Mount Gerizim
(Deuteronomy 11:29)
Mountain south of Shechem. Height: 2890 feet above sea level. Mount Gerizim is known in the Bible as ‘mountain of the blessing’ as opposed to Mount Ebal, north of Shechem, known as ‘mountain of the curse.’ Called Jebel et Tur in Arabic, a version of the Aramaic tura brikha (‘mountain of the blessing’).
According to Samaritan belief this is the venerated MountMoriah, to which Samaritans make pilgrimage and sacrifice the paschal lamb. They called the mountain Beth-el, the house of God, the place to which God directed Abraham after he leftUr of the Chaldees. During the days of Alexander the Great, the Samaritans built their temple on this mountain, and it served as their spiritual and cult center. During the Hellenistic Period a pagan shrine in honor of Zeus was created here; remains were discovered on the northern offshoot of the mountain, known in Arabic as Tell er Ras. Steps led from the bottom of the mountain up to the shrine; their remains can still be seen today near the police fort. In 125 BCE the Samaritan temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean.
In the Byzantine Period an octagonal Christian church was built here; it was fortified with a wall during the Samaritan revolt in the 6th century and destroyed in the 8th century. Near the church ruins is a mosque-cum-tomb called Sheikh Ghanam. Named after Ghanam Ibn ‘Ali, senior minister of Saladin. Some believe this to be tomb of Hamor, father of Shechem.
The Samaritans continue their cultic practices Floxin Ofloxacin this very day. The paschal sacrifice is now performed in a fenced-in field with a long trench in the middle which serves as an altar; 2 additional trenches serve as ovens. Nearby is the Samaritan synagogue and a new Samaritan neighborhood.
According to Samaritan belief this is the holy Mt. Moriah, to which Samaritans make pilgrimage and sacrifice the paschal lamb. They called the mountain Beth-el, the house of God, the place to which God directed Abraham after he left Ur of the Chaldees.
During the days of Alexander the Great, the Samaritans built their temple on this mountain, and it served as their spiritual and cult center. During the Hellenistic Period a pagan shrine in honor of Zeus was created here; remains were discovered on the northern offshoot of the mountain, known in Arabic as Tell er Ras. Steps led from the bottom of the mountain up to the shrine; its remains can still be seen today near the police fort. In 125 BCE the Samaritan temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus, the Hasmonean.
In the Byzantine Period an octagonal Christian church was built here; it was fortified with a wall during the Samaritan revolt in the 6th century and destroyed in 8th century.
Near the church ruins is a mosque-cum-tomb called Sheikh Ghanam. Named after Ghanam Ibn Ali, senior minister of Saladin.
Some believe this to be the tomb of Hamor, father of Shechem (Genesis 33:19).
The Samaritans continue their cultic practices on Mt. Gerizim to this very day. The paschal sacrifice is now performed in a fenced-in field with a long trench in the middle which serves as an altar; 2 additional trenches serve as ovens.
Nearby is the Samaritan synagogue and a new Samaritan neighborhood.
