Moriah

This article is about the biblical location. For other uses, see Moriah (disambiguation).

Moriah (Hebrew: מוֹרִיָּה, Modern Moriyya Tiberian Môriyyā ; "ordained/considered by the Lord") (Arabic: مروة Marwah) is the name given to a mountain range by the Book of Genesis, in which context it is giv. the location of the sacrifice of Isaac. Traditionally Moriah has been interpreted as the name of the specific mountain at which this occurred, rather than just the name of the range. In modern translations of the Bible, the word Moriah is used only twice.

Biblical references

In modern translations of the Bible, the word Moriah is used only twice:

• Genesis 22:2: "And He said: 'Take now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.'"
• 2 Chronicles 3:1: "Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where [the LORD] appeared unto David his father; for which provision had been made in the Place of David, in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite."

However, there is debate as to whether these two references are correctly translated as the same word. For example, in the LXX, these verses are translated as:

• Genesis 22:2: "And he said, Take thy son, the beloved one, whom thou hast loved—Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there for a whole-burnt-offering on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of"^[1]
• 2 Chronicles 3:1: "And Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in the mount of Amoria, where the Lord appeared to his father David, in the place which David had prepared in the threshing-floor of Orna the Jebusite."^[2]

Speculation and debate

File:'Abraham Leading Ishmael to Sacrifice', oil on copper painting by Domenichino.JPG

Abraham Leading Isaac to Sacrifice by Domenichino, 1602.

In the book of Chronicles it is reported that the location of Araunah's threshing floor is "in mount Moriah" and that the Temple of Solomon was built over Araunah's threshing floor.^[3] This has led to the classical rabbinical supposition that this is at the peak of Moriah.

Some interpretations of a biblical passage concerning Melchizedek would indicate Jerusalem was already a city with a priest at the time of Abraham, and thus is unlikely to have been founded after this, at the site of a sacrifice made by Abraham in the wilderness.^[4] However the view that Salem refers to Jerusalem (then Jebus) and not peace (shalome, shelomo) is of heavy debate between many sects of Jews and Christians.

In consequence of these traditions, Classical Rabbinical Literature theorised that the name was a (linguistically corrupted) reference to the Temple, suggesting translations like the teaching-place (referring to the Sanhedrin that met there), the place of fear (referring to the supposed fear that non-Israelites would have at the Temple), the place of myrrh (referring to the spices burnt as incense).^[5] Targum Pseudo-Jonathan interprets the name as land of worship, while the Samaritan Targum regards it as being land of vision.^[5]

Most modern biblical scholars, however, regard the name as a reference to the Amorites, the initial a via aphesis; the name is thus interpreted as meaning land of the Amorites. This also agrees with the biblical text as it appears in the Syriac Peshitta – where the near-sacrifice occurs at the land of the Amorites, and in the Septuagint, where, for example, 2 Chronicles 3:1 refers to the location as Ἀμωρία – Amōriā. This would give it the same etymological root as Hamor, a person's name in the narrative at Genesis 34 which concerns Shechem.^[5] Some scholars also identify it with Moreh, the location near Shechem at which Abraham built an altar, according to Genesis 12:6. Hence a number of scholars believe that Moriah refers to a hill near Shechem, supporting the Samaritan belief that the near-sacrifice of Isaac occurred on Mount Gerizim – a location near Shechem.^[5]

See also

• Temple Mount
• Mount Zion

Notes and citations

1. ^ English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible (Genesis)
2. ^ English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible (2 Chronicles)
3. ^ "Moriah". Easton's Bible Dictionary. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=Moriah. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 
4. ^ Peake's commentary on the Bible
5. ^ ^{a b c d} Jacobs, Joseph; M. Seligsohn. "Moriah". Jewish Encyclopedia. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=799&letter=M. Retrieved 2008-07-14. 

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.
This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.

External links