Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey by Hess Richard S

Author:Hess, Richard S. [Hess, Richard S.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2007-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Mount Ebal

At 3,100 feet, Mount Ebal is the highest mountain in Samaria. Mount Gerizim, its counterpart, is 2,900 feet in height. Nine and one-third miles to the west is Samaria, where Ahab and his successors later ruled the northern kingdom. Ebal and Gerizim are geologically similar, with the same terra rosa from the Eocene period. They form the sides to the valley of Shechem that lies between them. To the east lies the Valley of Beth-Dagan and the Wadi Farah road. Twenty-three miles east can be found Tell el-Far‘ah North, identified with ancient Tirzah, an early capital of the northern kingdom. This wadi passage connects the Jordan Valley to the central hill country.

On Mount Gerizim to the south of Mount Ebal, the early settlement dates to the seventh century BC. At the top is a church from the time of Justinian. A pine forest lies to the east. On a lower peak is Khirbet er-Ras, a site with a temple to Apollo and a stairway. On another peak of Gerizim the Samaritans settled with their cultic rituals. Their main buildings date as early as the Persian period, although archaeologists have yet to locate the rival Samaritan temple.16 Adam Zertal led the Israeli survey of this region. On Mount Ebal he found nothing from the Bronze or Iron Ages, except for a single installation. The site occurs some feet away from the ridge that forms the third highest peak on the mountain. Located on this lower peak, it is dated between c. 1250 and 1150 BC.17

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