgments in the earth,  Zechariah 14:4 . See view of the central summit in Gethsemane . Also Sepulchres

Holman Bible Dictionary

David crossed the Mount of Olives when fleeing Absalom ( 2 Samuel 15:30 ). Ezekiel saw the cherubim chariot land there ( Ezekiel 11:23 ). Zechariah described how the Mount of Olives would move to form a huge valley on the Day of the Lord ( Zechariah 14:3-5 ). Many crucial events in Jesus' life occurred on the Mount of Olives. (See, for example,  Matthew 26:30;  Mark 11:1-2;  Luke 4:5;  Luke 22:39-46;  Acts 1:9-12 ).

Robert O. Byrd

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ol´ivz , ( הר־הזּיתים , har ha - zēthı̄m (  Zechariah 14:4 ), מעלה־הזּיתים , ma‛ălēh ha - zēthı̄m , "the ascent of the mount of Olives" ( 2 Samuel 15:30 , the King James Version "the ascent of (mount) Olivet"); τὸ ὄρος τῶν ἐλαιῶν , tó óros tṓn elaiṓn , "the Mount of Olives" ( Matthew 21:1;  Matthew 24:3;  Matthew 26:30;  Mark 11:1;  Mark 13:3;  Mark 14:26;  Luke 19:37;  Luke 22:39;  John 8:1 ), τό ὄρος τὸ καλούμενον ἐλαιῶν , tó óros tó kaloúmenon elaiṓn , "the mount that is called Olivet" ( Luke 19:29;  Luke 21:37; in both references in the King James Version "the mount called (the mount) of Olives"), τοῦ ἐλαιῶνος , toú elaiṓnos ( Acts 1:12 , English Versions of the Bible "Olivet" literally, "olive garden")):

1. Names

2. Situation and Extent

3. Old Testament Associations

(1) David's Escape from Absalom

(2) The Vision of Ezekiel

(3) The Vision of Zechariah

4. High Places

5. Olivet and Jesus

6. View of the City from Olivet

7. Churches and Ecclesiastical Traditions

Literature

Olivet comes to us through the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) Oliverum , "an oliveyard."

1. Names:

Josephus frequently uses the expression "Mount of Olives" (e.g. Ant. , VII, ix, 2; XX, viii, 6; Bj , V, ii, 3; xii, 2), but later Jewish writings give the name הר־המּשׁחה , har ha - mishḥāh , "Mount of Oil"; this occurs in some manuscripts in   2 Kings 23:13 , and the common reading הר־המּשׁחית , har ha - mashḥı̄th , "Mount of Corruption," margin "destruction," may possibly be a deliberate alteration (see below). In later ages the Mount was termed "the mountain of lights," because here there used to be kindled at one time the first beacon light to announce throughout Jewry the appearance of the new moon.

To the natives of Palestine today it is usually known as Jebel eṭ Ṭûr ("mountain of the elevation," or "tower"), or, less commonly, as Jebel Ṭûr ez zait ("mountain of the elevation of oil"). The name Jebel ez - zaitûn ("Mount of Olives") is also well known. Early Arabic writers use the term Tûr Zait , "Mount of Oil."

2. Situation and Extent:

The mountain ridge which lies East of Jerusalem leaves the central range near the valley of Sha‛phat and runs for about 2 miles due South. After culminating in the mountain mass on which lies the "Church of the Ascension," it may be considered as giving off two branches: one lower one, which runs South-Southwest, forming the southern side of the Kidron valley, terminating at the Wādy en Nâr , and another, higher one, which slopes eastward and terminates a little beyond el - ‛Azarēyeh (modern Bethany). The main ridge is considerably higher than the site of ancient Jerusalem, and still retains a thick cap of the soft chalky limestone, mixed with flint, known variously as Nāri and Ka‛kūlı̄ , which has been entirely denuded over the Jerusalem site (see Jerusalem , II, 1). The flints were the cause of a large settlement of paleolithic man which occurred in prehistoric times on the northern end of the ridge, while the soft chalky stone breaks down to form a soil valuable for the cultivation of olives and other trees and shrubs. The one drawback to arboriculture upon this ridge is the strong northwest wind which permanently bends most trees toward the Southeast, but affects the sturdy, slow-growing olive less than the quicker-growing pine. The eastern slopes are more sheltered. In respect of wind the Mount of Olives is far more exposed than the site of old Jerusalem.

