What Did Happen on Mount Hermon?

“Who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon”

Deuteronomy 3:8-9, ESV

What Did Happen on Mount Hermon?
By Jennifer Bartlett.

Israel, The Highest Place for the Most High God.  One of the most interesting places that (Holy Land Tour) Living Passages takes their Israel and Holy Land bound expeditioners travel to includes the site of Mount Hermon in Israel. 

Why Is It Important?

Deuteronomy 3:8-9: So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir; Deut. 3:8-9, ESV).1

The name Hermon (חֶרְמוֹן‎ Chermôwn) seems to refer to the rather broad, flat summit of the mountain (because of the word’s relation to a root word denoting bluntness).1 Apparently the Sidonians called it Sirion (“breastplate”) because they thought it looked like a breastplate.2 Accordingly, Senir (or Shenir), the name used by the Amorites (Deut. 3:9) also means  “breastplate” or “coat of mail,” equivalent to “Sirion.”3

Charles Warren by Elliott & Fry, c1886

Greek Inscription Discovered

While exploring this gently-sloping summit in the 19th century, Charles Warren discovered a Greek inscription dating to the fourth or fifth century AD, which refers to a mysterious oath. The translation provided by the British Museum, where it is housed, is, “HENCE BY ORDER OF THE GOD, THOSE WHO DO NOT TAKE THE OATH…” [probably weren’t allowed in the temple.]

The interpreter continues: “PROBABLY AN OATH BEFORE CELEBRATING THE MYSTERIES OF THE TEMPLE ON THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT HERMON, WHERE THIS PILLAR WAS FOUND. THE GOD OF MOUNT HERMON WAS BA’AL HERMON. -Judges III 3.”

The above inscription regarding “those who do not take the oath” was discovered at Qasr Antar, one of over two dozen temples littering the summit of Mount Hermon. A variant translation of the inscription, rendered by George Nickelsburg, omits the word OY (ou, meaning “not”), to produce an allusion to a group who have taken an oath in this place. This mistranslation has led to wild speculation that it refers to a much earlier event on Mount Hermon recorded in 1 Enoch 6:6, in which a group of rogue angels bound themselves with an oath, but this connection is unfounded.

What Did Happen on Mount Hermon?

Joshua 12:1-6 identifies the land east of the Jordan River and from the Arnon River, north to Mount Hermon, as having been Amorite territory. The Amorites were the descendants of Canaan, the cursed son of Ham, son of Noah (Gen. 9:25; 10:6, 15-19). While the terms of this curse are subject to much dispute among scholars, Scripture indicates that God Himself fought against the Amorite kings - Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan (Deut. 3:2-3). They were decisively defeated by the Israelites, as commanded and assisted by the Lord (Deut. 3:2-10), and their territory was divided among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:12-17).

King David's Song About Hermon

King David seems to have sung about Mount Hermon in Psalm 29 (calling it “Sirion,” as in Deut. 3), and another Psalmist remembered the Lord from Hermon in Psalm 42:6, where the Hebrew plural is used. Easton’s elaborates: “It is called ‘the Hermonites’ (Ps. 42:6) because it has more than one summit.”4

At the base of Mount Hermon, just north of the Sea of Galilee, a cave opens to an underground spring that was commonly viewed by first-century Pagans as the gate to Hades. It was here amid idolatrous offerings to the underworld that Jesus asked Peter the pivotal question, “Who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15b) and assured him that “on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

The next place we find Jesus is on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-9), specifically on “a high mountain” (verse 1), and this and other factors point toward Mount Hermon as a good candidate for where this event took place:

And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him (Matt. 17:2-3).

Then, the God who made heaven and earth spoke audibly to Jesus’ disciples, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt. 17:5).

Can you imagine such a glorious scene? It might help to see the mountain for yourself.

While the nation of Israel is only about the size of the State of New Jersey, it has dramatic geological features that contribute to extreme and varied biomes: from scorching summer winds driving up from the Arabian desert through the southern Arabah, to a snow-rich, mountaintop ski resort in the fringes of Israel’s northern boundaries, each site has its own unique topography and climate. Some settings in Israel form an important backdrop for the historical narratives of multiple events that have occurred in the same place. Mount Hermon is one of these significant locations, with a few different names as well. Join us for a 4WD expedition to this ancient high place.

References:

1.) "Deuteronomy 38-9 (ESV) - So we took the land." Blue Letter Bible… https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/deu/3/8/p0/t_conc_156008

2.) James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 43.

3.) M G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 635.

4.) M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893)bid, p. 613.

5.) Ibid, p. 324.