Bible Encyclopedia: Gerizim

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

GERIZIM, MOUNT

ger'-i-zim, ge-ri'-zim (har gerizzim):

1. Scriptural References:

Named in the directions for the reading of the law (Deuteronomy 11:29), and in the account of that great ceremony (Deuteronomy 27:12 Joshua 8:33 f). Mts. Ebal and Gerizim stood over against each other, and on their sides the peoples were placed, half upon one and half upon the other, while in the vale which separates the mountains stood the ark, with the Levites. Those who stood on Gerizim responded to the blessings, those on Mt. Ebal to the cursings, as these were spoken "with a loud voice" by the Levites. From a spur of Mt. Gerizim Jotham spoke his taunting parable to the men of Shechem (Judges 9:7). The name appears no more in canonical Scripture. In consequence of the dispute which arose over the marriage of Manasseh, who belonged to the high-priestly family, with a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite (Nehemiah 13:28), a temple was built on Gerizim as a rival to that in Jerusalem (circa 432 B.C.). This was the beginning of the schism which lasts to the present day (Ant., XI, viii, 2, 4). See SAMARITANS. The temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus circa 110 B.C. (Ant., XIII, ix, 1; BJ, I, ii, 6).

2. Description:

Mt. Gerizim, the modern Jebel et-Tur, stands on the South, Mt. Ebal on the North, of the narrow pass which cuts through the mountain range, opening a way from the sea to the Jordan. In the throat of this pass to the West, on the South of the vale, and close to the foot of Gerizim, lies the town of Nablus, the ancient Shechem. Here copious fountains rise, filling the valley with beauty and fruitfulness. The sides of the mountain are steep and rocky on East and North; on the West the ascent is more gradual, and here, by means of a system of terraces carried almost to the summit, it is cultivated with great care and success. Its height is 2,849 ft. above the level of the sea, 228 ft. lower than its northern companion.

3. Samaritan Traditions:

Abraham came through the pass and camped near Gerizim at the oak of Moreh (Genesis 12:6). According to Samaritan tradition it was on this mountain that he prepared to sacrifice Isaac, and at Salem, not far distant, he met Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17). The scene of Jacob's dream is placed at Khirbet Lauzeh on the summit (Genesis 28:11 f). In a little hollow West of the ridge, the Samaritans annually celebrate the Passover in accordance with the directions of the Pentateuch. This is done in the open air, their temple having long since disappeared.

4. Antiquities:

The most important remains on the mountain today are those of Justinian's fortress, built in 533 A.D., to protect the church which had been erected in 475 A.D. Near the center of the plateau is a bare piece of rock, on which, tradition says, the altar stood in the Samaritan temple. A cup-like hollow in it may have been used for libations. In the western wall of el-Qal`ah, Justinian's castle, there are 12 stones under which, it is said, are the stones which Israel took from the bed of the Jordan (Joshua 4:20).

Gerizim was certainly "this mountain" pointed to by the woman of Samaria in her conversation with Jesus (John 4:20 f); the cliffs of the mountain almost overhanging the Well of Jacob.

For the reason why Gerizim was chosen for the blessing and Ebal for the cursing we are left to conjecture. The directions were fixed by one looking to the East, not, as with us, looking to the North. For one standing in the valley, therefore, Gerizim was on the right hand, "the side of good fortune" (Driver, Deuteronomy on 11:28).

Onom places Ebal and Gerizim much nearer the Jordan valley. This was doubtless to meet the difficulty raised by the long distance from Ai to Shechem. But their nearness to the "oaks of Moreh" (Deuteronomy 11:30) points to this locality, and this is confirmed by Josephus, who speaks of Shechem, the metropolis of the Samaritans, as "a city situated at Mt. Gerizim" (Ant., XI, viii, 6).

Andronicus, appointed governor of Gerizim by Antiochus Epiphanes, is mentioned in 2 Maccabees 5:23 (the King James Version "Garizim").