The lofty ridge of Olivet is visible from far, a fact now emphasized by the high Russian tower which can be seen for many scores of miles on the East of the Jordan. The range presents, from such a point of view particularly, a succession of summits. Taking as the northern limit the dip which is crossed by the ancient Anathoth ( ‛anātā ) road, the most northerly summit is that now crowned by the house and garden of Sir John Gray Hill, 2,690 ft. above sea-level. This is sometimes incorrectly pointed out as Scopus, which lay farther to the Northwest. A second sharp dip in the ridge separates this northern summit from the next, a broad plateau now occupied by the great Kaiserin Augusta Victoria Stiftung and grounds. The road makes a sharp descent into a valley which is traversed from West to East by an important and ancient road from Jerusalem, which runs eastward along the Wādy er Rawābeh . South of this dip lies the main mass of the mountain, that known characteristically as the Olivet of ecclesiastical tradition. This mass consists of two principal summits and two subsidiary spurs. The northern of the two main summits is that known as Karem eṣ Ṣayyād , "the vineyard of the hunter," and also as "Galilee," or, more correctly, as Viri Galilaei (see below, 7). It reaches a height of 2,723 ft. above the Mediterranean and is separated from the southern summit by a narrow neck traversed today by the carriage road. The southern summit, of practically the same elevation, is the traditional "Mount of the Ascension," and for several years has been distinguished by a lofty, though somewhat inartistic, tower erected by the Russians. The two subsidiary spurs referred to above are: (1) a somewhat isolated ridge running Southeast, upon which lies the squalid village of el ‛Azarēyeh - B ethany; (2) a small spur running South, covered with grass, which is known as "the Prophets," on account of a remarkable 4th-century Christian tomb found there, which is known as "the tomb of the Prophets" - a spot much venerated by modern Jews.

A further extension of the ridge as Baṭn el Hawa , "the belly of the wind," or traditionally as "the Mount of Offence" (compare   1 Kings 11:7;  2 Kings 23:13 ), is usually included in the Mount of Olives, but its lower altitude - it is on a level with the temple-platform - and its position South of the city mark it off as practically a distinct hill. Upon its lower slopes are clustered the houses of Silwân (Siloam).

The notices of the Mount of Olives in the Old Testament are, considering its nearness to Jerusalem, remarkably scanty.

3. Old Testament Associations:

(1) David's Escape from Absalom:

David fleeing before his rebellious son Absalom ( 2 Samuel 15:16 ) crossed the Kidron and "went up by the ascent of the mount of Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot: and all the people that were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went ( 2 Samuel 15:30 ).... And it came to pass, that, when David was come to the top of the ascent where he was wont to worship God, (m), behold, Hushai the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth upon his head ( 2 Samuel 15:32 ). And when David was a little past the top of the ascent, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine" ( 2 Samuel 16:1 ).

It is highly probable that David's route to the wilderness was neither by the much-trodden Anathoth road nor over the summit of the mountain, but by the path running Northeast from the city, which runs between the Viri Galilaei hill and that supporting the German Sanatorium and descends into the wilderness by Wādy er Rawâbi . See Bahurim .

(2) The Vision of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel in a vision ( Ezekiel 11:23 ) saw the glory of Yahweh go up from the midst of the city and stand "upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city" (compare  Ezekiel 43:2 ). In connection with this the Rabbi Janna records the tradition that the shekhı̄nāh stood 3 1/2 years upon Olivet, and preached, saying, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" - a strange story to come from a Jewish source, suggesting some overt reference to Christ.

(3) The Vision of Zechariah:

In  Zechariah 14:4 the prophet sees Yahweh in that day stand upon the Mount of Olives, "and the Mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."

In addition to these direct references, Jewish tradition associates with this mount - this "mount of Corruption" - the rite of the red heifer ( Numbers 19 ); and many authorities consider that this is also the mount referred to in  Nehemiah 8:15 , whence the people are directed to fetch olive branches, branches of wild olive, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of thick trees to make their booths.

