Mount of Transfiguration

The Franciscan Church of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor

One of the unknowns of the New Testament is the identification of the mountain where Jesus underwent his Transfiguration. The Matthew account of the Transfiguration is as follows.

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." (Matthew 17:1–9, KJV)

Identifications

Several candidates for this mountain have been suggested:

Mount Tabor

Mount Tabor (575 metres or 1,886 feet high) is the traditional location. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century. The Church of the Transfiguration is located atop Mount Tabor.[1] It is later mentioned in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis.

Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon (2814 metres or 9,232 feet high), was suggested by R. H. Fuller and J. Lightfoot[2] for two reasons: It is the highest in the area (and the Transfiguration took place on "an high mountain" (Matthew 17:1)), and it is located near Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13), where the previous events reportedly took place.

Other locations

Other locations which have been proposed include: one of the Horns of Hattin by R.W. Stewart (1857),[3][4] Gebel Germaq (1208m) 5 km SW of Safed, by W. Ewing (1906),[5] Tell El-Ahmar (1452m) on Jabal al-Druze by Gustav Dalman (1924),[6] and Mount Nebo by H.A. Whittaker (1987),[7] Mount Sinai by Benjamin Urrutia.

No geographical location

Others, such as A. Loisy (1908), have deliberately rejected seeking a geographical location.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Meistermann, Barnabas (1912), "Transfiguration", The Catholic Encyclopedia, XV, New York: Robert Appleton Company, retrieved 2007-08-15
  2. ↑ Jesus and Archaeology - Page 176 James H. Charlesworth - 2006 "R. H. Fuller and J. Lightfoot proposed Mount Hermon as the mount of the transfiguration, because the place"
  3. ↑ R.W. Stewart The Tent and the Khan 1854
  4. ↑ Charlesworth Jesus and Archaeology - Page 176 "G. Dalman chose tell el Akhmar on the Golan Heights as the place of transfiguration." R. W. Stewart preferred the Horn of Hattin." W. Ewing thought Gebel Germaq [Mount Meron/Jabal al-Jarmaq] was the place where Jesus showed his glory to the apostles."
  5. ↑ Ewing "The Mount of Transfiguration" ET 1906-1907 p220
  6. ↑ G. Dalman Orte und Wege Jesu 1924
  7. ↑ H.A. Whittaker, Studies in the Gospels Biblia 1987
  8. ↑ Charlesworth Jesus and Archaeology "A. Loisy concluded that those who look for a geographical place for the transfiguration are like Peter who asked to build three tents. They do not ..."
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