View source for Mount of Transfiguration

{{Short description|Location mentioned in the Bible}}
[[File:Mount of transfiguration is.JPG|thumb|270px|The Franciscan [[Church of the Transfiguration]] on [[Mount Tabor]]]]
[[File:The Church of the Transfiguration .jpg|thumb|The Church of the Transfiguration]]
The [[New Testament]] does not identify the mountain upon which [[Jesus]] underwent his [[Transfiguration of Jesus|Transfiguration]]. The [[synoptic gospels]] each recount the event with similar language, with [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]]'s account as follows:

<blockquote>
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an '''high mountain''' apart, 
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. 
Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 
While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 
And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 
And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 
And as they came down from the '''mountain''', Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.” (Matthew 17:1–9, KJV)
</blockquote>

Several candidates have been suggested:

==Mount Tabor==
[[Mount Tabor]] (575 metres or 1,886 feet high) is the traditional location. The earliest identification of the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by [[Origen]] in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by [[St. Cyril of Jerusalem]] and [[St. Jerome]] in the 4th century.<ref>{{Citation
 |last=Meistermann
 |first=Barnabas
 |contribution=Transfiguration
 |year=1912
 |title=[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]
 |volume=XV
 |place=New York
 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company
 |contribution-url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15019a.htm
 }}</ref> It is later mentioned in the 5th-century ''[[Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis]]''. The summit of Mount Tabor is also referenced as the place of the Transfiguration according to the ''Mystical City of God'' by [[The Venerable#Catholic|Venerable]] [[Mary of Jesus of Ágreda]] (1602–1665), who writes: "For His Transfiguration He selected a high mountain in the center of Galilee, two leagues east of Nazareth and called Mount Tabor." The [[Church of the Transfiguration]] is located atop Mount Tabor.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}{{clarify |reason=Why is this particular opinion from so late in Church history notable?|date= April 2023}}

==Mount Hermon==
[[Mount Hermon]] (2,814 metres or 9,232 feet high) was suggested by [[J. Lightfoot]] (1602–1675) and [[R. H. Fuller]] (1915–2007)<ref>Jesus and Archaeology - Page 176 James H. Charlesworth - 2006 "R. H. Fuller and J. Lightfoot proposed Mount Hermon as the mount of the transfiguration, because the place"</ref> for two reasons: It is the highest site in the area [given that the Transfiguration took place on "a high mountain" ({{bibleverse|Matthew|17:1}})], and it is located near [[Caesarea Philippi]] ({{bibleverse|Matthew|16:13}}), where the previous events reportedly took place.

==Other locations==
Other locations that have been proposed include: one of the [[Horns of Hattin]], by R. W. Stewart (1857);<ref>R.W. Stewart ''The Tent and the Khan'' 1854</ref><ref>Charlesworth Jesus and Archaeology - Page 176 "G. Dalman chose tell el Akhmar on the Golan Heights as the place of transfiguration." R. W. Stewart preferred the Horn of Hattin." W. Ewing thought [[Mount Meron|Gebel Germaq]] [Mount Meron/Jabal al-Jarmaq] was the place where Jesus showed his glory to the apostles."</ref> [[Gebel Germaq]] (1,208 metres), 5 kilometres southwest of [[Safed]], by W. Ewing (1906);<ref>W. Ewing, "The Mount of Transfiguration", The Expository Times, Volume XVIII,1906-1907, p333-p334</ref> Tel El-Ahmar (1,452 metres) on [[Jabal al-Druze]], by [[Gustav Dalman]] (1924);<ref>; G. Dalman ''Orte und Wege Jesu'' (1924)</ref> [[Mount Nebo]] by H. A. Whittaker (1987);<ref>H. A. Whittaker, ''Studies in the Gospels'' Biblia 1987</ref> and [[Mount Sinai]] by [[Benjamin Urrutia]]{{when|date=January 2013}}. Others, such as A. Loisy (1908), have deliberately rejected seeking a geographical location.<ref>Charlesworth ''Jesus and Archaeology'' "A. Loisy concluded that those who look for a geographical place for the transfiguration are like Peter who asked to build three tents. They do not...."</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{New Testament places associated with Jesus}}

[[Category:New Testament mountains|Transfiguation]]
[[Category:Mount Hermon]]