Mount Nebo ( ar, جَبَل نِيبُو, Jabal Nībū; he, , Har Nəḇō) is an elevated

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

located in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, approximately

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Part of the

Abarim Abarim ( he, הָעֲבָרִים, Hā-Avārīm) is the Hebrew name used in the Bible for a mountain range "across the Jordan", understood as east of the Jordan Rift Valley, i.e. in Transjordan, to the east and south-east of the Dead Sea, extend ...

mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

as the place where

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

was granted a view of the

Promised Land The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...

before his death. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

across the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

valley. The city of

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...

is usually visible from the summit, as is

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on a very clear day. The biblical town of Nebo, now known as

Khirbet al-Mukhayyat Khirbet al-Mukhayyat (Arabic: خربة المُخيَّط) also commonly known as the town of Nebo is a village in Madaba Governorate in Jordan. The village is about 3.5 km from Mount Nebo also known as ''Siyagha''. Many Byzantine churches ...

, is located 3.5 km away.

Religious significance

According to the

(

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

), Moses ascended Mount Nebo, in the land of

Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territ ...

(today in

), and from there he saw the Land of Canaan (the

), which God had said he would not enter; Moses then died there. The Bible () says Moses' burial place was unknown. A monument atop Mount Nebo commemorates Moses' death after seeing Canaan, across the Jordan valley. A purported grave of Moses is located at Maqam El-

Nabi Musa Nabi Musa ( ar, ٱلنَّبِي مُوْسَى, An-Nabī Mūsā, meaning "The Prophet Moses", also transliterated as Nebi Musa) is a mosque and a Palestinian locality in the Jericho Governorate of Palestine, in the West Bank, believed to contai ...

, in the

, south of

and east of

. Mount Nebo is then mentioned again in the Bible in

2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, el, Μακκαβαίων Β´, translit=Makkabaíōn 2 also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus I ...

(), when the prophet

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...

hid the tabernacle and the

Ark of the Covenant The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an ...

in a cave there. A Christian church from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

times stands on the top of Mount Nebo. On March 20, 2000,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited the summit of Mount Nebo during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During his visit, he planted an olive tree next to the Byzantine chapel, as a symbol of peace.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

visited the site in 2009, gave a speech, and looked out from the top of the mountain in the direction of Jerusalem. A serpentine cross sculpture atop Mount Nebo was created by Italian artist Giovanni Fantoni. It is symbolic of the miracle of the bronze serpent invoked by Moses in the wilderness () and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified ().

Archaeology

Systematic exploration begun by Sylvester J. Saller O.F.M. were continued in 1933 by Jerome Mihaic of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum. On the highest point of the mountain, Syagha, the remains of a Byzantine church and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

were discovered in 1933.Piccirillo, Michele (2009) ''Mount Nebo'' (Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Guide Books, 2) pp. 14–15. Extract from Sylvester Saller ''The Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo Jerusalem'' 1941, pp. 15–18. 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 In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

pattern. It was enlarged in the late fifth century AD and rebuilt in AD 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

made by a lady Aetheria in AD 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

-covered floor of the church.

Bellarmino Bagatti Bellarmino Bagatti (November 11, 1905 – October 7, 1990) was a 20th-century Italian archaeologist and Catholic priest of the Franciscan Order. Life Camillo Bellarmino Bagatti was born in 1905 in the province of Pisa. At the age of 17 he made his ...

worked on the site in 1935. Virgilio Canio Corbo later excavated the interior of the basilica.

History of the modern Memorial of Moses

The ancient church, a pilgrimage destination since the 4th century, was excavated between 1933 and 1938 by Sylvester Saller, bringing to light the basilica with its chapels and the annexes of the monastery. The exquisite mosaics were then covered back with soil for protection. In 1963, the Custody of the Holy Land decided to restore the mosaic floors and Virgilio Corbo was put in charge of the project. A metal shelter designed in Oxford was erected over the ruins, but work was interrupted by the

1967 Arab-Israeli war The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Jun ...

. Renewed work ensued between 1976-1984, when a new mosaic was discovered in the diaconicon-

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptism ...

. By 1984 the consolidation work was completed, and as a result, the basilica could be used both for liturgical purposes, as well as for displaying the restored mosaics, either in situ or mounted on the walls. After renewed plans drawn in 1989 and geological surveys and assessments of the ancient and modern structures made a decade later, a new shelter, basically a complete basilica was built over the ancient church between December 2007 and the reopening day on 15 October 2016. Not even the sudden death of Michelle Piccirillo, a key figure in the project, in October 2008, lead to a break in the work.

Exhibited mosaics

In the modern chapel presbytery, built to protect the site and provide worship space, remnants of mosaic floors from different periods can be seen. The earliest of these is a panel with a

braid A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strande ...

ed cross presently placed on the east end of the south wall.

Gallery

File:Mount Nebo-Siyagha, Jordan (2009).jpg, left, Stone marker at the entrance File:Memorial of Moses Stone.jpg, Stone marker next to the building File:Mount Nebo Distances.jpg, Plaque showing the distance from Mount Nebo to various locations File:Couple in Front of Church.jpg, Old (pre-2017) structure protecting the excavated church remains File:Nebo02(js).jpg, Old (pre-2017) structure File:Mosaic at MountNebo.jpg, Theotokos chapel: apse with altar and mosaic File:MtNeboBaptismal.jpg, Baptismal font File:Mt Nebo Mosaic.jpg, Mosaic floor in the diaconicon-baptistery File:Nebo07(js).jpg, Mosaic: peacock File:Nebo09(js).jpg, Mosaic: zebu (humped ox) File:Prosphora Nebo.jpg, Mosaic inscription ("Offering of Caesarion, at the time of Alexios and Theophilos priests") File:The Brazen Serpent, Mount Nebo.jpg, The ''Brazen Serpent'' sculpture, Mount Nebo File:BrazenSerpent.JPG, Detail of ''Brazen Serpent'' statue File:Mount Nebo (2007-05-826) (1330156315).jpg, View from Mount Nebo

References

External links

– photographs of excavations in Jordan

*
Photos of Mount Nebo
at the

American Center of Research The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...

Photos of Mount Nebo
at the Manar al-Athar photo archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Nebo Archaeological sites in Jordan Hebrew Bible mountains Jewish Jordanian history Jewish mythology Mountains of Jordan Ridges of Asia Tourism in Jordan Nebo