W. Ewing

Strong's Hebrew

1630. Gerizim -- a mountain in Northern Israel
... 1629b, 1630. Gerizim. 1631 . a mountain in Northern Israel. Transliteration:
Gerizim Phonetic Spelling: (gher-ee-zeem') Short Definition: Gerizim. ...
/hebrew/1630.htm - 6k

1629b. Girzi -- member of a native tribe in Pal
... Word Origin from Gerizim Definition member of a native tribe in Pal NASB Word Usage
Girzites (1). 1629a, 1629b. Girzi. 1630 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/1629b.htm - 5k

Library

Samaria. Sychem.
... reproached under the name of Sychar, John 4:5, from the words of the prophet, "Woe
to the drunken Ephraimites," Isaiah 28:1. The mountains of Gerizim and Ebal ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 56 samaria sychem.htm

Gilgal, in Deuteronomy 11:30 what the Place Was.
... That which is said by Moses, that "Gerizim and Ebal were over-against Gilgal,"
Deuteronomy 11:30, is so obscure, that it is rendered into contrary ...
/.../lightfoot/from the talmud and hebraica/chapter 88 gilgal in deuteronomy.htm

The Altar on Mount Ebal.
... Then six of the tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim, and six on Mount Ebal, and,
in the hearing of all the people, the blessings for obedience and the ...
/.../anonymous/mother stories from the old testament/the altar on mount ebal.htm

Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
... of Mt. Gerizim. It is ... ie, Mt. Gerizim]; and ye [ye Jews] say, that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship. [Though a ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxvi jesus sets out from 2.htm

On God.
... these words to the Samaritan woman, saying to her, who thought, agreeably to the
Samaritan view, that God ought to be worshipped on Mount Gerizim, that "God is ...
//christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen de principiis/chapter i on god.htm

Jesus at the Well.
... well presents a most graphic, and yet most unartificial picture of nature and human
life, as it still remains, though in decay, at the foot of Gerizim and Ebal ...
/.../johnson/the new testament commentary vol iii john/jesus at the well.htm

Samaritan Refuted.
... against God, and asserting that neither are the dead to rise, nor is that worship
of God to be maintained which is in Jerusalem, but that Mount Gerizim is to ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter lvii samaritan refuted.htm

Intercourse of Jesus with the Pagans and the Samaritans.
... of Judaism (Judea and Galilee), Samaria formed in Palestine a kind of enclosure
in which was preserved the ancient worship of Gerizim, closely resembling and ...
/.../renan/the life of jesus/chapter xiv intercourse of jesus.htm

In Judæa and through Samaria - a Sketch of Samaritan History and ...
... religious separation became final when (at a date which cannot be precisely fixed
[1891] ) the Samaritans built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, and Manasseh ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vii in judaea and.htm

Two Famous Versions of the Scriptures
... a separate worship of Jehovah, and, having obtained permission from the king of
Persia to erect a Temple, he built a Holy Place on Mount Gerizim, which became ...
/.../duff/the bible in its making/chapter vii two famous versions.htm

Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary

Gerizim

cutters, hatchets

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Gerizim

(cutters), a limestone mountain, 2855 feet high (800 feet above the valley at its foot), in Ephraim, near Shechem (Sychar), from which the blessings were read to the Israelites on entering Canaan. [See EBAL, MOUNT] According to the traditions of the Samaritans it was here that Abraham sacrificed Isaac, that Melchizedek met the patriarch, that Jacob built an altar, and at its base dug a well, the ruins of which are still seen. Some scholars think there is ground for the first belief (so Smith); but careful observers of the locality discredit it and believe Moriah to be the spot. [See MORIAH] Gerizim was the site of the Samaritan temple, which was built there after the captivity, in rivalry with the temple at Jerusalem. [See SAMARITANS] Gerizim is still to the Samaritans what Jerusalem is to the Jews and Mecca to the Mohammedans.

ATS Bible Dictionary

Gerizim

A mountain in Ephraim, between which and Ebal lay the city of Shechem, Jud 9:7. The world has beheld few scenes more awful and suggestive than when, having conquered Canaan, all the Israelites were summoned to this place, and six tribes were stationed on mount Gerizim to pronounce blessings on those who should obey God's law, and the other six on Mount Ebal to denounce curses on those who should break it; while all the people solemnly said, AMEN, De 11:29 27:12-26 28:1-68. See VIEW IN SHECHEM.

After the captivity, Manasseh, a seceding priest, by permission of Alexander the Great, built a temple on Gerizim, and the Samaritans joined the worship of the true God to that of their idols; "They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away form thence," 2 Kings 17:33. See SAMARITANS and SANBALLAT.

