Mount Horeb
Mount Horeb (
In other biblical passages, these events are described as having transpired at Mount Sinai. Although most scholars consider Sinai and Horeb to have been different names for the same place,[3][4][5] there is a minority body of opinion that they may have been different locations.[2]
The Protestant reformer
Etymology
"Horeb" is thought to mean dry place[9] or glowing/heat, which seems to be a reference to the Sun, while Sinai may have derived from the name of Sin, the Ancient Mesopotamian religion deity of the Moon,[2][10] and thus Sinai and Horeb would be the mountains of the Moon and Sun, respectively.[2]
Biblical usage
The name Horeb first occurs at
Exodus 17:6 describes the incident when the Israelites were in the wilderness without water. When Moses was "upon the rock at Horeb", he strikes the rock and obtains drinking water from the rock.[12] Verse 7 goes on to say that Moses "called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us or not?'"[13]
The only other use of the name in Exodus is in chapter 33, where Horeb is the location where the Israelites stripped off their ornaments.[14] This passage (i.e., Exodus 33:1–6) suggests that Horeb was the location from which the Israelites set off towards Canaan as they resumed their Exodus journey.
In
Other mentions of Horeb in Deuteronomy are found in the account of the delivery to Moses of the
According to the
There are no references to Horeb in the
Location
The location of Horeb is disputed. Jewish and Christian
in a way which implies that its position was familiar when that was written, but there are no biblical references set any later in time. Additionally the passage identifies a cave large enough to lodge in.Christian tradition considers Mount Horeb to be Willow Peak, located adjacent to Saint Catherine's Monastery.[8]
References
- ^ Exodus 3:1; 1 Kings 19:8
- ^ Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
- ^ Coogan, Michael David. The Old Testament: A historical and literary introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Oxford University Press, USA, 2017: p. 108
- ^ Coogan, Michael David. The Oxford History of the Biblical World. Oxford University Press, USA, 2001: p. 67.
- OCLC 994933821.
- ^ "Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. 3: Harmony of the Law, Part I: Exodus 3". Sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ Gill, John. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible on Deuteronomy 5, accessed 2 November 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-310-87700-4.
Christian tradition generally claims Ras es-Safsaf as the Biblical Horeb and Jebel Musa as Sinai.
- hdl:2263/84039. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ a b D. M. G. Stalker (1963). "Exodus". In Matthew Black and H. H. Rowley (ed.). Peake's Commentary on the Bible (second ed.). Thomas Nelson. section 178c.
- ^ Exodus 3:1
- ^ Exodus 17:6
- ^ Exodus 17:7
- ^ Exodus 33:6
- ^ Deuteronomy 1:2; 1:6; 1:19
- ^ Deuteronomy 1:6
- ^ Psalms 106:19; Malachi 4:4
- ^ Pulpit Commentary on Deuteronomy 5, Biblehub.com, accessed 2 November 2015
- ^ 1 Kings 8:9; 2 Chronicles 5:10
- ^ 1 Kings 19:8
- ^ Harris, J. Rendel (1902). "Sinai, Mount". In James Hastings (ed.). A Dictionary of the Bible.
- ^ Calvin, John (2005). Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books. p. 331.
- ^ 1 Kings 19:1–21