Israel/Palestine (525 m) – Biblical Site of the Tomb of Elijah Mount Carmel is technically small range of mountains stretching along the traditional northern border of Israel. Generally the term Mount Carmel usually specifies that hill related to the sites of the life of the Elijah including the tomb where it is believed the prophet is buried. Because of this Carmel was an … [Read more...]
MOUNT GEREZIM & MOUNT EBAL
Israel/Palestine (881 m, 940 m) – Biblical Hills Surrounding Shechem Mount Zion and Mount Ebal are two hills around which much of ancient Israel’s history revolved. Once sacred to all the descendants of Abraham, Gerezim and Ebal became the center of religious life for the Northern Kingdom after the division, and remained sacred to the group which later became known as the … [Read more...]
MOUNT ZION & MOUNT OF OLIVES
Israel/Palestine (765 m, 826 m) – Biblical Hills Surrounding Jerusalem Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives are two ancient hills which flank the old walled city of Jerusalem to the south and east respectively. Between them they almost perfectly flank the Temple Mount, the most sacred site in Judaism and also highly revered by both Christians and Muslims as well. Not … [Read more...]
LATER JERUSALEM AND THE SECOND TEMPLE
Jerusalem, Israel When most Jewish visitors to Jerusalem tour the city’s ancient sacred sites, it is generally not the legacy of David and Solomon that they are experiencing, but rather that of Herod the Great. Herod, the most prolific builder in ancient Israel, spent vast sums remaking Jerusalem into a magnificent capital city. The archaeological remains of his efforts can … [Read more...]
TOMBS OF THE MACCABEES
Modi’in, Israel The Modi’in Valley northwest of Jerusalem was ground zero for many of ancient Israel’s wars, from Joshua’s battles against the Canaanites to the desperate Jewish struggles for independence against Rome. However, it is most famous as the region where the Jews, under the leadership of the Maccabee family, launched their rebellion against the Seleucids in the … [Read more...]
TOMB OF EZRA
Al-Azair, Iraq Ezra was one of the most prominent Jewish figures of the late Captivity period, and was chronologically the very last truly important person to appear in the Hebrew Bible. Along with Nehemiah, he was instrumental in the restoration of Judea as a semi-autonomous province of the Persian Empire, and personally led many Jews back to Jerusalem in the early 5th … [Read more...]
TOMBS OF THE MINOR PROPHETS
Several Locations, Israel The Twelve Minor Prophets, as they are usually collectively referred to, are among the last major figures to appear in the Hebrew Bible. Covering a period of about three centuries, the activities of the Twelve Minor Prophets are generally associated with Assyrian and Babylonian conquests and the downfall of the divided kingdoms, as well as the … [Read more...]
TOMBS OF ESTER AND MORDECAI
Hamadan, Iran From the time of the Babylonian Captivity until the 1800s, Western Persia was home to one of the largest and most important communities of Jews-in-exile. This was particularly after the triumph of Christianity in the west, when many of Judaism’s most prominent leaders and religious experts migrated east. The Jewish tradition is strong in the region between … [Read more...]
TOMB OF EZEKIEL
Kefil, Iraq Ezekiel, the other great prophet of the Babylonian Captivity along with Daniel, had much in common with his contemporary. Both spent most of their lives living in Mesopotamia; both died and were buried in foreign lands; the tombs of both became important pilgrimage destinations for the Jews in exile. However, while the site of Daniel’s Tomb has always been … [Read more...]
TOMB OF DANIEL
Shush, Iran Of all of the great figures of the Bible, no one has as many burial sites attributed to them as the Prophet Daniel. More than half a dozen cities in Iran, Iraq and even Uzbekistan make the claim. But the majority of Jews and Muslims believe the Tomb of Daniel in Shush, Iran to be the correct one. Shush, formerly known as Susa, was one of the numerous cities … [Read more...]
