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Mount Nebo
is an elevated ridge that is approximately 817 meters (2680
feet) above sea level, in what is now western Jordan. The view
from the summit provides a panorama of the Holy Land and, to the
north, a more limited one of
the valley of the River Jordan. The West Bank city of Jericho is
usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear
day.
Judaism and
Christianity
According to the final chapter of
Deuteronomy, Mount Nebo is where the Hebrew prophet Moses was
given a view of the promised land that God was giving to the
Hebrews. "And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount
Nebo, the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho."
(Deuteronomy 34:1).
According to Jewish and Christian
tradition, Moses was buried on this mountain by God himself, and
his final resting place is unknown. Scholars continue to dispute
whether the mountain currently known as Nebo is the same as the
mountain referred to in the Torah.
On the highest point of the mountain,
Syagha, the remains of a church and monastery were discovered in
1933. The church was first constructed in the second half of the
4th century to commemorate the place of Moses' death. The church
design follows a typical basilica pattern. It was enlarged in
the late fifth century A.D. and rebuilt in A.D. 597. The church
is first mentioned in an account of a pilgrimage made by a lady
Aetheria in A.D. 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from
the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor of the church.
In the modern chapel presbytery, built to protect the site and
provide worship space, you can see remnants of mosaic floors
from different periods. The earliest of these is a panel with a
braided cross presently placed on the east end of the south
wall.
Recent
history
On March 19, 2000, Pope John Paul II
visited the site during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Mount
Nebo being one of the most important Christian sites in Jordan).
During his visit he planted an olive tree beside the Byzantine
chapel as a symbol of peace.
The serpentine cross sculpture (the
Brazen Serpent Monument) atop Mount Nebo was created by Italian
artist Giovanni Fantoni. It is symbolic of the bronze serpent
created by Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4-9) and the
cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14). |
