Some of the pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land are located on the territory of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Undoubtedly, one of the most important among them is Mount Nebo (Heaven), with an emphasis on the first syllable, on which, according to the Holy Scriptures, the prophet Moses ended his earthly life, who brought the Jews out of the Egyptian captivity.
In the predominantly deserted landscape of Jordan, there are picturesque green spaces, where a riot of plants and low trees of various types gives coolness and pleases the eye of the traveler. This is precisely the biblical Mount Nebo (Heaven), the name of which comes from the Hebrew word 'niba', which means 'to prophesy', 'to foretell'.
The mountain, 833 meters high, is located at some distance from the Tsar's Way - an ancient road that runs through all of Jordan from north to south. From the top of Nebo there is an amazing view of the mountains, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, bizarre road serpentines and the very capital of the Holy Land - Jerusalem. But for the pilgrims climbing to the top of Nebo, this mountain is more important for another reason. It was from here that Moses saw the Promised Land - the destination of the forty-year journey of the Jews through the desert - into which the most popular leader, alas, was not destined to enter.
“And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah ... and showed to him the Lord is all the land of Gilead to Dan itself, and all (the land) of Naphtali, and (all) the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, even to the westernmost sea, and the noon country and plains of the Jericho valley, the city of Palms, to Sigor. And the Lord said to him: “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying:“ To your seed I will give it; I gave you to see her with your eyes, but you will not enter into it. ” And there Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. ' (Deuteronomy 34: 1-5.)
In Old Testament times, Mount Nebo was outside the territory of the country of Moab. One of the cities of the Moabites lay at its foot - its inhabitants did not allow the Jews who went to the land of the Khanan to pass through the territory inhabited by them. Subsequently, the Jews will often fight the Moabites and will win many victories in this struggle.
In the cave on Mount Nebo, as the Second Book of the Maccabees says, the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle and the altar of incense until the time. The Prophet blocked the entrance to the cave, made it indistinguishable from other places on the slope - and he denounced those who came to the mountain to look for a hiding place, explaining that when the time came, the Lord himself would open the way to the shrines. (2 Mac. 2: 4-8).
With the advent of Christianity, Mount Nebo was almost from the very beginning recognized by supporters of the faith of Jesus Christ as a revered shrine - which is not surprising, given that that most of the neophytes baptized by the apostles were Jews. In the 4th century, the Egyptian hermit monks built a small church on Mount Nebo. And in the 6th century, the Byzantines built here an extensive temple complex with a spacious basilica and spacious rooms for pilgrims (centuries later, the foundations of these buildings were discovered as a result of archaeological research). In the 7th century, a monastery was established here, and a chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary was added to the basilica. Pilgrims arriving on Mount Nebo today can see a very massive round stone, with which the gates of the monastery were locked at night.
In the modern era, Mount Nebo has again become accessible to Christian pilgrims since the thirties of the last century, when the monks of the Franciscan order acquired a plot of land here. On the basis of the early Byzantine church, the Franciscans built the Church of St. Moses - and the ancient mosaics and part of the masonry of the Byzantine times organically fit into the modern building.
Today, the brethren that take care of the temple complex and serve in the church consists of only three monks. They, when required, act as guides, showing visitors the remains of ancient monastic cells and the 'first sanctuary of Moses.' Most memorable the exhibit of the latter is an original sculpture by Gian Paolo Fantoni, depicting an enlarged staff of Moses - it is often called the 'serpentine cross', and here is why. On the one hand, she refers the beholder to the artifact described in the book of Numbers, with the help of which Moses, at the direction of God, parted the waters of the Red Sea and healed his compatriots who were bitten by snakes (for this it was enough to look at the staff). On the other hand, to the words of the Gospel of John: 'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must also be lifted up.' (John 3:14).
Gorya Nebo is considered a shrine for representatives of different world religions. In addition to Christians of different confessions, both Judaists and Muslims come here - the latter revere Moses under the name of the Prophet Musa. The very same mountain in Islamic tradition is called Jebel-Osh. Cold springs gush at the foot of the mountain, the water from which is revered by pilgrims as healing.
The temple complex on Mount Nebo, in addition to the already mentioned temple of St. Moses, also includes a museum, whose exposition is completely devoted to the history of this place. Here you can see the mountain from a bird's eye view, admire the dishes that were made many centuries ago, and also trace the route of ancient pilgrims who followed from Jerusalem to the sacred mountain.
IN At the beginning of the 21st century, Pope John Paul II visited Mount Nebo. In memory of his visit, he planted an olive tree here, which has grown greatly since then. In honor of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, to which, in fact, the visit of the Pope was timed, a memorial sign was erected here - if you look at it from the side, you can see the pages of the book. The sermon that John Paul II preached in the church of St. Moses at that time was attended by twenty thousand believers.
Even a non-religious person who is absolutely indifferent to the events of the Sacred History, Mount Nebo appears to be an unusual place that keeps many secrets. For example, on a road going up a mountain, there is a place where cars, even if their engine is turned off, for some inexplicable reason continue to climb on their own.
