Mount Nebo (Arabic: جَبَل نِيْبُو, romanized: Jabal Nībū; Hebrew: הַר נְבוֹ, romanized: Har Nevo) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately 710 metres (2,330 ft) above sea level. Part of the Abarim mountain range, Mount Nebo is mentioned in the Bible as the place where Moses was granted a view of the Promised Land before his death. The view from the summit provides a panorama of the West Bank across the Jordan River valley. The city of Jericho is usually visible from the summit, as is Jerusalem on a very clear day. The biblical town of Nebo, now known as Khirbet al-Mukhayyat, is located 3.5 km away.
According to the Bible (Deuteronomy), Moses ascended Mount Nebo, in the land of Moab (today in Jordan), and from there he saw the Land of Canaan (the Promised Land), which God had said he would not enter; Moses then died there.[1] The Bible (Deuteronomy 34:6) 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, in the West Bank, 11 km (6.8 mi) south of Jericho and 20 km (12 mi) east of Jerusalem.[2]
A Christian church from Byzantine times stands on the top of Mount Nebo.
On March 20, 2000, Pope John Paul II visited the summit of Mount Nebo during his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.[3] During his visit, he planted an olive tree next to the Byzantine chapel, as a symbol of peace.[4]Pope Benedict XVI visited the site in 2009, gave a speech, and looked out from the top of the mountain in the direction of Jerusalem.[5]
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 (Numbers 21:4–9) and the cross upon which Jesus was crucified (John 3:14).
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,[6] the remains of a Byzantine church[7] and monastery were discovered in 1933.[8] 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 AD and rebuilt in AD 597. The church is first mentioned in an account of a pilgrimage made by a lady Aetheria in AD 394. Six tombs have been found hollowed from the natural rock beneath the mosaic-covered floor of the church.
Bellarmino Bagatti worked on the site in 1935. Virgilio Canio Corbo later excavated the interior of the basilica. In 1963, he was put in charge of restoring the original pavements for exhibition.[9] 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 braided cross presently placed on the east end of the south wall.
Gallery
Stone marking the entrance to historic Mount Nebo
Plaque showing the distance from Mount Nebo to various locations
Structure protecting excavated remains of a church
The mosaic in the Diakonikon baptistery
Baptismal Font
Mosaic inscription inside (Offering of Caesarion, at the time of Alexios and Theophilos priests)
^Also found as "Siyagha" the peak is (710 metres), while the south eastern peak "el-Mukhayyat" is 790 metres. Piccirillo, Michele (2009). Mount Nebo. p. 17.
^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.