OLIVES, MOUNT OF

A chain of rounded limestone hills located on the eastern side of Jerusalem, a “sabbath day’s journey” away, and separated from the city by the Kidron Valley. (Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:12) Anciently, this ridge was covered with palm, myrtle, oil and, particularly, olive trees. (Neh. 8:15) From the olive trees this range got its name. During the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., however, the Mount of Olives was denuded of its trees. (Wars of the Jews, Book V, chap. XII, par. 4) Including the so-called “Mount of Offense,” the Mount of Olives extends about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from NE to SW and has four summits. According to a recent survey, the highest and most northerly of these eminences rises to an altitude of 2,963 feet (903 meters) above the level of the Mediterranean Sea or more than 400 feet (122 meters) above the general elevation of Jerusalem.

Notable events of Bible history are associated with the Mount of Olives. King David, barefoot and weeping, ascended the Mount of Olives as he fled from his rebellious son Absalom. (2 Sam. 15:14, 30, 32) King Solomon built high places for idolatrous worship there. (1 Ki. 11:7) King Josiah later made these unfit for worship. (2 Ki. 23:13) In the first century C.E., Jesus Christ often met with his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, located on or in the vicinity of the Mount of Olives. (Matt. 26:30, 36; John 18:1, 2) When at Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples customarily spent the night at Bethany on the E slope of the Mount of Olives, undoubtedly in the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. (Matt. 21:17; Mark 11:11; Luke 21:37; John 11:1) Apparently from Bethphage, near Bethany, Jesus, seated on the colt of an ass, commenced his triumphal ride over the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem. (Matt. 21:1, 2; Mark 11:1; Luke 19:29) And it was on the Mount of Olives that he explained to his disciples what the ‘sign of his presence’ would be. (Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:3) Finally, after his resurrection, Jesus ascended from there into the heavens.—Acts 1:9-12.

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MOUNT OF OLIVES

c. 2420 FEET (738 METERS)

c. 2550 FEET (777 METERS)

c. 2650 FEET (808 METERS)

c. 2963 FEET (903 METERS)

Jerusalem

Kidron Valley

Bethphage

Bethany