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Mt. Gerizim....
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Mt. Gerizim, located southwest of Shechem, rises to an elevation of 2,849 feet and overlooks a north-south and an east-west road making it of strategic importance.
Moses instructed the Israelites to assemble at
Mt. Gerizim and neighboring Mt. Ebal to the north after entering the land of
Canaan. There six tribes would stand on Mt. Gerizim and recite the blessings of obeying God while the remaining six tribes would stand on Mt. Ebal and recite the curses of disobeying God (Deut. 27:11-13). |
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Excavation on top of Mt. Gerizim |
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According to Josephus, a certain Sanballat constructed a
Temple for the Samaritans on Mt. Gerizim as a place for the Samaritans to worship rather than the Temple in
Jerusalem. In 128 B.C.E. John Hyrcanus of the Hasmonean dynasty destroyed the Temple.
Around the year 70 C.E. the
Romans killed 11,600 Samaritans on the mountain as part of the conflict in the Jewish War against
Rome.
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In later generations, after the conquest and dispersion of the tribes that became "lost" to Israel, the
Assyrian victors brought new settlers here. This new population accepted only the Written Law, and their interpretation of the Law placed the sacrifice of
Isaac on Mt. Gerizim.
The people eventually became known as Samaritans. The Samaritan Center and Temple is on
Mt. Gerizim, and to this day they carry out sacrificial ceremonies on its peak. |
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