Olives, Mount of: The Song of Solomon called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a
mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem
(1 Kings 11:7; Ezekiel 11:23; Zechariah 14:4)
from which it is separated by the valley of Kidron. It is first
mentioned in connection with David's flight from Jerusalem through the
rebellion of Absalom
(2 Samuel 15:30) and is only once again mentioned
in the Old Testament, in
(Zechariah 14:4) It is, however, frequently
alluded to
(1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13; Nehemiah 8:15; Ezekiel 11:23) It is frequently
mentioned in the New Testament
(Matthew 21:1; 26:30) etc. It now bears
the name of Jebel et-Tur, i.e., "Mount of the Summit;" also sometimes
called Jebel ez-Zeitun, i.e., "Mount of Olives." It is about 200
feet above the level of the city. The road from Jerusalem to Bethany
runs as of old over this mount. It was on this mount that Jesus stood
when he wept over Jerusalem. "No name in Scripture," says Dr. Porter,
"calls up associations at once so sacred and so pleasing as that of
Olivet. The 'mount' is so intimately connected with the private, the
devotional life of the Saviour, that we read of it and look at it with
feelings of deepest interest and affection. Here he often sat with his
disciples, telling them of wondrous events yet to come, of the
destruction of the Holy City; of the sufferings, the persecution, and
the final triumph of his followers
(Matthew 24:1)ff Here he gave them
the beautiful parables of the ten virgins and the five talents
(Matthew 25:1-13) here he was wont to retire on each evening for
meditation, and prayer, and rest of body, when weary and harassed by
the labours and trials of the day
(Luke 21:37) and here he came on
the night of his betrayal to utter that wonderful prayer, 'O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not
as I will, but as thou wilt'
(Matthew 26:39) And when the cup of God's
wrath had been drunk, and death and the grave conquered, he led his
disciples out again over Olivet as far as to Bethany, and after a
parting blessing ascended to heaven
(Luke 24:50,51; Acts 1:12) This
mount, or rather mountain range, has four summits or peaks:
1. the "Galilee" peak, so called from a tradition that the angels
stood here when they spoke to the disciples
(Acts 1:11)
2. the "Mount of Ascension," the supposed site of that event, which
was, however, somewhere probably nearer Bethany
(Luke 24:51,52)
3. the "Prophets," from the catacombs on its side, called "the
prophets' tombs;" and
4. the "Mount of Corruption," so called because of the "high
places" erected there by Solomon for the idolatrous worship of
his foreign wives
(1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:13) Vulg., "Mount of Offence".
