Nabay (, from the

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

: נביא ; ܢܒܺܝܶ̈ܐ) is a village located in the

Matn Matn () is an Islamic term that is used in relation to Hadith terminology. It means the text of the hadith, excluding the isnad. Use A hadith is made of both an isnad (chain of transmission) and a matn. A hadith would typically adopt the f ...

District ('' kada''),

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

Governorate (

Mohafazat A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions of ...

). Nabay is located 16 kilometers (9.9424 mi) away from the capital

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. Its elevation is 500 meters (1640.5 ft - 546.8 yd) above sea level. Nabay surface stretches for 388 hectares (3.88 km² - 1.49768 mi²). The name of Nabay is derived from the Aramaic and

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew ( or ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite languages, Canaanitic branch of the Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Isra ...

words for "prophets", written as ܢܒܝܐ in cursive Syriac, and as נביא in block script. Thus, the implied meaning of the name is "land of prophets" or "of the prophets." This word has its cognate in the Arabic plural, الأنبياء (''al'anbia), and in the singular form, نبي (''nabī''). The village locals are entirely Eastern Rite Christians, with the

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

population consisting of the majority. However, a substantial amount of the population also belong to

Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...

and

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

churches. One shared trait amongst all three groups is their patronage to

Saint Michael the Archangel Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

(Mar Mikhael). Saint Michael is considered to be the patron saint of the village, and a large icon of him can be seen upon entering the village from the lower end. In the center of the village, there are three churches across from each other all dedicated to St. Michael, with each church belonging to one of the three primary sects listed above. It is a commonly held belief that St. Michael miraculously defended the local population from being massacred by Druze and Muslims during the

1860 Mount Lebanon Civil War The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus, also known as the 1860 Christian–Druze war, was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisiv ...

. Each year, on September 6th, the villagers celebrate the Feast of St. Michael, commemorating the miracle of St. Michael at

Colossae Colossae (; ) was an ancient city of Phrygia in southern Asia Minor (Anatolia), Turkey. The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its author as Paul the Apostle, is addressed to the church in Colossae. A significa ...

(

Chonae Colossae (; ) was an ancient city of Phrygia in southern Asia Minor (Anatolia), Turkey. The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its author as Paul the Apostle, is addressed to the church in Colossae. A significa ...

) in the 4th century. Currently, there is a new Antiochian Greek Orthodox church under construction in the heart of the village, dedicated to St. Isaac the Assyrian and to hieromonk Fr. Isaac Atallah. A native of the village, Isaac (whose birth name was Fares) became a priest-monk of the Antiochian Orthodox church and lived in several monasteries in Lebanon before finally settling at Mt. Athos in Greece. As is customary in monasticism, he received the name Isaac in honor of his patron saint, St. Isaac of Nineveh. Father Isaac is widely venerated amongst the local population, and has gained a strong spiritual following both in his home country of Lebanon and in Greece. Within Nabay, there are various subsections and areas. For instance, the portion of the village that houses the mausoleums is called ''Rām'', which is derived from the

: רמ ( Syriac: ܪܡܐ), meaning "a high place." There also exists a densely wooded and forested portion of the village, which is called ''Rāmayyah''. The suffix, ''-ayyah'', is unique to Western Levantine Aramaic. It denotes a plural, thus, the word ''Rāmayyah'' means "the heights." Towns near Nabay include

Brummana Broummana () is a town in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. It is located east of Beirut, overlooking the capital and the Mediterranean. Broummana has long been a summer destination for visitors and locals. It is also ...

Rabieh Rabieh () is a suburban area on the northern edge of Greater Beirut, Lebanon, about 13 kilometers driving distance from Beirut. It is located in the foothills of Mount Lebanon, on the road to Bikfaya. Rabieh saw its population increase sharply in ...

Bsalim Bsalim () is a town in the Matn District in Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. The population is almost exclusively Christianity in Lebanon, Christian. Geography Bsalim is located above sea level. The cities around Bsalim are Antelias, Jal ...

, and

Antelias Antelias () is a city in Lebanon in the Matn District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It is located around 5 km to the north of Beirut. Etymology The name is originally Greek, ἀντήλιος – from ἀντί(anti) "contra" and ἥλ� ...

References

External links

Nabay
Localiban {{Matn District Populated places in Matn District