Mount Moriah is the name of the elongated
north-south stretch of land lying between Kidron Valley and "Hagai"
Valley, between Mount Zion to the west and the Mount
of Olives to the east.
The Jebusite "Zion" was situated on the
southern slope of Mount Moriah, above the Gihon Spring. After King
David captured the city he made it his capital and named it for
himself: the "City
of David."
The northern area of the mountain's summit lay
desolate for long after Zion's capture by David. It was in fact still
the private property of Araunah, the city's former Jebusite king. For
various reasons David did not confiscate the site but preferred to
buy it from Auranah for full value: "So David paid Ornan [Auranah]
for the site 600 shekels' worth of gold. And David built there an
altar to the Lord and sacrificed burn offerings and offerings of
well-being" (1 Chronicles
21:25, and a slightly different version at 2
Samuel 24:18-25).
In the course of time the mountain had acquired an
aura of sanctity and he subject of many traditions. Indeed, its
sacred status may date back to the early Canaanite period, when it
perhaps was the cultic center of "El Elyon," god of
Melchizedek, king of Salem: "And Melchizedek, king of Salem,
brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High [=El
Elyon]. He blessed him, saying, Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
creator of heaven and earth" (Genesis
14:18).
The best-known tradition related to Mount Moriah
is the Binding of Isaac for sacrifice by his father Abraham,
related in Genesis 22.
The tradition of "Jacob's Dream" is also
identified with Mount Moriah: "He came upon a certain place and
stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the
stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that
place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top
reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it.
And the Lord was standing beside him... Jacob awoke from his sleep
and said, ... "How awesome is this place! This is none other
than the abode of God and that is the gateway to heaven" (Genesis
28:10-18).
This is perhaps the most colorful representation
of the essential nature of the site which some would later claim was
the "navel of the world". At the summit of Mount Moriah,
traditionally, is the "Foundation Stone," the symbolic
fundament of the world's creation, and reputedly the site of the
Temple's Holy of Holies, the supreme embodiment of the relationship
between God and the people of Israel.
Upon the completion of King
Solomon's Temple, famed for its sumptuous splendor, the Ark of
the Covenant was placed within its confines. The sanctity of the site
is reflected in the graphic description provided by the Book of
Kings: "the priests came out of the sanctuary for the cloud had
filled the House of the Lord and the priests were not able to remain
and perform the service because of the cloud, for the Presence of the
Lord filled the House of the Lord..." (1
Kings 8:11).
Solomon built his palace in the "miloh" (infill) area which
separated the summit of the mountain and the Temple from the city
below. This was also a concrete expression of the divine inspiration
that was attributed to his kingship. Other palaces were also built
nearby, such as the "House of the Forest of Lebanon" and
the House of Pharaoh's Daughter. Solomon used dirt to fill in this east-west lateral rift, hence the area's
name: "miloh" (infill), or Ophel , from a Hebrew word
referring to the road that ascended to the Temple from the city which
at that time was topographically lower.
Sources: The
Jerusalem Mosaic. Copyright
1995 Hebrew University of Jerusalem -- All Rights Reserved