In the predominantly deserted landscape of Jordan, there are picturesque green spaces, where a riot of plants and low trees of various types gives coolness and pleases the eye of the traveler. This is precisely the biblical Mount Nebo (Heaven), the name of which comes from the Hebrew word 'niba', which means 'to prophesy', 'to foretell'.
The mountain, 833 meters high, is located at some distance from the Tsar's Way - an ancient road that runs through all of Jordan from north to south. From the top of Nebo there is an amazing view of the mountains, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, bizarre road serpentines and the very capital of the Holy Land - Jerusalem. But for the pilgrims climbing to the top of Nebo, this mountain is more important for another reason. It was from here that Moses saw the Promised Land - the destination of the forty-year journey of the Jews through the desert - into which the most popular leader, alas, was not destined to enter.
“And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah ... and showed to him the Lord is all the land of Gilead to Dan itself, and all (the land) of Naphtali, and (all) the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, even to the westernmost sea, and the noon country and plains of the Jericho valley, the city of Palms, to Sigor. And the Lord said to him: “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying:“ To your seed I will give it; I gave you to see her with your eyes, but you will not enter into it. ” And there Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. ' (Deuteronomy 34: 1-5.)
In Old Testament times, Mount Nebo was outside the territory of the country of Moab. One of the cities of the Moabites lay at its foot - its inhabitants did not allow the Jews who went to the land of the Khanan to pass through the territory inhabited by them. Subsequently, the Jews will often fight the Moabites and will win many victories in this struggle.
In the cave on Mount Nebo, as the Second Book of the Maccabees says, the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark of the Covenant, the tabernacle and the altar of incense until the time. The Prophet blocked the entrance to the cave, made it indistinguishable from other places on the slope - and he denounced those who came to the mountain to look for a hiding place, explaining that when the time came, the Lord himself would open the way to the shrines. (2 Mac. 2: 4-8).
With the advent of Christianity, Mount Nebo was almost from the very beginning recognized by supporters of the faith of Jesus Christ as a revered shrine - which is not surprising, given that that most of the neophytes baptized by the apostles were Jews. In the 4th century, the Egyptian hermit monks built a small church on Mount Nebo. And in the 6th century, the Byzantines built here an extensive temple complex with a spacious basilica and spacious rooms for pilgrims (centuries later, the foundations of these buildings were discovered as a result of archaeological research). In the 7th century, a monastery was established here, and a chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary was added to the basilica. Pilgrims arriving on Mount Nebo today can see a very massive round stone, with which the gates of the monastery were locked at night.
In the modern era, Mount Nebo has again become accessible to Christian pilgrims since the thirties of the last century, when the monks of the Franciscan order acquired a plot of land here. On the basis of the early Byzantine church, the Franciscans built the Church of St. Moses - and the ancient mosaics and part of the masonry of the Byzantine times organically fit into the modern building.
Today, the brethren that take care of the temple complex and serve in the church consists of only three monks. They, when required, act as guides, showing visitors the remains of ancient monastic cells and the 'first sanctuary of Moses.' Most memorable the exhibit of the latter is an original sculpture by Gian Paolo Fantoni, depicting an enlarged staff of Moses - it is often called the 'serpentine cross', and here is why. On the one hand, she refers the beholder to the artifact described in the book of Numbers, with the help of which Moses, at the direction of God, parted the waters of the Red Sea and healed his compatriots who were bitten by snakes (for this it was enough to look at the staff). On the other hand, to the words of the Gospel of John: 'And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must also be lifted up.' (John 3:14).
Gorya Nebo is considered a shrine for representatives of different world religions. In addition to Christians of different confessions, both Judaists and Muslims come here - the latter revere Moses under the name of the Prophet Musa. The very same mountain in Islamic tradition is called Jebel-Osh. Cold springs gush at the foot of the mountain, the water from which is revered by pilgrims as healing.
The temple complex on Mount Nebo, in addition to the already mentioned temple of St. Moses, also includes a museum, whose exposition is completely devoted to the history of this place. Here you can see the mountain from a bird's eye view, admire the dishes that were made many centuries ago, and also trace the route of ancient pilgrims who followed from Jerusalem to the sacred mountain.
IN At the beginning of the 21st century, Pope John Paul II visited Mount Nebo. In memory of his visit, he planted an olive tree here, which has grown greatly since then. In honor of the 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, to which, in fact, the visit of the Pope was timed, a memorial sign was erected here - if you look at it from the side, you can see the pages of the book. The sermon that John Paul II preached in the church of St. Moses at that time was attended by twenty thousand believers.
Even a non-religious person who is absolutely indifferent to the events of the Sacred History, Mount Nebo appears to be an unusual place that keeps many secrets. For example, on a road going up a mountain, there is a place where cars, even if their engine is turned off, for some inexplicable reason continue to climb on their own.
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