This temple was destroyed by John Hyrcanus; yet its site has always retained its ancient sacredness. In our Savior's time the true God was worshipped by the Samaritans, though ignorantly, John 4:1 54. Herod the Great having rebuilt Samaria, and called it Sebaste, in honor of Augustus, would have compelled the Samaritans to worship in the temple which he had erected; but they constantly refused and have continued to this day to guard their sacred Scriptures, to keep the law, to pray towards their holy place on the summit of Gerizim, and to worship God there four times in the year.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

A mountain of Samaria, about 3,000 feet above the Mediterranean. It was on the left of the valley containing the ancient town of Shechem (q.v.), on the way to Jerusalem. It stood over against Mount Ebal, the summits of these mountains being distant from each other about 2 miles (Deuteronomy 27; Joshua 8:30-35). On the slopes of this mountain the tribes descended from the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, together with the tribe of Reuben, were gathered together, and gave the responses to the blessing pronounced as the reward of obedience, when Joshua in the valley below read the whole law in the hearing of all the people; as those gathered on Ebal responded with a loud Amen to the rehearsal of the curses pronounced on the disobedient. It was probably at this time that the coffin containing the embalmed body of Joseph was laid in the "parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor" (Genesis 33:19; 50:25).

Josephus relates (Ant. 11:8, 2-4) that Sanballat built a temple for the Samaritans on this mountain, and instituted a priesthood, as rivals to those of the Jews at Jerusalem. This temple was destroyed after it had stood two hundred years. It was afterwards rebuilt by Herod the Great. There is a Samaritan tradition that it was the scene of the incident recorded in Genesis 22. There are many ruins on this mountain, some of which are evidently of Christian buildings. To this mountain the woman of Sychar referred in John 4:20. For centuries Gerizim was the centre of political outbreaks. The Samaritans (q.v.), a small but united body, still linger here, and keep up their ancient ceremonial worship.

Thesaurus

Gerizim (4 Occurrences)
... To this mountain the woman of Sychar referred in John 4:20. For centuries Gerizim
was the centre of political outbreaks. ...GERIZIM, MOUNT. ...
/g/gerizim.htm - 14k

Ebal (8 Occurrences)
... 35). After this the name of Ebal does not again occur in Jewish history.
(see GERIZIM.). (2.) A ... against Mt. Gerizim on the South. The ...
/e/ebal.htm - 14k

Samaritans (9 Occurrences)
... They erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which was, however, destroyed by a
Jewish king (BC 130). They then built another at Shechem. ...Gerizim. ...
/s/samaritans.htm - 16k

Ger'izim (3 Occurrences)
Ger'izim. Gerizim, Ger'izim. Gerizite . Multi-Version Concordance Ger'izim
(3 Occurrences). ... (DBY RSV). Gerizim, Ger'izim. Gerizite . Reference Bible.
/g/ger'izim.htm - 7k

Moriah (2 Occurrences)
... The chosen of Jehovah. Some contend that Mount Gerizim is meant, but most probably
we are to regard this as one of the hills of Jerusalem. ...GERIZIM (which see). ...
/m/moriah.htm - 10k

Jacob's (34 Occurrences)
... usually quite dry. It is at the entrance to the valley between Ebal and
Gerizim, about 2 miles south-east of Shechem. It is about ...
/j/jacob's.htm - 23k

Mount (311 Occurrences)
...Gerizim on the South. ... above the level of the Mediterranean. The Samaritans feign
that Gerizim is the higher; but it is more than 200 ft. lower than Ebal. ...
/m/mount.htm - 68k

Shechem (61 Occurrences)
... It stood in the narrow sheltered valley between Ebal on the north and Gerizim on
the south, these mountains at their base being only some 500 yards apart. ...
/s/shechem.htm - 38k

Issachar (40 Occurrences)
... After the entrance into the Promised Land, this tribe was one of the six which stood
on Gerizim during the ceremony of the blessing and cursing (Deuteronomy 27 ...
/i/issachar.htm - 26k

Jotham (26 Occurrences)
... Genesis 35:4) "that was in Shechem, to make Abimelech king," from one of the heights
of Mount Gerizim he protested against their doing so in the earliest ...
/j/jotham.htm - 25k

Bible Concordance

Gerizim (4 Occurrences)

Deuteronomy 11:29 It shall happen, when Yahweh your God shall bring you into the land where you go to possess it, that you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Deuteronomy 27:12 "These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS NIV)

Joshua 8:33 All Israel, and their elders and officers, and their judges, stood on this side of the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, who carried the ark of Yahweh's covenant, the foreigner as well as the native; half of them in front of Mount Gerizim, and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of Yahweh had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Judges 9:7 When they told it to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and cried, and said to them, "Listen to me, you men of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE WBS YLT NAS NIV)

Subtopics

Gerizim

Gerizim: Jotham Addresses the Shechemites From, Against the Conspiracy of Abimelech

Gerizim: Mount of Blessing

Gerizim: Samaritans Worship At

Related Terms

Ebal (8 Occurrences)

Samaritans (9 Occurrences)

Ger'izim (3 Occurrences)

Moriah (2 Occurrences)

Jacob's (34 Occurrences)

Mount (311 Occurrences)