Mount Nebo (; ) is an elevated ridge located in Jordan, approximately 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 (2.1 mi) away.

Religious significance

thumb|left|The Brazen Serpent sculpture and view towards the Promised Land–Dead Sea and Jerusalem

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. 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, in the West Bank, south of Jericho and east of Jerusalem.

Mount Nebo is then mentioned again in 2 Maccabees (), when the prophet Jeremiah hid the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in a cave there.

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. During his visit, he planted an olive tree next to the Byzantine chapel, as a symbol of peace. 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.

A serpentine cross sculpture atop Mount Nebo was created by Italian artist Gian Paolo 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

thumb|left|Mosaic floor in the diaconicon-baptistery

Systematic exploration begun by Sylvester J. Saller O.F.M. was 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 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 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.

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.

File:Jordan D-028.jpg|A cross-shaped baptismal font

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

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See also

  • Early Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East
  • Mount Nebo, Utah
  • Mount Pisgah (Bible)
  • Nabau
  • Nabi Musa
  • Michele Piccirillo (archaeologist) (1944–2008), active at Mount Nebo and buried there

References

Further reading

  • Mount Nebo: New Archaeological Excavations: 1967–1997, Michele Piccirillo and Eugenio Alliata
  • Franciscans at Mount Nebo
  • Archaeology and Art – photographs of excavations in Jordan
  • Pictures from Mount Nebo 1
  • Photos of Mount Nebo at the American Center of Research
  • Photos of Mount Nebo at the Manar al-Athar photo archive