Mt Moriah is the mountain on which Solomon’s temple was built (2 Chronicles 3:1) and so is the hill now called the “Temple mount” in Jerusalem. It is also associated with where Abraham offered Isaac (Genesis 22:2). At the time of Jesus’ death, it was occupied by Herod’s enormous temple.
Calvary is mentioned in some Bible translations in Luke 23:33.
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. (Luke 23:33 NKJV)
Here the word Calvary is derived from the Latin word calvaria, which is a translation of the Greek κρανίον (kranion), and means “skull”. So most modern versions call it the “place of the skull”.
And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. (Luke 23:33 ESV)
The other gospel writers call it “Golgotha” (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17) which is Aramaic for “Place of the Skull”.
It was the name of a hill outside the walls of Jerusalem, and so could not have been the same place as Mt Moriah which was inside the walls of Jerusalem. Besides, Jesus could not have been crucified within the temple area.
Further reading: Calvary from Wikipedia.
The Temple mount – Mt Moriah is situated on a saddle and 118 feet below the summit. Lev 1:11-13 says the sacrifice had to be slain to the north of the altar, the summit is to the north of the altar, so it is probable that Jesus was crucified north of the altar, at the summit of the saddle which is called Galgotha, which in reality is the summit of Mt Moriah.
Hello Grant, as I read Lev 1:11-13 I actually started reading at verse 1 to understand the context of it all. And what it is talking about is burnt offerings to the Lord in cattle, herd of the flock, sheep, goats and bullock ect. As it says in verse 3 “If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the (DOOR) of the (tabernacle of the congregation) before the LORD.” And verse 5 says “And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the (altar) that is by the (DOOR) of the (tabernacle of the congregation.”) I put in parenthesis that these offerings were taking place at the ALTAR THAT IS BY DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE OF THE CONGREGATION!! And in verses 11- 13 it does then say the sacrifice had to be slain to the north of the altar, but the question is, “Where is was the Tabernacle of the Congregation located?” It does not say, so there for this scripture does not give enough evidence to factually claim that the north of the Tabernacle would be the summit of Golgotha! It just simply says “And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round about upon the altar. Its doesn’t say the northern summit or to move any distance horizontal or vertical but just north of the altar! So again depending on where the Tabernacle was located, would really help in proving this theory! And also this scripture in my opinion as I read it, is talking about what and how the Lord instructed them how to sacrifice there burnt offering unto the Lord and not how Abraham was instructed on how to sacrifice his son! The Levi 1:11-13 instructions where given way after this incident with Abraham. In Genesis 22:2 “And he said, Take now thy
son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of.” This verse is so vague when it comes to nailing down the specific location of WHAT MOUNTAIN WHERE?? God just said the The Land of Moriah upon one of the
mountains which I will tell thee of, that’s it!……. Also Lev ch 1:11-13 doesn’t depict how or why the the Romans would choose the place of where they crucify there criminals (Golgotha), they were of a pagan religion anyway, these are 2 different things? So all I’m saying is this one scripture from how I read and interpreted it is not relevant to Abraham’s sacrifice and of Golgotha, unless you can prove where the Tabernacle of congregation was located? And even then that doesn’t necessarily tie it to Golgotha as you yourself said “it is (probable) that Jesus was crucified north of the altar”.
This is not enough to make statements that we truly do not know to be true! I’m seeking for the truth! I’ve have been surfing the internet and have not found any real and true evidence. So far its been very split down the middle because no one can prove anything! I believe that if it was so important for these 2 events to be the exact same place, then it would’ve been important enough for God to distinguishably mention it in his word! So I send this response comment as respectfully as I can and if anyone has anymore real and true evidence I would love to hear from you, either on this page or directly to my facebook or email! When I first heard someone say that these 2 events were the same location I was amazed and thought it to be a great thing, but I wanted to be sure of what the Bible says and not go off what a person or opinions of people say! If anything I would like it to be true, but what I want and what the truth is are 2 different things! Below is my info to contact me, thanks and GOD BLESS!!!
Dean J Prisco (facebook)
Priscoart@yahoo.com (email)
What is the significance between mount Sinai and mount calvary
Mt Sinai is somewhere to the south. Probably towards the south of the sinai, where the official Mt Sinai is: Jebul Musa. Other mountains have been suggested; we don’t really now.
Mt Sinai is the place of the law and judgement. Golgotha was the place where Jesus was crucified. Like Mt Sinai, we don’t really know where that was, though the possible area is much smaller.
Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal
Both Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal are north of Jerusalem and situated near each other. Mount Gerizim was the Samaritan rival to Jerusalem. The burning question discussed between Jews and Samaritans was about the divinely appointed site for the central worship and sacrifice of the religion of Israel. The quarrel started with the building of a temple on Mount Gerizim as a rival to the temple at Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed by John Hyricanus in 128 BC. The Samaritan temple was at Mt. Gerizim and the Samaritans, ejected from the Temple by the Israelites, sought to outdo them in the same fashion.
The commandments of the Lord to the children of Israel included one that they should put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. The Lord had just set before them a blessing and a cursing; a blessing, if the commandments are obeyed and a cursing if they are turned aside. Moses also commanded the people to write upon stones the commandments of the law and set them up on Mount Ebal and build an altar of stones there and make offerings. That day, they had become the people of God and were told to obey the commandments. “Moses charged the people the same day, saying: These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you are come over Jordan, Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin. And these shall stand upon Mont Ebal to curse, Reuben, Gad and Asher and Zebuleun, Dan and Naphtali.” What follows are a series of commandments and curses on those that could not obey them, even to “Cursed be he that confirms not ALL the words of this law to do them.” Part of the Israelites were told to stand on one mountain to curse and on the other to bless.
The two mountains are well known to every Israelite and they know that it was between the two mountains of Ebal and Gerizim that Abraham first stopped when he entered Caanan. It was here at Shechem in the plain of Moreh that God first promised “unto your seed will I give this land.”
When the children of Israel crossed over, Joshua had built an altar on Mount Ebal and placed a copy of the commandments of Moses there. Archaeologists have recently discovered it. He had Israel there with the half of them on one side over against Mount Gerizim and the other half against Mount Ebal and read the book of the law with the blessings and the cursings. It was Mount Ebal that had the law, the curse and the cursing and Gerizim who did not have the law but had the blessing. They were later gathered together at Shechem by Joshua to present themselves before God.
What a joy it is to not be under the curse of the law but under the grace and freedom of the Lord Jesus. We are under the new covenant now with the law upon our hearts. We need not stand between these two mountains today, Mount Ebal was replaced by Mount Calvary, where the blood of Jesus Christ was shed and Mount Gerizim is replaced by the hope given us in the blessing at the Mount of Olives, where Jesus will come back to claim his own.
[355, 383, Deuteronomy 11:26-29; 27, Genesis 12:6-7, Joshua 8, 24:1]