Givat HaMoreh
Givat HaMoreh (
Etymology
For the Hebrew name several possible origins have been discussed. One is yoreh, lit. "shoots" or "teacher", a name used for a specific rain in the
In the 3rd century BCE, the name was translated into Koine Greek as Γαβααθ Αμωρα, "Gabaath Amora".[citation needed]
Christian pilgrims, starting with the Middle Ages, sometimes named the hill "Little Hermon" in connection to Psalm 89:13, "Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name",[1] considering that Givat HaMore is close to Mount Tabor, much more so than Mount Hermon.[3]
In Arabic, the hill is known as "Mount Dahi", after the Muslim shrine of Dihyah al-Kalbi situated at its top and housing the tomb of this seventh-century saint.[3]
History
Hebrew Bible
The "hill of Moreh" is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible three times, in Genesis 12:6, Deuteronomy 11:30 and
The
and the New King James Version translates Deuteronomy 11:30 as:
- "Are they (Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh?"
"Moreh" is often understood to mean "teacher" or "oracle", referring to the owner of the tree or the land on which it grew.
Genesis 35:4:
- "And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which [were] in their hand, and [all their] earrings which [were] in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which [was] by Shechem."
A neutral reading discovers that the tree, oak or not, grew above buried idols and dedicated treasure, the Hebrews remembered, and they associated the burial of these things with the patriarchal age.
John Wesley noted that the plains of Moreh was one of the first places that Abram came to in Canaan, so when Moses sent the incoming Israelites to this place "to hear the blessing and the curse, they were minded of the promise made to Abram in that very place".[4]
Ottoman period
A 19th-century travelogue identifies Moreh as Nebi Dahi, south of Mount Tabor.[5]
British Mandate and State of Israel
In the 20th century, in the valley below the mountain, the city of
On the central part of Giv'at ha-Moreh there is a nature reserve, partly wooded developed by the Jewish National Fund. The Nazareth Iris blooms here in spring.[3]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Givat HaMoreh Forest". Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund. 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein (2016). "Rain, Rain Come Again". Ohr Somayach International. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "גבעת המורה-שמורת טבע" (in Hebrew). Yigal Alon Museum. Archived from the original on 17 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ John Wesley's Notes on the Bible on Deuteronomy 11:30, accessed 25 November 2015
- ^ Tales from the World Tour: The 1895-1897 Travel Writings of Mormon Historian Andrew Jenson. Chapter 10: The Holy Land, June 1896–July 1896. Brigham Young University, the Religious Studies Center. Accessed July 2020.