4. High Places:

It is hardly possible that a spot with such a wide outlook - especially the marvelous view over the Jordan valley and Dead Sea to the lands of Ammon and Moab - should have been neglected in the days when Semitic religion crowned such spots with their sanctuaries. There is Old Testament evidence that there was a "high place" here. In the account of David's flight mention is made of the spot on the summit "where he was wont to worship God" ( 2 Samuel 15:32 margin). This is certainly a reference to a sanctuary, and there are strong reasons for believing that this place may have been Nob (which see) (see  1 Samuel 21:1;  1 Samuel 22:9 ,  1 Samuel 22:11 ,  1 Samuel 22:19;  Nehemiah 11:32; but especially  Isaiah 10:32 ). This last reference seems to imply a site more commanding in its outlook over the ancient city than Ras el Mushārif proposed by Driver, one at least as far South as the Anathoth road, or even that from Wādy er Rawābi . But besides this we have the definite statement ( 1 Kings 11:7 ): "Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before (i.e. East of) Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the children of Ammon," and the further account that the "high places that were before (East of) Jerusalem, which were on the right hand (South) of the mount of corruption (margin "destruction") which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king (Josiah) defile" ( 2 Kings 23:13 ). That these high places were somewhere upon what is generally recognized as the Mount of Olives, seems clear, and the most probable site is the main mass where are today the Christian sanctuaries, though Graetz and Dean Stanley favor the summit known as Viri Galilaei . It is the recognition of this which has kept alive the Jewish name "Mount of Corruption" for this mount to this day. The term Mons offensionis , given to the southeastern extension, South of the city, is merely an ecclesiastical tradidition going back to Quaresmius in the 17th century, which is repeated by Burckhardt (1823 AD).

5. Olivet and Jesus:

More important to us are the New Testament associations of this sacred spot. In those days the mountain must have been far different from its condition today. Titus in his siege of Jerusalem destroyed all the timber here as elsewhere in the environs, but before this the hillsides must have been clothed with verdure - oliveyards, fig orchards and palm groves, with myrtle and other shrubs. Here in the fresh breezes and among the thick foliage, Jesus, the country-bred Galilean, must gladly have taken Himself from the noise and closeness of the over-crowded city. It is to the Passion Week, with the exception of  John 8:1 , that all the incidents belong which are expressly mentioned as occurring on the Mount of Olives; while there would be a special reason at this time in the densely packed city, it is probable that on other occasions also our Lord preferred to stay outside the walls. Bethany would indeed appear to have been His home in Judea, as Capernaum was in Galilee. Here we read of Him as staying with Mary and Martha ( Luke 10:38-42 ); again He comes to Bethany from the wilderness road from Jericho for the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11), and later He is at a feast, six days before the Passover ( John 12:1 ), at the house of Simon ( Matthew 26:6-12;  Mark 14:3-9;  John 12:1-9 ). The Mount of Olives is expressly mentioned in many of the events of the Passion Week. He approached Jerusalem, "unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives" ( Mark 11:1;  Matthew 21:1;  Luke 19:29 ); over a shoulder of this mount - very probably by the route of the present Jericho carriage road - H e made His triumphal entry to the city (Mt 21; Mk 11; Lk 19), and on this road, when probably the full sight of the city first burst into view, He wept over Jerusalem ( Luke 19:41 ). During all that week "every day he was teaching in the temple; and every night he went out, and lodged in the mount that is called Olivet" ( Luke 21:37 ) - the special part of the mount being Bethany ( Matthew 21:17;  Mark 11:11 ). It was on the road from Bethany that He gave the sign of the withering of the fruitless fig tree ( Matthew 21:17-19;  Mark 11:12-14 ,  Mark 11:20-24 ), and "as he sat on the mount of Olives" ( Matthew 24:3 f;   Mark 13:3 f) Jesus gave His memorable sermon with the doomed city lying below Him.

On the lower slopes of Olivet, in the Garden Of Gethsemane (which see), Jesus endured His agony, the betrayal and arrest, while upon one of its higher points - not, as tradition has it, on the inhabited highest summit, but on the secluded eastern slopes "over against Bethany" ( Luke 24:50-52 ) - H e took leave of His disciples (compare  Acts 1:12 ).

6. View of the City from Olivet:

The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives must ever be one of the most striking impressions which any visitor to Jerusalem carries away with him. It has been described countless times. It is today a view but of ruin and departed glory compared with that over which Jesus wept. A modern writer with historic imagination has thus graphically sketched the salient features of that sight:

