In this section I explore the possibilities of Jesus' interactions with Mt Meron, giving attention to details of his Galilean ministry and pointing to the possibility of Mt Meron being a location of very great significance to Jesus and the early Jesus movement.
First of all I want to question to some extent the popular image of Jesus as the itinerant, roving far and wide, while not questioning that he was quite well travelled. So we will turn to a careful examination of the Synoptic Gospels. All three Synoptic Gospels give an indication that at a very early stage in his Galilean ministry Jesus moved away from Nazareth, the town where he had been brought up (see Matt 4:13, Mk1:9,21 and2:1, Luke4:16-39) and travelled to the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee which I assert became the main focal point for his Galilean ministry centring on Capernaum where as indicated by Matt 4:13 and Mark 2:1 he may have had his home. Matthew 11:20-24 and Luke 10:13-15 name the three towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum as being where most of his ministry occurred. Both Capernaum and Bethsaida are situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, Bethsaida approximately 4 miles east of Capernaum. Chorazin is situated approximately 3 miles to the north of Capernaum. I assert that much of Jesus' Galilean ministry can be understood as having taken place within a region around those northern shores of the Sea of Galilee.
The Synoptic Gospels make repeated mention to what they call "the mountain", with no name ever being given (Matt 5:1, 14:23, 28:16, Mark 3:13, Luke 6:12-19. 9:28). This similarity of language could be indicative that there is one particular mountain which is being referred to. Mount Meron as previously mentioned is Israel's tallest mountain. It is approximately a mere 10 miles north west of Capernaum and could be readily accessed by an ancient route which connects the Gennesaret Plain to Phoenicia to the north and beyond via the Pass of Meron to the east of Mt Meron. Mount Meron itself stands within the Galilean boarder lands with Phoenicia. The case that Mt Meron could be The Mount referred to in the Gospels and 2Peter 1:17-18 can be furthered by a study of the accounts of the Transfiguration. From the Synoptic Gospels, though less discernible in Luke, it is possible to place the Transfiguration within the context of a journey made by Jesus and his disciples which starts in Bethsaida/Capernaum and proceeds north, quite probably by an ancient route which follows the north Jordan valley out of Galilee to the region of Caesarea Philippi. The return trip from the region of Caesarea Philippi to Capernaum can be understood as the context for The Transfiguration. See Mark 8:22-9:33, also Matt 16:5-17:24. Understanding that, along with the historical and religious significance previously dealt with in this blog, for me makes Mt Meron the pre-eminent candidate to be The Mount of Transfiguration. From the region of Caesarea Philippi they would take another more westerly ancient route which links that region to the Phoenician coast. This route connects with the previously mentioned ancient route through the Meron Pass close to the passes northern end, from where Mt Meron could be accessed. After the events around the Transfiguration, proceeding on into Galilee, down the Meron Pass and across the Gennesaret Plain would take them back to Capernaum. That this route largely follows pre-existing and ancient routes, makes in my view quite a sensible interpretation of a journey indicated by the Synoptics.
While I contend that The Transfiguration was not by any means the first occasion that Jesus and his disciples visited Mt Meron, understanding the significance of Mt Meron, as previously outlined in this blog, potentially significantly enriches our understanding of the Transfiguration and adds significance to The Mount within the context of the gospel story. So next I will first turn my attention to the events around the Transfiguration to further explore the significance of this proposed identification of Mt Meron with The Mount of the Synoptic Gospels.
Bibliography
Oxford Bible Atlas
Roman roads in the Upper Galilee and Lower Golan regions: Relationships to natural migratory routes by April L Whitten
Jesus a Jewish Galilean by Sean Freyne
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Fraser Logue for the invaluable support he has given me in the production of this blog. His technical expertise and the map production have made a huge contribution, to getting to this point.
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