At the end of his life, Moses is afforded a stunning view of the promised land from Mount Nebo, located in the Jordan Rift. Deuteronomy describes the account as follows:
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. (Deut. 34:1-3 ESV)Very few places in the land of the Bible offer vistas like the lookout at Mount Nebo (Kirbat al-Mukhayyat) a few miles from the modern city of Madaba (biblical: Medeba). As we will be traveling during the cooler time of the year, if the skies are clear, we should be able to appreciate the panoramic scope of the vision Moses was allowed to see before his death and burial in an unmarked grave nearby, “opposite Beth-Peor.”
Madaba
Modern Madaba is a great touristic hub to visit in the region where Ruth, the Moabitess, came from. Be sure to watch this video of the town and its surrounding attractions. The site is most famously known for its mosaic map of the holy land in St. George’s church. In addition to several other churches, recent excavations near the Church of John the Baptist on the Acropolis point to the importance of the town in biblical times. In addition, my recent post for the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR) blog on the settlement of Madaba during the biblical period has some pictures of the massive Iron Age fortification wall at Madaba, among others.
On our way south following the old “King’s Highway,” we will stop at the NT site of Khirbat Mukawer/Machaerus (G12 on the map at this link). This fortress built by Herod and taken by the Romans (we can still see the old Roman siege ramp) is made infamous because it is the site where John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed for his courage to speak up against unrighteousness.
The geography lesson continues as we drive further south into Moab proper and its northern border. Modern borders today are sometimes hard to recognize (e.g., it can be difficult for people to know if they are in Switzerland or France when skiing the Alps), while others are quite obvious because the border is a substantial geophysical feature (the Rio Grande or the Rhine River). In ancient times, there was no questioning Moab’s northern border.
Sometimes called the “Grand Canyon” of the Middle East, the Wadi Mujib (biblical: Arnon River) cuts a huge gash into the landscape. Scripture attests to its importance in Numbers 21, where the Arnon is said to have “valleys,” evoking the substantial network that this river system represented. Apparently, Stephen Spielberg was equally impressed when he chose this site to film one of the last scenes of the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In it, the Nazi villain plunges to his death into one of the canyons of the Wadi Mujib/Arnon River.
Arnon River/Wadi Mujib
- Scripture References: Deut. 34; II Kings 3; Num. 21:10-30; 25; Matt. 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29
- Text References: AOT pp. 308-310
- Pictorial and Map References: CBA maps 116, 142, 144
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