"We are standing on the road from Bethany as it breaks round the Mount of Olives and on looking northwest this is what we see.... There spreads a vast stone stage, almost rectangular, some 400 yards. North and South by 300 East and West, held up above Ophel and the Kidron valley by a high and massive wall, from 50 to 150 ft. and more in height, according to the levels of the rock from which it rises. Deep cloisters surround this platform on the inside of the walls... Every gate has its watch and other guards patrol the courts. The crowds, which pour through the south gates upon the platform for the most part keep to the right; the exceptions, turning westward, are excommunicated or in mourning. But the crowd are not all Israelites. Numbers of Gentiles mingle with them; there are costumes and colors from all lands. In the cloisters sit teachers with groups of disciples about them. On the open pavement stand the booths of hucksters and money-changers; and from the North sheep and bullocks are being driven toward the Inner Sanctuary. This lies not in the center of the great platform, but in the northwest corner. It is a separately fortified, oblong enclosure; its high walls with their 9 gates rising from a narrow terrace at a slight elevation above the platform and the terrace encompassed by a fence within which none but Israelites may pass... Upon its higher western end rises a house 'like a lion broad in front and narrow behind.' ...From the open porch of this house stone steps descend to a great block of an altar perpetually smoking with sacrifices.... Off the Northwest of the Outer Sanctuary a castle (the Antonia) dominates the whole with its 4 lofty towers. Beyond ... the Upper City rises in curved tiers like a theater, while all the lower slopes to the South are a crowded mass of houses, girded by the eastern wall of the city. Against that crowded background the sanctuary with its high house gleams white and fresh. But the front of the house, glittering with gold plates, is obscured by a column of smoke rising from the altar; and the Priests' Court about the latter is colored by the slaughterers and sacrifices - a splash of red, as our imagination takes it, in the center of the prevailing white. At intervals there are bursts of music; the singing of psalms, the clash of cymbals and a great blare of trumpets, at which the people in their court in the Inner Sanctuary fall down and worship" (extracts from G.A. Smith's Jerusalem , II, 518-20).

7. Churches and Ecclesiastical Traditions:

To the Bible student the New Testament is the best guide to Olivet; tradition and "sites" only bewilder him. Once the main hilltop was a mass of churches. There was the "Church of the Ascension" to mark the spot whereby tradition (contrary to the direct statement of Luke) states that the Ascension occurred; now the site is marked by a small octagonal chapel, built in 1834, which is in the hands of the Moslems. There a "footprint of Christ" is shown in the rock. A large basilica of Helena was built over the place where it was said that Christ taught His disciples. In 1869 the Princess de Latour d'Auvergne, learning that there was a Moslem tradition that this site was at a spot called el Battaniyeh south of the summit, here erected a beautiful church known as the Church of the Pater Noster and around the courtyard she had the Lord's Prayer inscribed in 32 languages. When the church was in course of erection certain fragments of old walls and mosaics were found, but, in 1911, as a result of a careful excavation of the site, the foundations of a more extensive mass of old buildings, with some beautiful mosaic in the baptistry, were revealed in the neighborhood; there is little doubt but that these foundations belonged to the actual Basilica of Helena. It is proposed to rebuild the church.

Mention has been made of the name Viri Galilaei or Galilee as given to the northern summit of the main mass of Olivet. The name "Mount Galilee" appears to have been first given to this hill early in the 4th century and in 1573 Ad R awolf explains the name by the statement that here was in ancient times a khan where the Galileans lodged who came up to Jerusalem. In 1620 Quaresmius applies the names "Galilee" and Viri Galilaei to this site and thinks the latter name may be due to its having been the spot where the two angels appeared and addressed the disciples as "Ye men of Galilee" (  Acts 1:11 ). Attempts have been made, without much success, to maintain that this "Galilee" was the spot which our Lord intended ( Matthew 28:10 ,  Matthew 28:16 ) to indicate to His disciples as the place of meeting.

The Russian enclosure includes a chapel, a lofty tower - from which a magnificent view is obtainable - a hospice and a pleasant pine grove. Between the Russian buildings to the North and the Church of the Ascension lies the squalid village of et Ṭûr , inhabited by a peculiarly turbulent and rapacious crowd of Moslems, who prey upon the passing pilgrims and do much to spoil the sentiment of a visit to this sacred spot. It is possible it may be the original site of Bethphage (which see).

Literature.

Pef , Memoirs, "Jerusalem" volume; G. A. Smith, Jerusalem  ; Robinson, Brp , I, 1838; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine  ; Baedeker's Palestine and Syria (by Socin and Bensinger); Tobler, Die Siloahquelle und der Oelberg , 1852; Porter, Murray's Palestine and Syria  ; R. Hofmann, Galilaea auf dem Oelberg , Leipzig, 1896; Schick, "The Mount of Olives," Pefs , 1889,174-84; Warren, article "Mount of Olives," in Hdb  ; Gauthier, in Eb , under the word; Vincent (Pere), "The Tombs of the Prophets," Revue Biblique , 1901.

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

Or

ridge with three summits, stretching N. and S., E. of Jerusalem, in height 150 ft. above the city, 400 ft. above the intervening valley of Kedron, and 2682 ft. above the sea-level; so called as at one time studded with olive-trees; is celebrated as the scene of some of the most sacred events in the life of Christ.