Jebel al-Madhbah ( ar, جبل المذبح, ', ''lit.'' "mountain of the altar") is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually highe ...

at Petra,

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, at whose peak there is a large Nabataean ritual site centered around an altar.

Description

The mountain is c. high. The name, which translates to "mountain of the altar", is well deserved since its summit is covered in rock-cut ceremonial structures reached by a rock-cut staircase. The French

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

historian

Maurice Sartre Maurice Sartre (born 3 October 1944) is a French historian, an Emeritus professor of ancient history at the François Rabelais University, a specialist in ancient Greek and Eastern Roman history, especially the Hellenized Middle East, from Alexand ...

(b. 1944) noted that beneath the peak there are "two gigantic

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

s, carved out of the rocky mass,

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

appear as sacred stones", and the ritual complex at the very top "consists of a vast rectangular esplanade hollowed out in such a way that the sides formed benches; in the middle of one long side, a natural podium (''motab'') was set aside for placing the gods' sacred stones. Another section was reserved for the altar. Cisterns, fed by rainwater, were used for ablutions and cleaning."

Mount Sinai theory

A number of scholars have proposed Jebel al-Madhbah as the

Biblical Mount Sinai Mount Sinai (, ''Har Sīnay'') is the mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God, according to the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. In the Book of Deuteronomy, these events are described as having transpired at Mount ...

, beginning with Ditlef Nielsen in 1927.Ditlef Nielsen, ''The Site of the Biblical Mount Sinai – A Claim for Petra'' (1927) The valley in which Petra resides is known as ''

Wadi Musa Wadi Musa ( ar, وادي موسى, literally "Valley of Musa (AS)) is a town located in the Ma'an Governorate in southern Jordan. It is the administrative center of the Petra Department and the nearest town to the archaeological site of Petra. I ...

'', meaning ''Valley of Moses''. At the entrance to Wadi Musa is Ain Musa, the ''Spring of Moses''.

References

External links

*{{commonscatinline, Jabal al-Madbah (Petra) Mountains of Jordan Sacred mountains Edom Petra Mount Sinai

Description

Mount Sinai theory

See also

References

External links