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Mount Gerizim - location profile

Location and Setting

• The Vale of Shechem in central Samaria separates two important mountains, Gerizim on the south and Ebal on the north. Mount Gerizim is 2,855 feet in elevation; Mount Ebal reaches a height of 3,080 feet. The two mountains are visible from Nebi Samuel, a hill on the northern side of Jerusalem, some twenty-five miles to the south.
• Both mountains provide a commanding view of most of Samaria. The Mediterranean coast lies on the western horizon; across the Jordan Valley on the east, one can see the Dome of Gilead and much of the land of Transjordan.
• The valley between these mountains provides a natural amphitheater possessing outstanding acoustic properties.

Historical and Biblical Significance

• Mount Gerizim is closely associated with the Samaritans and their religion. When the Assyrians deported most of the citizens of the Northern Kingdom in the seventh century B.C., they repopulated the Northern Kingdom with people who did not know the God of Abraham. The people living in the region, part Jew, part Gentile, came to be known as Samaritans (from the name of Omri’s capital, Samaria). Over the years, this mixed people developed a Pentateuch-based religion, with worship centered at Mount Gerizim.
• According to their understanding of the event, it was on Mount Gerizim that Abraham offered Isaac (Gen 22:2). It was also understood to be the place where God chose to establish His name (Deut 12:5). Although this and similar references are to Jerusalem, the Samaritan identification of the "place" as Mount Gerizim made it the focus of their spiritual values. As the Samaritan woman informed Jesus, the mountain was center of their worship (John 4:20).
• In the fourth century B.C., with the authorization of the Persians, the Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim. It was destroyed, however, by John Hyrcanus in 107 B.C. when he took nearby Shechem and the surrounding territory.

For further study, see also: Mount Ebal, Shechem, Sychar

Bibliography

1. Aharoni, Y. and M. Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993.
2. Bimson, John J., ed. Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Places. Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1995.
3. Crisler, B. Cobbey. "The Acoustics and Crowd Capacity of Natural Theaters in Palestine," Biblical Archeologist, (December, 1976): 128-141.
4. DeYoung, J.C. "Gerizim" The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Ed. Merrill C. Tenney. 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1976.
5. Lockyer, Sr., Herbert, ed. Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986.
6. Manley, G.T. and F.F. Bruce. "Gerizim" The New Bible Dictionary. 2^nd ed. Ed. J.D. Douglas. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
7. Smith, William. The New Smith's Bible Dictionary. Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966.